Judge Rejects RNC Request for More Republican Poll Workers in Fulton County
A judge on Friday rejected a Republican request to order Fulton County, Georgia’s elections department to hire additional Republican poll workers for Election Day.
The Republican National Committee (RNC), Georgia Republican Party (GA GOP) and Fulton County Republican Party (Fulton GOP) filed a lawsuit Oct. 3 alleging the Fulton County Department of Registration and Elections did not hire enough Republican poll workers. They also alleged the department’s director violated state law when she delegated the hiring process to third parties rather than drawing from a list of qualified candidates the Fulton GOP submitted.
According to the plaintiffs, only nine out of 45 qualified Republican poll workers were hired for the early voting period, and six out of 62 for Election Day. The plaintiffs asked the court to order Fulton County to hire all qualified poll workers submitted by Fulton GOP or provide written explanations for why they were not hired.
The court held a hearing Friday. The Fulton County Superior Court judge said further litigation would be needed to determine whether county officials fully considered the proposed Republican poll workers, but he refused to order changes on the eve of the election.
Last update, Oct. 4
The Republican National Committee — along with the Georgia Republican Party and Fulton County Republican Party — filed a lawsuit on Thursday accusing Fulton County, Georgia election officials of not hiring enough Republican poll workers for the upcoming election.
According to the lawsuit, which names Nadine Williams— the Director of Fulton County Department of Registration and Elections — as the defendant, only nine of 45 qualified Republican poll workers were allegedly hired to work during the early voting period. And only six out of 62 qualified Republican poll workers were hired to work on Election Day. The lawsuit also alleges that Williams violated state law by not directly hiring poll workers from a list of qualified candidates submitted to her, instead delegating the duty to temp agencies and the managers of individual polling locations.
The lawsuit asks the court to order Williams to hire Republican poll workers from the lists provided to her, or submit written statements to each poll worker on the list explaining why they can’t be hired. It’s a similar lawsuit to one filed in September in Michigan, which accuses the Election Commission of Detroit of violating state law by hiring more Democratic poll workers than Republican ones for the upcoming election.
This lawsuit is one of 41 active lawsuits that the RNC is involved in thus far in the 2023-2024 election cycle. It’s a significant escalation in legal attacks on the election and voting rights from the RNC, compared to the 2022 midterm elections, according to a recent Democracy Docket analysis. The RNC’s latest published platform — released just before their convention in July — escalated its attack on voting rights. “Republicans will offer a clear, precise, and USA oriented plan to stop the Radical Left Democrats’ Weaponization of Government and its Assault on American Liberty,” it read.