Case 1:17-cv-02989-AT Document 579 Filed 08/15/19 Page 13 of 153
DREs, including the Fulton County Defendants.11 See Curling v. Kemp, 334 F.
Supp. 3d 1303, 1318 (N.D. Ga. 2018).
More recently, in a related challenge to Georgia’s election system, Fair
Fight Action Inc. v. Raffensperger, Civil Action 1:18-cv-5391-SCJ, fellow District
Court Judge Steve Jones found that “county election officials are not necessary
parties under Rule 19(a)(1)(A) because this Court can provide ‘complete relief’
among the current plaintiffs and defendants without joining the counties in that
existing defendants have the statutory oversight ability to enforce uniform and
state-wide election standards and processes.” (Order, Doc. 68 at 63) (citing
Grizzle v. Kemp, 634 F.3d 1314 (11th Cir. 2011) (finding that while the Secretary
of State cannot directly perform certain acts that are ordinarily performed by the
counties, “as a member and the chairperson of the State Election Board, he has
both the power and the duty to ensure that the entities charged with those
responsibilities comply with Georgia’s election code in carrying out those
tasks . . . his power by virtue of his office sufficiently connect[s] him with the duty
of enforcement. . . .”) and Ga. Op. Att’y Gen. No. 2005-3 (Apr. 15, 2005)
(recognizing the Secretary of State’s authority to manage the State of Georgia’s
electoral system and the oversight duty of the State Election Board)).12
In
addressing the State’s assertion that “it would be inequitable to issue an order
The Fulton County Defendants include the Director and members of the Fulton County Board
of Registration and Elections (Richard Barron, Mary Carole Cooney, Vernetta Nuriddin, David
J. Burge, Stan Matarazzo, and Aaron Johnson) in their official capacities.
12 The plaintiffs in Fair Fight Action asserted numerous challenges including that “Georgia’s
election system, including its voter registration data and voting machines, lacks adequate data
security, imposing a severe burden on Georgia voters’ right to vote.” (Order, Doc. 68 at 33.)
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