Janice Johnston Resigns from Georgia Election Board After Years of Election Denialism, Attacks on Transparency
Our suit against Johnston and the State Election Board led to new safeguards requiring board members to properly preserve public records of official actions.
Following reports that Janice Johnston has resigned from the Georgia State Election Board (SEB), American Oversight issued the following statement from its Executive Director, Chioma Chukwu:
“Janice Johnston used her position on the State Election Board to undermine public confidence in Georgia’s elections — promoting conspiracy theories, attacking verified results, and eroding public trust.
“Her conduct didn’t stop at rhetoric. Johnston supported efforts to overturn legitimate election outcomes and praised the unlawful breach of election equipment in Coffee County — striking at the heart of election security.
“She also resisted basic transparency. American Oversight was forced to sue after Johnson refused to allow a search of her emails for public records, shielding official communications from disclosure. That litigation resulted in a landmark settlement requiring board members to comply with Georgia’s open records law.
“Georgians should not have to bear the cost of officials who push falsehoods and evade accountability. Her resignation does not erase the damage, but it creates an opportunity to restore integrity to the State Election Board with leaders committed to facts, transparency, and rule of law.”
Late last year, we announced a settlement in our lawsuit against the SEB and board member Janice Johnston, resolving claims that Johnston had significantly delayed responses to our public records requests in the run-up to the 2024 election by refusing to allow SEB staff to access messages on a Gmail account she used for official SEB communications.
Three weeks earlier, the Georgia Court of Appeals handed us a significant victory, reversing a lower court’s dismissal of our Open Meetings Act lawsuit against the SEB. The lawsuit challenged the validity of the SEB’s July 12, 2024 meeting, which was held to force through controversial election-related rule changes — including rules secretly coordinated with the Georgia Republican Party — without adequate notification to the public or a lawfully convened quorum.
In April, we sent a demand letter to Johnston and two other members of the SEB calling on them to publicly address their potentially improper filing of an amicus brief supporting the Trump administration’s seizure of 2020 election-related materials in Fulton County. The letter raised serious concerns that a majority of the board, including Johnston, may have gathered outside of a properly noticed public meeting regarding the brief, in potential violation of Georgia’s Open Meetings Act. It also detailed how the filing appears to present positions as if they reflect those of the board itself, despite no public vote or deliberation.