Review of Fulton elections won’t be completed in time for fall vote

A panel that’s already missed one deadline in examining election management by Fulton County — whose many issues include a slow delivery of results — reports it has too much work to do to finish its job before November’s election.

Any state takeover of Fulton’s elections won’t happen until after that.

The General Assembly permitted state interventions in county elections as part of the voting law it passed last year, and Fulton — because of its history of long lines and other management issues — has faced the threat of takeover for more than a year since the performance review began.

The review initially had an “aggressive timeline” for completion by the end of last year, but Ryan Germany, a member of the panel and general counsel for Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, said that has been pushed back by the amount of work involved and the job responsibilities of election officials undertaking the review.

Once the review is completed, possibly by the end of this year, the State Election Board would hold hearings and consider replacing Fulton’s bipartisan election board with an interim superintendent who would have broad powers to close polling places, decide on challenges to voter eligibility and certify results.

Fulton, the most populous county in Georgia and a Democratic stronghold, drew scrutiny during the 2020 presidential election, although no fraud was proved.

State Rep. Josh McLaurin, a Democrat from Sandy Springs, saw positives in the delay.

“The fact that they’re willing to allow a major midterm election to go forward under Fulton’s supervision proves the point that there’s no urgent crisis in the moment,” he said, “and Fulton has done a lot to resolve its issues.”

JOHN SPINK/AJC 2020 Because of its history of long lines and other management issues, Fulton County has faced the threat of a state takeover for more than a year.