Latest news with #FultonCounty
Yahoo
17-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Federal appeals court rules against Fulton County in suit over voting systems, 2020 anomalies
McCONNELLSBURG, Pa. (WHTM) — A legal battle between a Pennsylvania county and the manufacturer of voting machines stemming from the 2020 election may be over. Fulton County's federal lawsuit against Dominion Voting Systems was dismissed, again. This time by the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals. The lawsuit was filed by the Fulton County Board of Elections, current county commissioner Randy Bunch and former county commissioner Stuart Ulsh. In a ruling filed June 23, Chief Judge Michael A. Chagares and circuit judges Tamika Montgomery-Reeves and Theodore McKee upheld a ruling by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. The lower court's ruling determined that the Board of Elections, Bunch, and Ulsh are not parties to an agreement between the county and Dominion Voting Systems and therefore lack standing to sue. The district court ruled that the county itself, which is a party to the agreement, is not a plaintiff in the suit. The court also ruled that, even if they did have standing, 'they had failed to allege that the decertification of the voting system was attributable to Dominion rather than to the County itself.' In a separate court action, Fulton County objected to the Department of State's authority to decertify voting machines without reimbursing the affected county. The Commonwealth Court ruled 6-1 against the county. At issue is the agreement between Fulton County and Dominion to provide voting systems and a dispute stemming from an allegation by the former that there were 'severe anomalies' in the voter data generated by the latter's system following the Nov. 2020 election. Fulton County allowed two third-party entities to inspect the system and the Secretary of the Commonwealth decertified the systems, considering them compromised. In 2024, the county was ordered to pay a combined $1,035,925.09 in legal fees and litigation costs to the Secretary of the Commonwealth and to Dominion Voting Systems. That equates to about 15% of the county's budget. Get the latest Pennsylvania politics and election news with abc27 newsletters! The Supreme Court of Pennsylvania also imposed sanctions on Fulton County for commissioning a second third-party inspection of the voting machines, the appeals court ruling noted. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Solve the daily Crossword
Associated Press
11-07-2025
- Associated Press
Atlanta man gets more than 150 years in prison for starving daughter and abusing other children
ATLANTA (AP) — An Atlanta man accused of killing his 4-year-old daughter by denying her food and water has been sentenced to more than 150 years in prison after being convicted of murder, kidnapping and other charges, prosecutors said. Rodney McWeay, 33, was sentenced Thursday in Treasure McWeay's death. He was also convicted of other counts stemming from the abuse of his two other children, who are 3 and 4, authorities said. 'Treasure suffered from hunger, thirst and neglect at the hands of her father, who used violence and control to keep her and her brothers from the help they needed,' Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis said in a statement. McWeay was arrested in December 2023 after Treasure was pronounced dead at an Atlanta hospital. Police warrants stated that she was extremely malnourished and 'her face appeared to be sunken in around the eyes and cheekbones,' The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. An autopsy found that she weighed only 24 pounds. McWeay did not have custody of any of his children at the time, authorities said. About five months before Treasure died, he had kidnapped them from their mother's home in Maryland and prevented Georgia child protection workers from speaking to them, the Journal-Constitution reported.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Georgia appeals court upholds ruling saying election officials must certify results
ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia appeals court has upheld a lower court ruling that said county election officials in the state must vote to certify results according to deadlines set in law. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney had ruled in October that 'no election superintendent (or member of a board of elections and registration) may refuse to certify or abstain from certifying election results under any circumstance.' The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Republican Fulton County election board member Julie Adams, who abstained from certifying primary election results last year. A three-judge panel of the Georgia Court of Appeals last week upheld McBurney's ruling, saying 'Adams' contention that the trial court erred by declaring she had a mandatory duty to certify election results is without merit.' Certification, an administrative task that involves certifying the number of votes, became a political flashpoint when President Donald Trump tried to overturn his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 general election. Republicans in several swing states refused to certify results during primary elections last year, and some sued to try to keep from being forced to sign off on election results. In the run-up to last year's presidential election, Democrats and some voting rights groups worried that Trump-allied election officials could refuse to certify election results if he were to lose to then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump ended up beating Harris. Georgia law says county election superintendents, which are generally multimember boards, shall certify election results by 5 p.m. on the Monday after an election, or the Tuesday after if Monday is a holiday. McBurney had written in his order that Georgia law allows county election officials to examine whether fraud has occurred and what should be done about it. They should share any concerns with the appropriate authorities for criminal prosecution or use them to file an election challenge in court, but cannot use their concerns to justify not certifying results, the judge wrote. The Court of Appeals opinion echoed McBurney's ruling. The appeals court also noted that state law limits county election officials' review of documents to instances when the total number of votes exceeds the total number of voters or ballots and also limits the review to documents related to the relevant precinct. To the extent that McBurney's ruling allows a more expansive review, the judges sent it back to him for reconsideration.
Al Arabiya
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Georgia Appeals Court Upholds Ruling Saying Election Officials Must Certify Results
A Georgia appeals court has upheld a lower court ruling that said county election officials in the state must vote to certify results according to deadlines set in law. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney had ruled in October that no election superintendent (or member of a board of elections and registration) may refuse to certify or abstain from certifying election results under any circumstance. The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Republican Fulton County election board member Julie Adams, who abstained from certifying primary election results last year. A three-judge panel of the Georgia Court of Appeals last week upheld McBurney's ruling, saying Adams' contention that the trial court erred by declaring she had a mandatory duty to certify election results 'is without merit.' Certification–an administrative task that involves certifying the number of votes–became a political flashpoint when President Donald Trump tried to overturn his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 general election. Republicans in several swing states refused to certify results during primary elections last year, and some sued to try to keep from being forced to sign off on election results. In the run-up to last year's presidential election, Democrats and some voting rights groups worried that Trump-allied election officials could refuse to certify election results if he were to lose to then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump ended up beating Harris. Georgia law says county election superintendents, which are generally multimember boards, 'shall' certify election results by 5 p.m. on the Monday after an election or the Tuesday after if Monday is a holiday. McBurney had written in his order that Georgia law allows county election officials to examine whether fraud has occurred and what should be done about it. 'They should share any concerns with the appropriate authorities for criminal prosecution or use them to file an election challenge in court, but cannot use their concerns to justify not certifying results,' the judge wrote. The Court of Appeals opinion echoed McBurney's ruling. The appeals court also noted that state law limits county election officials' review of documents to instances when the total number of votes exceeds the total number of voters or ballots and also limits the review to documents related to the relevant precinct. 'To the extent that McBurney's ruling allows a more expansive review,' the judges sent it back to him for reconsideration.
Washington Post
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Washington Post
Georgia appeals court upholds ruling saying election officials must certify results
ATLANTA — A Georgia appeals court has upheld a lower court ruling that said county election officials in the state must vote to certify results according to deadlines set in law. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney had ruled in October that 'no election superintendent (or member of a board of elections and registration) may refuse to certify or abstain from certifying election results under any circumstance.' The ruling stemmed from a lawsuit filed by Republican Fulton County election board member Julie Adams, who abstained from certifying primary election results last year.
