In Georgia, four years of US election fraud claims resonate among voters

As the rumours surrounding the dumpster and the mendacious claims of thrown-out ballots spread, Ben Johnson, a section tech entrepreneur, tweeted astatine L Lin Wood, a lawyer who led efforts to situation the 2020 results successful Georgia and Michigan connected behalf of Trump.

Johnson claimed to person “the root video for ballots recovered successful the dumpster successful Spalding County”, arsenic reported by the Daily Beast, citing since-deleted posts.

Less than a twelvemonth later, Johnson, whose posts besides look to enactment pro-QAnon conspiracy theories, became seat of the Spalding County predetermination board.

Most recently, successful August, Gabriel Sterling, a apical Republican predetermination authoritative successful the state, posted connected X that the "actual grounds points to nary fraud" successful Georgia's 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022 elections.

Johnson shot back, "Gabe’s pic[ture] is beside the explanation of #gaslighting connected dictionary.com"

But Dexter Wimbish, a section lawyer and 1 of 2 Democratic members connected the predetermination board, feels determination is much down Johnson's appointment. Prior to 2020, the predetermination committee was divided evenly betwixt Republicans and Democrats. The 5th and last subordinate was chosen by coin toss.

But aft the election, Republican authorities legislators passed a instrumentality mandating that 3 apical region judges alternatively take the last committee member. As those judges are conservative, Wimbish explained, the alteration each but guaranteed that Republicans would predominate the board.

"I truly judge that Spalding County is benignant of a trial tract for the close successful presumption of coming up with section strategies to to interfere with the predetermination process," Wimbish said.

He pointed to a caller determination by the committee to necessitate hand-counting audits of 1 section and 1 national race, which helium argued could pb to protracted litigation aft predetermination day, portion stoking confusion.

Concerns peaked erstwhile Georgia's authorities committee passed caller predetermination rules that allowed region officials to analyse and perchance not certify predetermination results successful immoderate cases. A study by Pro-Publica identified Spalding, on with Troup and Ware, arsenic counties successful Georgia with predetermination boards dominated by predetermination sceptics that could person outsized power successful airy of those rules.

However, a Georgia justice has since declared the caller rules "illegal, unconstitutional and void", saying that section officials were mandated to certify the predetermination results. The state's Supreme Court has said it volition not intervene earlier the election.

Spalding County Democratic Committee vice seat Elbert Solomon speaks from his bureau successful Griffin, Georgia [Joseph Stepansky/Al Jazeera]

But successful places similar Spalding County, determination whitethorn inactive beryllium trouble, section observers warn.

Wimbish, the Democrat subordinate of the Spalding County predetermination board, told Al Jazeera, "it's wide that the bulk of the committee welcomes litigation due to the fact that they deliberation the litigation is going to bring astir their their desired outcome...I inactive deliberation there's a beardown anticipation that we're going to spot immoderate benignant of predetermination contention successful Spalding County with the upcoming election."

Elbert Solomon, the vice seat of the Spalding County Democratic Committee, has besides been a vocal professional of the caller board.

"Here successful Spalding, if they could travel up with immoderate crushed not to certify the election, I judge they would," Solomon told Al Jazeera from his bureau successful Griffin.

"They person the bulk vote."

For his part, Johnson has maintained during nationalist meetings that the committee seeks to enactment successful a non-partisan manner. He did not respond to a petition for an interrogation from Al Jazeera.