Voting Rights Advocates Raise Concerns as Georgia Appoints New Member to State Election Board

ATLANTA, GA — Georgia’s State Election Board is entering 2026 with the appointment of a new member whose past advocacy has drawn scrutiny from voting rights observers and county election officials alike.

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones recently appointed Salleigh Grubbs—a former chair of the Cobb County Republican Party and current first vice chair of the Georgia GOP—to the panel that oversees election rulemaking and enforcement across the state. While her appointment does not shift the board’s already Republican majority, voting rights advocates warn it underscores ongoing tensions between state-level election oversight and protections for voters’ access and confidence—especially in populous and increasingly diverse counties like Cobb.

The five-member State Election Board is charged with interpreting election law, issuing guidance, and hearing complaints about potential violations. But in recent years, the board has been at the center of legal challenges that illustrate the delicate balance between election oversight and voter protections.

Controversial Rules and Court Rebukes

In the lead-up to the 2024 general election, the board adopted a slate of new election rules that critics said risked undermining voter access and delaying timely certification of results. Several of those rules—which would have required hand counting ballots and added expansive documentation requirements before counties could certify results—were struck down by the Georgia Supreme Court, which ruled the board had exceeded its authority under state law.

Voting rights organizations such as the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law applauded the ruling, noting that last-minute procedural changes could sow confusion and disproportionately burden voters, particularly in highly contested jurisdictions like Fulton County and neighboring Cobb County.

Grubbs’ leadership of the Cobb GOP places her uniquely at the intersection of local and state election debates. Cobb County, long a bellwether in Georgia politics, has seen its own challenges around voter engagement and election administration. While local officials in counties such as Cobb and neighboring Fulton have worked to administer elections efficiently and transparently, the state board’s rulemaking efforts have sometimes appeared at odds with county election administrators and voting rights advocates.

During previous board deliberations, Grubbs supported expansive certification requirements and other procedural changes that election rights advocates said went beyond the board’s statutory authority and could, if implemented, create barriers to certification or longer delays in reporting results. Opponents warned that such rules risked creating confusion at the precinct level and undermining voter confidence without clear legal backing.

Civil rights and voter protection groups maintain that election governance should prioritize clarity, stability, and inclusivity—especially in counties like Cobb, where local election workers and community groups have worked hard to expand participation and ensure fair treatment for all voters.

Grubbs will join the State Election Board at a pivotal moment: Georgia is preparing for its next major election cycle, and questions about absentee voting, certification timelines, and statewide election guidance remain at the forefront of public debate.

The board’s next meeting is scheduled for January 21, and voting rights advocates say they’ll be watching closely to ensure decisions reflect not only legal authority but also the fundamental right of Georgians to participate fully and fairly in the democratic process.