On July 2, 2025 the Georgia Court of Appeals affirmed that election superintendents and board members have a mandatory duty to certify election results on time and without delay. Yesterday’s decision in Adams v. Fulton Cnty., A25A0685, 2025 WL 1822293 (Ga. Ct. App. July 2, 2025) confirms that the clear text of the Georgia Election Code prohibits individual election board members from delaying or outright refusing to certify election results.
In May 2024, Plaintiff Julie Adams, a Republican-appointed member of the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections (“FCBRE”), filed a lawsuit against Fulton County seeking a declaration that the duties of election board members related to certification are discretionary not ministerial in nature and that the members are entitled to have “full access to [e]lection [m]aterials and [p]rocesses[.]” A bench trial was held in Fulton County Superior Court on October 1, 2024, barely a month before the 2024 elections. Following trial, on October 14, 2024 the trial court ruled in favor of Fulton County and the FCBRE, holding in pertinent part that an election superintendent’s role in certifying election results is ministerial and “mandatory” in nature; and that “no election superintendent (or member of a board of elections and registration) may refuse to certify or abstain from certifying election results under any circumstance.”
Adams appealed, arguing that the trial court erred by ruling that certification of election results is mandatory. The Court of Appeals disagreed, pointing out that “[t]he answers to the questions presented here are found in the provisions of Georgia’s Election Code[.]” Specifically, the court held that O.C.G.A. § 21-2-493(i) “makes plain” that even if the superintendent discovers any error or fraud in the computation of votes, the superintendent “shall … certify the votes.” The court also held that § 21-2-493(k) “speaks directly to, and imposes a deadline for, certification by the superintendent[:] “[t]he consolidated returns shall then be certified by the superintendent…not later than 5:00 P. M. on the Monday following the date on which such election was held and such returns shall be immediately transmitted to the Secretary of State.”
Based on these clear “shall” commands in the Election Code, the Court of Appeals held that “Adams’ contention that the trial court erred by declaring she had a mandatory duty to certify election results is without merit.” The appeals court thus made clear that election results must be certified on time and that there are other avenues in the Election Code under which a superintendent may present fraud concerns (namely, to the District Attorney).
The Court of Appeals also found that Adams’ demand to review all election-related materials prior to certification was overbroad given the Georgia Supreme Court’s recent ruling limiting superintendent’s document review “to only those occasions on which the total votes exceed the total number of electors, voters, or ballots and also limits that review to only those documents ‘relating to’ the precinct” for which such a discrepancy has been detected.” Republican Nat. Committee v. Eternal Vigilance Action, Inc., S25A0362, 2025 WL 1633792 (Ga. June 10, 2025)
The Adams v. Fulton County decision is a resounding win for Georgia voters and for the sacrosanct right of citizens to vote in a democracy. Chilivis Grubman is incredibly proud of the work performed by our attorneys Joe Siegelman, Lauren Warner, Sanjay Karnik, and Rachel Lugay for their representation of Fulton County and obtaining this result to secure election fairness in Georgia.
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Chilivis Grubman represents state and local governments in all legal matters, including but not limited to election law, constitutional, and legislative matters. If you need assistance, please contact us today.