An appeal by the Fulton County Board of Commissioners over a Superior Court judge’s order to appoint Republican nominees to the county elections board continues in the Georgia Court of Appeals.
A request to make oral arguments in the appeal was denied by the Court of Appeals on Oct. 16.
Attorneys for the commission filed a legal brief in the appeal on Oct. 14.
Sept. 3, 2025
The Fulton County Board of Commissioners voted on Sept. 3 to table a decision on two Republican nominees to the Board of Registration and Elections as they appeal a Superior Court judge’s order to appoint them.
The motion to table on Wednesday followed party lines, with the five Democrats – Robb Pitts, Dana Barrett, Mo Ivory, Marvin Arrington Jr., and Khadijah Abdur-Rahman voting to table. Republicans Bridget Thorne and Bob Ellis voted against.
At its Aug. 20 meeting, the Fulton County Republican Party’s nominations of Jason Frazier and Julie Adams failed on a 2 to 2 vote, with three commissioners either having left earlier or been absent for medical reasons.
Democrat members of the commission said that since nominations failed, the Fulton County GOP should present new nominations. Arrington said the commissioners have the right to make their own decisions on how to vote. The commission faced a court order backed by Judge David Emerson, who issued a contempt order that carried a $10,000 a day fine until the commission approves the nominations.
That contempt order was suspended by Emerson on Aug. 28 after the commission filed an appeal to the Georgia Court of Appeals, according to court documents.
Related stories:
• UPDATE: Arrington responds to $10K daily contempt fines
• Fulton GOP seeks contempt charges in election board lawsuit
• Fulton Commission gets pushback after rejecting judge’s order
Frazier and Adams were labeled election deniers during the public comment portion of the meeting by speakers,including Sen. Josh McLaurin, D-Sandy Springs.
“Giving a vote to the GOP in this situation is to feed a bottomless hole of demands that ultimately result in undermining the very system of elections that keeps our democracy strong,” McLaurin told the commissioners. “We have already dealt with national intrigue, a scandal, a made-up scandal about Fulton County elections. And our election workers pay the price.”
Kevin Muldowney, a vice chair of the Fulton County GOP, called out what he described as the hypocrisy of speakers, including McLaurin. Muldowney said McLaurin told the commission the basic contract of our government has to be protected because it is being violated with the nominations and a judge’s order.
“So, he is advocating to violate our laws to keep our democracy strong,” Muldowney said.
Arrington said the nomination process is written into the U.S. and Georgia Constitutions and the Fulton County Code.
“These nominations have failed, and the history and practice of our country for over 222 years is that when a nomination fails, someone makes an alternate nomination, and the alternate nomination gets a vote,” Arrington said. “So why are we acting like this is something new? Why are we acting like Fulton County did something wrong?”
Ellis said that as he read the law and Judge Emerson interpreted it, the commission had an obligation to review the criteria of the people who were put up for nomination. If they met specific criteria, the commission has an obligation to ratify the nominees.
Fulton County Code lists the criteria under Georgia law that nominees must be an elector (qualified to vote in the state) and a resident of the county. The code also states that members of the Board of Elections must not hold elective public office or be seeking office by qualifying as a candidate.