The Republican National Committee (RNC) filed a lawsuit against Georgia on Tuesday seeking fixes to alleged violations of election law that took place during the 2020 general election.
The lawsuit demands that GOP poll watchers be granted access to precincts and that rules governing the use of drop boxes for absentee ballots be tightened, according to Fox News. The RNC wants changes made ahead of two runoff elections for the U.S. Senate that will decide party control of the chamber.
“The legal right of political party committees to appoint poll watchers to observe the process was abridged in numerous polling and tabulation locations during the November 3, 2020, general election and subsequent recount,” the lawsuit says.
“Upon information and belief, the same or substantially similar unlawful practices will resume in connection with the imminent January 5, 2021 runoff election,” it claims. Election officials are “statutorily required to ensure that county and municipal superintendents and registrars are properly and lawfully instructed on the rights of poll watchers and do not implement policies or procedures that impair their ability to fully and meaningfully observe the election process.”
The suit also alleges that Georgia did not abide by rules surrounding the security and surveillance of drop boxes. The RNC seeks to force election officials to install cameras that can monitor each dropbox for the entire length of time they are in use.
Georgia Republican Party Chairman David Shafer told Fox News: “We must restore confidence in the integrity of our elections … The time for begging elections officials to do their job and obey the law is over.”
“Laws need to be followed so voters can have confidence in the results,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said in a tweet following the announcement of the lawsuit.
The suit comes on the heels of a lawsuit filed by Texas in the U.S. Supreme Court earlier Tuesday over alleged election law violations committed by Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused the defendants of exploiting “the COVID-19 pandemic to justify ignoring federal and state election laws and unlawfully enacting last-minute changes, thus skewing the results of the 2020 General Election.”
“Trust in the integrity of our election processes is sacrosanct and binds our citizenry and the States in this Union together,” Paxton said in a statement. “Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin destroyed that trust and compromised the security and integrity of the 2020 election. The states violated statutes enacted by their duly elected legislatures, thereby violating the Constitution.”
“By ignoring both state and federal law, these states have not only tainted the integrity of their own citizens’ vote but of Texas and every other state that held lawful elections,” Paxton continued. “Their failure to abide by the rule of law casts a dark shadow of doubt over the outcome of the entire election. We now ask that the Supreme Court step in to correct this egregious error.”
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