The elections board in Georgia’s most populous county, a Democratic stronghold focused by former President Donald Trump after his slender 2020 loss within the state, will quickly have new management.

The Fulton County Board of Commissioners voted Wednesday to approve the collection of lawyer Patrise Perkins-Hooker to function chair of the county Registration and Elections Board. Her nomination - introduced at the beginning of Wednesday’s fee assembly - got here as a shock to many since fee Chairman Robb Pitts had final week nominated former commissioner Lee Morris to fill the seat.

The nomination of Morris, a Republican, would have shifted management of the the elections board from Democrats to Republicans within the closely Democratic county, which incorporates most of Atlanta and is dwelling to simply over 1 million individuals. The county Democratic and Republican events get two appointments apiece to spherical out the five-person board.

Democrats and voting rights activists had raised alarms and urged the commissioners to not approve Morris’ appointment. They complained of inadequate time for public enter between the announcement of his nomination on Friday and the vote Wednesday. They additionally stated Morris hadn’t demonstrated a dedication to defending voting rights and fearful he would bend to the need of the 2 different Republican board members.

The substitution of Perkins-Hooker was cheered by many attending the fee assembly.

Before opening the ground for public remark, Pitts learn aloud an e mail he had obtained from Morris withdrawing his nomination.

Morris wrote that he had “always tried to avoid the hyper-partisanship that has been so destructive in our country and state” and stated he had thought he may have introduced nonpartisanship to the elections board. But he stated he understood the emotions of so many Democrats {that a} Democratic county ought to have a Democratic majority on the elections board.

“Otherwise, the optics, as they say, aren’t good,” Morris wrote, including that his nomination had turn out to be and his service on the board can be “divisive,” which he stated is “the last thing I want for our county.”

The two Republicans on the seven-person fee, Bridget Thorne and Bob Ellis, decried the assaults on Morris and praised his public service. Thorne stated a vote on Perkins-Hooker must be delayed to permit time for vetting.

But the commissioners voted 4-0 to approve the nomination of Perkins-Hooker, who's at present an legal professional for the election board and has beforehand served as Fulton County legal professional, common counsel for the city improvement challenge Atlanta BeltLine and president of the Georgia State Bar.

She will succeed election board Chair Cathy Woolard, whose time period ends June 30 and who had notified the commissioners that she didn't need to serve one other two-year time period.

Fulton County has had a historical past of troubled elections, with issues together with lengthy traces to vote and delays in reporting outcomes. The issues have been notably acute through the 2020 major election. An unbiased monitor appointed to watch the overall election that 12 months as a part of a consent settlement discovered the county’s elections have been badly managed however stated there was no proof of fraud.

Trump zeroed in on Fulton County after he misplaced to Democrat Joe Biden within the November 2020 common election, claiming with out proof that fraud within the county price him the state.

He repeatedly disparaged Fulton County throughout a January 2021 telephone name with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. During that dialog, the then-president advised the state’s high elections may assist “find” the votes Trump wanted to win.

Shortly after a recording of that decision was make public, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis opened an investigation into whether or not Trump and his allies broke the regulation whereas attempting to overturn his election loss. She has stated she’ll announce charging choices in that case this summer season.

A sweeping election regulation handed the following 12 months by Republican state lawmakers in Georgia included a provision that might finally permit the state to take over a county’s elections. It was promptly used to focus on Fulton County, with a bipartisan overview panel appointed in August 2021 to judge the county’s election processes.

That panel in January submitted its last report back to the State Election Board. It really helpful in opposition to a state takeover of Fulton County’s elections, saying the county has proven appreciable enchancment. The state board has but to take motion on that suggestion.

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