Opinion | America Needs Georgia Republicans to Defend Democracy Again

Four years ago, it was a Republican official in Georgia, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, whose refusal to cooperate with Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election by trying to “find” 11,780 votes helped ensure the integrity of the state’s results, and democracy itself.

This year, Georgia Republicans — Gov. Brian Kemp, State Attorney General Christopher Carr and Secretary of State Raffensperger — must defend democracy again. Far-right elements within their own party have gained control of the State Election Board and could make it impossible to hold a free and fair election unless other Republicans stop them.

Mr. Kemp, Mr. Carr and Mr. Raffensperger can demonstrate their mettle by standing up to the MAGA-captured elections board, which enacted rules several weeks ago that would allow county officials to delay election certification. Those rules, which contradict state law, could provide an opportunity for Trump-friendly officials across Georgia’s 159 counties to ensnare election results in legal challenges, disenfranchise voters and, possibly, undermine a Democratic victory in a close election.

Georgia Democrats have filed suit against the State Election Board, a complaint the Kamala Harris campaign has supported. Democrats in the state have also filed an ethics complaint against the three board members who enacted the rules, and they have asked Mr. Kemp to remove those members from the board. He should do so.

Mr. Kemp, Mr. Carr and Mr. Raffensperger have signaled they are prepared to protect the state’s election. Mr. Raffensperger said on X on Aug. 7 that state election law requires counties to certify the election results by Nov. 12. “We fully anticipate that counties will follow the law,” he wrote. This suggests he views the rules from the rogue State Election Board as illegitimate and will say so publicly.

Officials in the governor’s office have said they are seeking counsel from the state attorney general to determine whether the governor has the authority to address the ethics complaints. A spokeswoman for Mr. Carr noted that he refused to comply with an unrelated demand from the State Election Board this summer to open a new investigation into the 2020 election in Fulton County, where large Democratic turnout led Joe Biden to win the state. Hopefully, this is a sign that Mr. Carr would use the powers of his office to reject other outrageous behavior by the board.