GOP Push to Jail Elected Officials Fails, But the Fight ContinuesJudge rejects jail time but fines Fulton Commission $10k per day until election deniers are appointed to the county election board.
Yesterday, the Fulton County Republican party – backed by the Republican National Committee – tried to have Fulton County commissioners, elected officials, jailed for voting against far-right nominees to the county’s elections board. The court rejected the GOP’s push for criminal contempt and jail time. But the judge issued a ruling, holding the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, as an entity, in civil contempt, with fines of $10,000 per day (beginning Friday) and continuing until the Commission appoints the GOP nominees to the county election board. Fulton County’s appeal challenging the original order directing the appointment of the GOP nominees will continue to go forward. Why Commissioners Are Still FightingAhead of yesterday’s hearing, Fulton County commissioners Mo Ivory and Dana Barrett spoke about why they are continuing to oppose appointing the GOP’s nominees to the county election board:
You can watch the full remarks from Commissioners Ivory and Barrett here. Georgia law gives county commissioners the power to appoint members to the elections board. Parties can nominate, but they cannot install. The Board of Commissioners maintains that its appointment power necessarily includes discretion to reject unfit nominees – otherwise, the power to appoint would be left to the parties. Commissioners exercised that discretion when they rejected the GOP nominees, Julie Adams and Jason Frazier – nominees with well-documented records of spreading false claims about the 2020 election and undermining elections. That’s why Fulton is continuing to appeal. The law is clear: “nominate” means to propose, “appoint” means to choose. Commissioners are standing by their responsibility to select members who will protect free and fair elections. Who Are Julie Adams and Jason Frazier?Adams and Frazier are operatives in the Election Integrity Network, a group that spreads false narratives about voting issues and trains volunteers to pressure elected officials into passing restrictive voting laws. Cleta Mitchell, group’s founder, is the former Trump attorney who worked on overturning Trump’s 2020 election loss and advised Trump on his call pressuring Georgia’s Secretary of State to “find” votes after that loss. Julie Adams’ Documented History of Undermining Elections:
Jason Frazier’s Documented History of Undermining Elections:
This Exact Fight Has Happened BeforeThis happened in 2023, when the Fulton GOP sued the Fulton Board of County Commissioners over their rejection of Jason Frazier’s nomination to the county election board. But instead of demanding jail time, the Republican Party dropped its suit, seeming to acknowledge the BOC’s discretion, and submitted a new nominee. The law hasn’t changed – the Republican Party’s tactics have. As Fair Fight CEO Lauren Groh-Wargo said: “It’s good to see courts not bowing to the Republican Party’s authoritarian thirst. The GOP is trying to criminalize democracy itself, demanding elected officials be jailed for doing their jobs.” The bottom line: Fulton’s commissioners are standing up for voters, not bowing to unelected party operatives. PS: For more background on this fight, read our earlier post. Fair Fight Team Paid for by Fair Fight, www.fairfight.com, not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.
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Thursday, August 28, 2025
GOP Push to Jail Elected Officials Fails, But the Fight Continues
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