Swing state officials accused of secretly meeting to help Trump seize election files

A watchdog group accused the Georgia State Elections Board on Tuesday of secretly working to help President Donald Trump seize voting rolls from Fulton County.

American Oversight, a government accountability nonprofit, accused the election board of "improperly" filing an amicus brief in support of Trump's efforts to seize Fulton County's voter rolls. Earlier this year, Trump sent his FBI agents to retrieve hundreds of boxes of voting data from Fulton County under the guise of investigating federal election offenses. The data the Trump administration took included copies of ballots, ballot images, and tabular data, according to reports.

Liz Hempowicz, deputy executive director of American Oversight, said in a statement that the amicus brief showed the election board had been meeting in secret, which violates Georgia's Open Meeting Laws.

"It appears that a majority of State Election Board members coordinated official business in secret and then presented it publicly in a way that suggests it reflects the views of the board itself," Hempowicz said. "That kind of conduct cuts directly against Georgia’s open meetings law and the public’s right to know how State Election Board decisions are made."

"It is especially troubling that those actions are used to advance conspiratorial election claims under the guise of official duties, without following required legal processes," Hempowicz added. "These actions demand a full public accounting. The law is clear, and the public deserves answers.”