This is so obvious, so basic, we should be able to agree on it. A mere suspicion isn’t a fact; and disputed facts require proof. That’s how our legal system works, and that’s how most people conduct their daily affairs.
A partisan election board’s paranoia about voting fraud shouldn’t be grounds to reject or delay an election result. There’s a well-defined legal process for conducting elections, disputing results, and finalizing the outcome.
Accordingly, a Georgia judge has ruled that county election boards “cannot delay or decline to certify election results,” striking down an “effort by conservatives … to reject results based on a suspicion of fraud or abuse” (read story here).
To challenge an election, they must pursue it within the legal framework of the election laws; merely suspecting voting fraud or irregularities isn’t enough to sustain a challenge; and they must certify the election by the statutory deadline. There are penalties if they don’t, which should be enforced.
