Georgia Must Take Over Fulton County’s Elections

(Photo by Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)

Confidence in elections is the cornerstone of self-government. Without it, the peaceful transfer of power grows fragile and public trust erodes. Georgia has strengthened its election laws in recent years, but one county continues to test the patience — and the confidence —of voters across the state: Fulton County.

It is time for the Georgia State Election Board to initiate a formal takeover of Fulton County’s election administration under the authority granted by state law.

This is not a partisan statement. It is an institutional one.

In 2020, Fulton County became the epicenter of national controversy. Much of the public debate centered on rhetoric. The more enduring concern lies in documented administrative failures. We have verified that thousands of ballots were allegedly scanned twice during the 2020 election. We have identified thousands of allegedly missing ballot images from electronic records required for transparency and auditability. We have uncovered evidence suggesting that a recount audit was allegedly manipulated to reconcile discrepancies with the original count rather than independently verify it. (RELATED: Unsealed Affidavit Reveals Basis For FBI’s Fulton County Election Office Search)

More troubling still, thousands of voters’ eligibility was formally challenged for allegedly no longer residing in Fulton County while voting absentee there in 2020. We believe these voters were not Fulton residents at the time they cast their ballots, based on data from Derek Somerville and Mark Davis’ case with Fair Fight.

In a moment of sad irony, one illegal vote in 2020 was cast using the home address of the Georgia secretary of state’s election manager. That vote, like others, was counted three times during successive recounts. When people cite “three counts” as proof of certainty, they should remember: counting an illegal ballot three times does not make it legal. It confirms the error.

Nor were the problems confined to 2020. During the 2024 election cycle, I traveled to Fulton County and personally witnessed officials open a ballot-acceptance location after the close of early voting. Ballots were initially handled in a back office, and bipartisan observers were locked out in apparent violation of Georgia law. Only after both Republican and Democratic observers insisted on their statutory rights were they granted access.

Election administration cannot depend on who protests loudly enough in real time. Transparency must be built into the system — not negotiated under pressure.

The dysfunction extends beyond ballot handling. Since August 2025, the Fulton County Commission has refused to confirm two Republican nominees to the county’s election board despite a judge’s order compelling action. The result is a structurally imbalanced board and a troubling indifference to the bipartisan framework Georgia law requires. Election administration is not meant to be controlled by one faction or insulated from lawful oversight. When county officials ignore a court order and sideline a statutorily entitled representative, they reinforce the perception that accountability and balance are optional. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Fulton County Commissioner Requests Fani Willis Produce Info On Alleged ‘Misuse’ Of County Funds)

Perhaps most alarming is what remains today. As of 2026, we believe thousands of individuals are still registered to vote in Fulton County using addresses that plainly violate Georgia law: UPS stores, abandoned homes, empty lots, parking lots and homeless shelters that closed years ago.

Clean voter rolls are not a partisan ambition; they are a statutory obligation. Election integrity begins with accurate registration lists.

Georgia law provides a remedy. Under reforms enacted after 2020, the State Election Board has authority to suspend and replace a county election superintendent upon findings of systemic negligence, malfeasance or gross administrative failure. That authority exists precisely for circumstances like these.

Critics will argue that such action would inflame tensions. The opposite is true. Allowing recurring failures to persist is what fuels distrust. The surest antidote to suspicion is competent, transparent administration overseen by professionals who follow the law without exception. Georgia’s voters—Republican, Democrat and independent alike—deserve elections that are above reproach. Fulton County is too large, too consequential and too important to operate under a cloud of preventable controversy.

Self-government requires public confidence. When that confidence is repeatedly shaken by documented irregularities and administrative breakdowns, the state has both the authority and the obligation to act.

Georgia should act now—not in anger, not in partisanship, but in defense of the integrity representative government requires.

Senator Greg Dolezal is a Republican member of the Georgia State Senate representing District 27, where he serves as chairman of the Senate Transportation Committee and serves on the Senate Special Committee on Investigations.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller.

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