The Surprising Figure Blocking Trump’s Influence in Georgia’s Election

Georgia’s Republican Governor Brian Kemp may actually be preparing to take action against three members of the state election board who have been at the center of claims of ethics violations.

Kemp responded Monday to an ethics complaint filed by Democratic state Senator Nabilah Islam Parkes alleging that Rick Jeffares, Janice Johnston, and Janelle King, who have been touted by Donald Trump as “pitbulls” for “victory,” broke rules to impose last-minute changes to Georgia’s election procedures.

The accusations stem from a July 12 meeting where the trio passed two new election rules, but failed to provide adequate notice about the meeting to the public or the two Democratic board members—a possible violation of the Open Meetings Act. The first rule required county election boards to post daily ballot counts online, and the second increased the number of partisan monitors during the vote-counting process. After the group approved the new rules, they were cheered on by one of Trump’s election-denying allies.

Earlier this month, the Georgia State Election Board voted 3–2 in favor of yet another new rule, which required a “reasonable inquiry” into any discrepancy between the number of ballots cast and the number of voters, before certifying election results. This would make it significantly easier for county election officials to delay or refuse certification of election results in populous areas such as Fulton or DeKalb counties in November.

Last week, Islam Parkes filed a complaint with the state, alleging the group had violated the state ethics code in addition to the Open Meetings Act. “The election board is supposed to certify election results and so passing illegal rules to undermine the integrity of our elections is extremely concerning,” Islam Parkes told local outlet Fox 5. She said that the trio should be removed from the board immediately.

In a statement to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Monday, Kemp’s office said they were looking into the complaints against the trio.

“This office has received Senator Nabilah Islam Parkes and other’s letters alleging ethics violations by members of the State Elections Board. Due to uncertainty regarding whether this office has authority to act under Code 45-10-4 in response to these complaints, we have sought the Attorney General’s advice regarding the application of statute to the letters,” the statement said. “We will respond following receipt of the advice and further evaluation of the letters.”

Kemp’s office’s statement signals a positive direction for the Republican governor, who may take action to undo the trio’s handiwork or even unseat them. But it’s unclear just how concerned Kemp is about the threat the group poses, given the fact that he formally endorsed Trump just last week, even after Trump has made several digs at Kemp over the last month for refusing to overturn Georgia’s election results in 2020.

“We gotta win from the top of the ticket on down,” Kemp said. “I’ve been saying consistently for a long time we cannot afford another four years of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and I think Kamala Harris and Tim Walz are to be even worse. So we need to send Donald Trump back to the White House.”

A group of Georgia officials gathered at the state capitol Monday, urging Kemp to take action. Representative Lucy McBath called on Kemp to “hold the State Elections Board accountable,” and called the state’s election board “an equal co-conspirator in the effort to suppress our votes.”

Before Islam Parkes filed her complaint, the former chair of the Fulton County Board of Elections also filed a similar ethics complaint earlier this month. In July, government ethics watchdog American Oversight filed a lawsuit against the board, accusing the trio of violating Georgia’s Open Meetings Act.

Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger has also criticized the last-minute rule changes. “Activists seeking to impose last-minute changes in election procedures outside of the legislative process undermine voter confidence and burden election workers,” he said earlier this month.

Raffensperger refused to help overturn his state’s 2020 election results, and he has held firm against Trump ever since. Raffensperger has yet to endorse anyone in the 2024 presidential election.

Since 2020, Georgia has had the highest number of certification refusals of anywhere in the country—and remains the likely epicenter for Trump’s claims of election fraud in 2024. A report from American Doom found that at least 22 people who’d pushed election-denying conspiracy theories were employed as election officials in Georgia—including two on its board of elections.