Judge reverses order allowing GOP observers in Georgia election “bunker”

A judge has voided a previous decision, which would have allowed Republican congressional observers into the room where Georgia’s vote totals are received on election night.

Georgia Republicans escalated a dispute on Monday with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, also a Republican who is running for governor. The group filed a lawsuit insisting State Election Board observers and poll watchers be allowed in the state’s Election Night Reporting Room, also known as “the bunker.”

Although Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville originally granted the temporary suspending order Tuesday morning, he reversed the decision hours later. The reason he gave was that the petitioners did not comply with Georgia law when seeking the injunction.

State Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, who is running for lieutenant governor, U.S. House candidate Christopher Mora and Cobb County District 1 Commissioner Keli Gambrill filed the lawsuit, claiming that the order was necessary for transparency.

Raffensperger pushed back against the claims and defended Georgia’s election process.

“For a guy who constantly lectures everyone about election integrity, you’d think Senator Dolezal would know that votes are not counted in the Secretary of State’s Emergency Operations Center,” Raffensperger said in a statement. “The real fight to safeguard the ballot box happens at the local level — inside county election offices and tabulation centers across Georgia.

“But facts clearly aren’t getting in the way of Dolezal’s desperate search for press attention and votes. So buckle up, Greg. This isn’t my first rodeo.”