Gov. Brian Kemp doesn’t need to investigate Georgia election board members who pushed new rule changes, state AG finds

(CNN) — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp does not have an obligation to investigate members of the State Election Board who have come under fire for enacting last-minute changes to election procedures in this battleground state, according to an opinion issued Friday by the state’s attorney general, Chris Carr.

Carr, a Republican, said state law “does not mean that a citizen can simply submit information to the Governor and trigger a hearing process.”

The decision comes after several Georgia Democrats called on the GOP governor to investigate and remove three Republicans from the State Election Board, after they used their new majority on the five-member panel to push forward a series of controversial rules just months ahead of the election.

The Democrats lodging complaints also took issue with partisan activity that some of the board members engaged in, as well as their decision to hold a board meeting without the chair of the board or the Democrat on the board present.

In the wake of the complaints, Kemp asked the attorney general for legal guidance on whether he had the authority to take action, such as removing members of the State Election Board.

Carr’s decision – which makes clear that Kemp is not required to act in response to the complaints – offers the governor a layer of political cover. It means he likely won’t have to take on Republicans on the election board who have the backing of former President Donald Trump.

“We have received the opinion and just as he has done in the past, the governor will follow the laws and constitution of our state,” Kemp spokesman Garrison Douglas told CNN on Friday.

Kemp has had a contentious relationship with the former president since he refused to bend to Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election result in the Peach State. But in recent weeks – with the November election fast approaching – the relationship has begun to thaw with Trump dropping the broadsides against Kemp and even offering words of praise on social media.

Last month, Democrats, with the backing of Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, sued to block the election rules in Georgia. The lawsuit, filed in Georgia state court by the Democratic National Committee, the Georgia Democratic Party and Democratic members of several county election boards, takes aim at rules that allow election officials to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” before certifying election results and also permit members of county election boards to “examine all election related documentation created during the conduct of elections.”

Critics argue the new rules are ambiguously worded and could be used by county officials to delay certification of final election results in a competitive state. President Joe Biden won Georgia by fewer than 12,000 votes in the 2020 election, and Trump made the state a target of his false claims of massive voter fraud.

In his four-page opinion, Carr said that state law requires the filing of a “formal” complaint before the governor can pursue an investigation.

Democrats and voting rights groups panned Carr’s opinion Friday.

Max Flugrath, a spokesman for Fair Fight Action, said the ruling “leaves a gaping hole where accountability should lie,” while Democratic state Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes, who had called on Kemp to act against the election board members, said the opinion was “nothing more than intellectual dishonesty designed to shield MAGA extremists.”

This story has been updated with additional information.

CNN’s Jason Morris contributed to this report.

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