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Georgia judge rules election officials can’t delay certification because of fraud concerns
Elections officials in Georgia have to certify results by the date required in state law, a judge ruled Monday, saying they have no discretion to delay certification because of fraud concerns or other potential issues that may arise as votes are being counted.
Fulton County Judge Robert McBurney wrote in an order Monday that “election superintendents in Georgia have a mandatory fixed obligation to certify election results” by Nov. 12.
The ruling came in a case filed by Julie Adams, a Republican member of the Fulton County election board, who argued election board members had leeway around certification. She wrote in her complaint that she would be “unable to fulfill her oath of office” if not empowered to investigate for fraud.
McBurney, who also presided over the Georgia grand jury that indicted Trump and others in 2023, wrote that “no election superintendent (or member of a board of elections and registration) may refuse to certify or abstain from certifying election results under any circumstance.”
The case was supported by the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute. During an Oct. 1 bench trial, Adams’ attorneys argued that election officials should be allowed to certify results that don’t include batches of ballots they’re investigating for fraud.
McBurney said in his ruling that while local superintendents have an obligation to “investigate concerns about miscounts,” they are not empowered to investigate or determine fraud. Instead, any concerns they have should be forwarded to law enforcement, he wrote.
“The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the Secretary of State, the many District Attorneys, and the Attorney General are all better equipped and clearly authorized to undertake the work of verifying election fraud and seeking consequences for it. Superintendents are not,” McBurney wrote.
John Bazemore / AP
Adams could not immediately be reached for comment. The ruling can be appealed.
Quentin Fulks, a spokesman for Vice President Kamala Harris’ campaign, welcomed the ruling.
“Election after election, in state after state, we have protected our elections from far-right Republicans trying to disrupt them, and Democrats remain ready to stand up and make sure every voter can cast their ballot knowing it will count,” Fulks said in a statement.
McBurney, the judge, is presiding over other challenges in the crucial presidential election swing state as the Election Day nears. On Tuesday morning, he is hearing arguments in a challenge to new rules passed in September by the State Election Board. Critics have said the rules — including a requirement for a hand count of ballots — could delay certification of the election.
A ruling in that case is pending.
The International Brotherhood of Teamsters says workers at seven Amazon facilities will begin a strike Thursday morning in an effort by the union to pressure the e-commerce giant for a labor agreement during a key shopping period.
The Teamsters say the workers, who authorized walkouts in the past few days, are joining the picket line after Amazon ignored a Dec. 15 deadline the union set for contract negotiations. Amazon says it doesn’t expect any impact on its operations during what the union calls the largest strike against the company in U.S. history.
The Teamsters say they represent nearly 10,000 workers at 10 Amazon facilities, a small portion of the 1.5 million people Amazon employs in its warehouses and corporate offices.
Amazon is ranked No. 2 on the Fortune 500 list of the nation’s largest companies.
At a warehouse in the New York City borough of Staten Island, thousands of workers who voted for the Amazon Labor Union in 2022 and have since affiliated with the Teamsters. At the other facilities, employees – including many delivery drivers – have unionized with them by demonstrating majority support but without holding government-administered elections.
The strikes happening Thursday are taking place at an Amazon warehouse in San Francisco and six delivery stations in southern California, New York City, Atlanta and the Chicago suburb of Skokie, Illinois, according to the union’s announcement. Amazon workers at the other facilities are “prepared to join” them, the union said.
“Amazon is pushing its workers closer to the picket line by failing to show them the respect they have earned,” Teamsters General President Sean M. O’Brien said in a statement.
“If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed. We gave Amazon a clear deadline to come to the table and do right by our members. They ignored it,” he said.
The Seattle-based online retailer has been seeking to re-do the election that led to the union victory at the warehouse on Staten Island, which the Teamsters now represent. In the process, the company has filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the National Labor Relations Board.
Meanwhile, Amazon says the delivery drivers, which the Teamsters have organized for more than a year, aren’t its employees. Under its business model, the drivers work for third-party businesses, called Delivery Service Partners, who drop off millions of packages to customers everyday.
“For more than a year now, the Teamsters have continued to intentionally mislead the public – claiming that they represent ‘thousands of Amazon employees and drivers’. They don’t, and this is another attempt to push a false narrative,” Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in a statement. “The truth is that the Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated, and attempted to coerce Amazon employees and third-party drivers to join them, which is illegal and is the subject of multiple pending unfair labor practice charges against the union.“
The Teamsters have argued Amazon essentially controls everything the drivers do and should be classified as an employer.
Some U.S. labor regulators have sided with the union in filings made before the NLRB. In September, Amazon boosted pay for the drivers amid the growing pressure.
NEW YORK — The Teamsters union is launching a strike against Amazon at numerous locations across the country, including in Maspeth, Queens.
The Teamsters are calling it the largest strike against Amazon in United States history, and it’s set to begin at 6 a.m. Thursday. In addition to New York City, workers will be joining picket lines in Atlanta, Southern California, San Francisco and Illinois.
In a video announcement released Wednesday night, workers voiced their frustrations.
“Us being strike ready means we’re fed up, and Amazon is clearly ignoring us and we want to be heard,” one worker says in the video.
“It’s really exciting. We’re taking steps for ourselves to win better conditions, better benefits, better wages,” another worker in the video says.
The union says it represents about 10,000 Amazon employees and that Amazon ignored a deadline to come to the table and negotiate. The $2 trillion company doesn’t pay employees enough to make ends meet, the union asserts.
At the height of the holiday season, many are wondering what this means for packages currently in transit.
Teamsters President Sean O’Brien said, “If your package is delayed during the holidays, you can blame Amazon’s insatiable greed.”
Amazon says Teamsters are misleading the public
An Amazon spokesperson says the Teamsters are misleading the public and do not represent any Amazon employees, despite any claims.
“The truth is that the Teamsters have actively threatened, intimidated, and attempted to coerce Amazon employees and third-party drivers to join them, which is illegal and is the subject of multiple pending unfair labor practice charges against the union,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
An Amazon representative says the company doesn’t expect operations to be impacted.
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