Georgia governor seeks legal advice on removing Trump-backed Board of Election members

Georgia's governor is seeking legal guidance on whether he can boot three members of the state's Board of Elections who were praised by Donald Trump just months ago.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) is requesting guidance from the state's attorney general on whether he "has the authority to remove members of the State Election Board."

"Voting rights groups, Democrats and even some Republicans have raised alarms about the rightwing majority’s recent votes," according to the report.

The three members, Janelle King, Rick Jeffares, and Dr. Janice Johnston, face ethics complaints filed earlier this month that follow their approval of changes that require election boards to search for voting discrepancies before certifying results.

Those changes have been criticized by many, including Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

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Lawyer and Georgia state Sen. Jason Esteves agreed, saying, "Don't be fooled; Republican leaders can fix this. The three members must be removed."

Max Flugrath, the communications director for the Georgia election nonprofit Fair Fight, similarly posted an excerpt from the law asking Gov. Kemp, "What's uncertain?"

"Upon formal charges being filed with the Governor relative to a violation of Code Section 45-10-3 on the part of a member of any such board, commission or authority, the governor or his designated agent shall conduct a hearing for the purpose of receiving evidence relatively to the merits of such charges.

"The member so charged shall be given at least 30 days' notice prior to such hearing. If such charges are found to be true, the governor shall forthwith remove such member from office, and the vacancy shall be filled as provided by law," the law he quoted said.

Georgia leaders asked Kemp to take action on the matter.