Cobb County Democratic Chairwoman Essence Johnson on the MAGA-Controlled State Election Board Vote

SMYRNA, Ga. - Aug. 20, 2024 - PRLog -- Essence Johnson, Chair of the Cobb County Democratic Committee released the following statement:

On Tuesday, the unelected, MAGA-controlled Georgia State Election Board voted 3-2 to approve a rule meant to sow chaos into our state election.

The decision came after hearing public comment for over an hour that was decidedly against this rule, which would force a daily hand count of each ballot of each precinct on election day. This rule is opposed by both Republican and Democrat election officials from across Georgia, several of whom participated in the public comment portion of the meeting.

Election officials from Fulton, Dekalb, Gwinnett, Paulding, Richmond, and Green all gave statements saying not only is the rule impossible to follow, but it is incredibly vague and cannot be applied to Georgia's 159 counties.

The rule's writers baselessly claimed that these officials, along with the other concerned citizens who participated, were out-of-state agents trying to influence Georgia's elections. As each writer made their presentation, however, they disclosed affiliations with various out-of-state policy groups, including the Heritage Foundation, the organization responsible for Project 2025.

When board members weren't criticizing opponents of the rule, they struggled to clearly define specifics of the policy they were passing. When Sara Tindall Ghazal, the sole attorney on the board, challenged the legality of the policy, one of the rule's writers had to Google the definition of common board of election terms to support legal arguments.

This board is entertaining lies about the 2020 election, and the voting rights of Georgians from every political standing are at risk. Maga Republicans continue to erode the foundations of our democracy and we must vote every single one of them out.

Many thanks for your continued support and remember to PROTECT OUR DEMOCRACY,

Essence Johnson, Acting Chair, Cobb County Democratic Committee essence@cobbdemocrats.org

This letter is authorized by the Cobb County Democratic Committee.