Georgia's Fulton County must accept Republican election board nominees, judge rules

Caleb Groves, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Aug 5, 2025

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ATLANTA — The Fulton County Board of Commissioners must appoint election critics nominated by the Fulton County Republican Party to the county election board, a superior court judge has ruled.

In an order handed down Sunday, Fulton Superior Court Judge David Emerson said there is nothing in the law that supports the idea that commissioners can veto eligible nominees.

“The Board shall appoint the two members as nominated by the county executive committee chairperson,” wrote Emerson.

The decision comes after the Democratic-controlled Fulton Board of Commissioners rejected the two GOP nominees in a party-line vote in May. The Georgia Republican Party sued the commission, arguing the commission is legally obligated to accept the party’s nominations.

Jason Frazier, one of two GOP appointees, has lodged thousands of voter eligibility challenges in Fulton. And the other party nominee, Julie Adams, an incumbent election board member, voted against certifying last year’s primary election.

Adams and at least 18 other election board members across Georgia refused to certify elections from 2020 to 2024, but every election board member signed off on President Donald Trump’s victory in Georgia after a court ruling that certification is mandatory.

County election boards are tasked with running and certifying elections, setting polling locations and determining voter eligibility challenges.

Fulton Commissioner Marvin Arrington, who voted against the appointments of Adams and Frazier to the elections board in May, criticized the judge’s ruling.

“This ruling essentially eliminates our discretion as elected commissioners, treating us more like record-keepers than decision-makers,” he said.

Arrington said he hopes the commission will appeal the ruling.

Georgia Republican Party Chairman Josh McKoon lauded the decision and said it sends a “very clear message to boards of elections in other blue counties that courts are not going to tolerate playing political games with the Republican nominees.”

“Do we have the authority to pick our representatives or not?” McKoon said. “And Judge Emerson has made it very clear that the answer to that question is yes, we do.”

The Georgia GOP sued Fulton in 2023 after the county rejected an earlier nomination of Frazier. But the party later nominated a different election board member — Michael Heekin — and withdrew the suit.

Adams, Frazier and the Democratic Party of Georgia did not immediately respond to requests for comment.