American Oversight Sues Georgia State Election Board for Public Records Obstruction, Issues Document Preservation Notices to Election Officials in Key States
Oct 31, 2024
American Oversight v. Georgia State Election Board — Access to Election-Related Public Records
American Oversight’s lawsuit against the Georgia State Election Board alleging that some board members have refused to adequately search for or produce requested public records from private email accounts.
In 2024, we sued the Georgia State Election Board (SEB), and specifically board member Janice Johnston, for delaying responses to public records requests in the lead up to the 2024 election. Access to public records that show policy changes and decision making at the Georgia SEB is essential, because members of the board have embraced election-fraud conspiracies and are advocating for changes that threaten free and fair elections in Georgia.
Our lawsuit focused on Johnston’s refusal to allow the SEB’s open records officer to search the email account she used for her work on the election board. We argued that delayed responses to our requests by up to six months, which is particularly troubling since Johnston is an election denier in contact with other election conspiracy figures.
In November 2025, we reached a settlement that requires SEB members to properly preserve their records. Under the settlement agreement, the SEB will require board members to conduct board business exclusively through official government email accounts, and to forward any communications about board matters received on personal accounts — including texts or messages received on messaging apps like Signal — to their official addresses so that they are preserved and accessible.