Democrats filed a lawsuit Monday arguing that two rules passed by Georgia’s State Election Board are illegal and could create “chaos” in certifying the state’s election results this year.

Meanwhile, Georgia Republican Gov. Brian Kemp has asked the state attorney general for guidance on whether he has the authority to remove the three GOP members who approved the rules over potential ethics violations.

The two rules at issue were passed earlier this month by 3-2 votes. They require election officials to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” before certifying election results and allow individual county board members “to examine all election related documentation created during the conduct of elections.”

All three members who supported the new rules have cast doubt on Joe Biden’s win over Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election. At a rally earlier this month, Trump praised all three — Janice Johnston, Rick Jaffares and Janelle King — by name, calling them “pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency and victory.”

Following the 2020 election, Trump, who continues to push baseless claims of election fraud, pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes” needed to flip the election his way. The former president and Republican nominee faces 13 criminal charges for his efforts to overturn the election in Georgia. Four former Trump loyalists have pleaded guilty in the case. Trump has pleaded not guilty.

In the lawsuit filed in state court, the Democratic National Committee, the Democratic Party of Georgia and Democratic members of several county election boards claim the rules do not comply with state law and that the State Election Board exceeded its authority by passing them. The plaintiffs accuse the panel of trying “upend the required process for certifying election results” by opening the door for delays.

“Through rulemaking, SEB has attempted to turn the straightforward and mandatory act of certification—i.e. confirmation of the accurate tabulation of the votes cast—into a broad license for individual board members to hunt for purported election irregularities of any kind, potentially delaying certification and displacing longstanding (and court-supervised) processes for addressing fraud,” the lawsuit says. 

The Democrats argue that, under Georgia law, “election officials have a non-discretionary duty to certify results by 5 p.m. six days after election day. Allegations of fraud or election misconduct are then resolved by the courts in properly filed challenges, not by county boards in the counting process.”

The Democrats want the court to declare that election results must be certified by Nov. 12 unless prevented by a judicial order.

“For months, MAGA Republicans in Georgia and across the country have been trying to lay the groundwork to challenge the election results when they lose again in November,” Quentin Fulks, principal deputy campaign manager for Kamala Harris, said in a statement. “But Democrats are prepared, and we will stop them. Certifying an election is not a choice, it’s the law. A few unelected extremists can’t just decide not to count your vote.”

King, one of the three Republican board members, insisted in various interviews earlier this month that she is “not working on behalf of anyone,” that the rules don’t allow county officials to delay certification and that the measures are intended to strengthen the certification process.

Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers are urging Kemp to launch investigations into the three GOP board members. Democratic state Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes filed a complaint Aug. 19 with Kemp alleging the three Republicans have violated the state’s code of ethics and open-meetings law by adopting rules that will interfere with free and fair elections, coordinating with the Georgia Republican Party and holding a July 12 meeting without public notice.

“These violations are not just legal technicalities; they strike at the heart of our democracy and the trust Georgians place in our election system,” Islam Parkes said at a news conference Monday.

Kemp said in a statement Monday he has received letters from Islam Parkes and others and has “sought the Attorney General’s advice regarding the application of the statute to the letters. We will respond following receipt of this advice and further evaluation of the letters.”

In an interview with WABE radio that aired Monday, King said she is “a hundred percent” confident the board did not break any laws.

She added that she would not resign even if Attorney General Chris Carr determines the board violated the law.

“I respect his opinion, but his opinion is not going to determine whether I step down from this board,” said King, the former deputy director for the Georgia Republican Party. “There’s several attorneys who have given several opinions on both sides of the argument.”