Courtroom Chaos in Georgia as Judge Grants, Then Voids Access to Election Night ‘Bunker’

Georgia endured a chaotic primary day, as a court intervened to resolve a dispute over which election officials would have access to the state’s election reporting center, which some call the “bunker.”

Three Georgia candidates asked a state court for an emergency motion requiring Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to allow State Election Board members to be present to observe statewide election night results aggregation. This occurs at an emergency operations center, where the totals are uploaded to Georgia’s election reporting system. Actual ballots are not counted at the center.

Raffensperger is himself a candidate for governor in the Republican primary.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville imposed a temporary restraining order requiring Raffensperger to allow the board members access to observe the election results aggregation, according to the plaintiffs.

However, later that same day, he rescinded the order, writing that plaintiffs did not follow the state’s law requiring them to notify the attorney general’s office of their legal challenge involving a state official. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr is also a Republican candidate for governor.

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Glanville wrote in a one-page opinion: “This matter comes before the Court on the Order Granting Temporary Restraining Order (the ‘TRO’) entered this morning in this matter after an ex parte hearing. Because Petitioners did not comply with O.C.G.A. § 9-10-2 when seeking expedited injunctive relief against Respondent in his official capacity, the TRO is legally and procedurally void. Accordingly, the TRO is hereby voided, vacated, and dissolved.”

The plaintiffs who filed the legal action on Monday were 11th District U.S. congressional candidate Chris Mora; state Sen. Greg Dolezal, who is running for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor; and Keli Gambrill, a Cobb County Commission candidate.

After the judge’s initial order, Dolezal posted on X, “Bipartisan members of the State Election Board and poll watchers WILL be allowed inside Secretary Raffensperger’s ‘bunker’ to observe tonight’s process.”

In a statement to 11Alive News Monday, before either ruling, Raffensperger said, “The real fight to safeguard the ballot box happens at the local level — inside county election offices and tabulation centers across Georgia.”

The statement was from the Raffensperger campaign, not the secretary of state’s office.

“But facts clearly aren’t getting in the way of Dolezal’s desperate search for press attention and votes. So, buckle up, Greg,” Raffensperger continued. “This isn’t my first rodeo. You are about to join Stacey Abrams, Joe Biden, and the New Georgia Project on the long list of people who sued me and lost.”