SUMMARY: In Savannah, GA, citizen Darnell Thomas was injured after a police officer backing up during a suspect pursuit struck his car on Martin Luther King Boulevard. The incident occurred near 38th Street, where officers were gathered following a suspect’s flight. Thomas described how he tried to reverse when the officer suddenly backed into his vehicle, totaling his car, which was nearly new with 1,300 miles. He was hospitalized and is now undergoing physical therapy for injuries sustained. Despite the damage and injury, the officer involved received no citations. Thomas emphasized the need for police to prioritize public safety during emergencies.

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by Maya Homan, Georgia Recorder
July 7, 2025

Georgia’s state Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court’s ruling in a 2024 election case, affirming that local election board members must certify election results by the deadline outlined in state law.

The battle over election certification was one of several contentious issues that came to define the 2024 election cycle in Georgia, as conservative activists — many of whom embraced President Donald Trump’s unfounded claims about massive voter fraud — sought to overhaul certain state election rules ahead of the presidential election. 

Last fall, Fulton County election board member Julie Adams, a Republican who refused to certify the results in her county’s presidential preference primary, filed a lawsuit against Fulton County, arguing that board members have the option to refuse to certify election results if they have reason to believe they are inaccurate. A spate of last-minute rule changes issued by the State Election Board would also have granted county boards greater leeway to delay certifying election results, but were later struck down by a Superior Court judge.

In October, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney rejected her claim, issuing a ruling that stated “election superintendents in Georgia have a mandatory fixed obligation to certify election results.”

In a decision issued Wednesday, a three-judge panel agreed.

“Adams’ contention that the trial court erred by declaring she had a mandatory duty to certify election results is without merit,” the judges wrote in their decision. They also concluded that while election officials have certain forms of recourse if they believe there are errors in the election counts, “these concerns are not a basis for a superintendent to partially or entirely refuse to certify election results by the deadline.”

Georgia law explicitly requires election boards to certify the election results no later than 5 p.m. on the Monday following the election. 

The decision also vacated a piece of McBurney’s ruling that had enabled elections officials to request a wide range of additional election documents at their discretion, pointing to a 2025 state Supreme Court ruling that limits county election officials’ ability to review documents to “only those occasions on which the total votes exceed the total number of electors, voters, or ballots,” within a specific precinct.

The case will now be sent back to the Fulton County Superior Court for further consideration.

Read the Georgia Appeals Court Ruling

Georgia Appeals Court election certification ruling

Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jill Nolin for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.

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Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.

Political Bias Rating: Center-Left

The article presents a fact-based report on recent legal decisions regarding election certification in Georgia, highlighting the conflict between conservative activists influenced by former President Trump’s unfounded voter fraud claims and court rulings enforcing strict certification deadlines. The language subtly frames the conservative activists’ efforts as controversial by emphasizing their embrace of “unfounded claims,” which suggests a critical stance toward that viewpoint. Overall, the article maintains a primarily neutral tone but leans slightly left by scrutinizing election denialism and underscoring judicial authority to uphold election laws.

SUMMARY: Dr. Jackson Drumgoole, a veteran and educator from Augusta, Georgia, received the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for his lifelong dedication to youth and community service. As founder of Bridge Builder Communities, he is spearheading the creation of Georgia’s first Bridge Builder Community—a 25-home tiny village to support young adults aging out of foster care, helping prevent homelessness, unemployment, and incarceration. Drumgoole credits the award to all volunteers and donors involved. To support this mission amid rising construction costs, Bridge Builder Communities launched the Echo the Impact Giving Challenge, matching donations dollar-for-dollar from July 7 to 13. More info is at bridgebuildercommunities.org.

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