Judge tells Fulton County to provide 'additional layer of security' for 2020 election records

A Georgia judge has issued an extraordinary ruling in requiring the state's largest county to provide an "additional layer of security" for 2020 election records, handing former GOP Sen. David Perdue and 2022 gubernatorial candidate a major victory in his court-related, election-integrity efforts.

"Petitioners have asked that the court enter an order preserving  the voting records at issue in this litigation," reads the three-page decision Thursday by Judge Robert McBurney, of the Superior Court of Fulton County, Atlanta Judicial Circuit. 

"The Clerk of Superior Court of Fulton County is the current custodian of those records; she is statutorily obligated to maintain the records for at least two years (a period which extends to November 2022, if not beyond).

"There is, at present, no evidence before the Court that indicates that the Clerk is encountering any challenges in fulfilling her statutory record maintenance obligations. That said, given the scheduling uncertainties occasioned by these complicated pandemic times and the unquestionable significance of the subject matter of petitioners’ contentions, the court finds it appropriate to include an additional layer of security by ordering that the records and information ... are maintained by the Clerk of Court indefinitely until further order of this Court."

The suit names as respondents Fulton County Elections Director Richard Barron "in his individual capacity, et al."