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Voting Rights · Report · File No. 261113-992

ProPublica: Georgia election board members coordinated with Cleta Mitchell's network

Recordings reviewed by ProPublica show Georgia State Election Board members and staff working with a network led by Cleta Mitchell. The board's own chair now says it has had "undue influence," as Democrats take over the state.

By the Campaign Desk · · 2 min read

Every quote in this story (1) was matched word for word against its source. How we work

My clippings
Keisha Lance Bottoms
Keisha Lance Bottoms. Photo: Executive Office of the President of the United States, Public domain

Members and staff of Georgia's State Election Board coordinated before the midterms with a group led by Cleta Mitchell, the conservative attorney who worked with President Donald Trump to try to overturn his 2020 defeat, ProPublica reported Friday. The board sets the state's election rules, oversees election officials and investigates fraud allegations 1.

ProPublica reviewed recordings of private calls and events. They show current and former board members working with the Election Integrity Network, or EIN, and allied groups. One shared goal was using an error-prone software tool called ELLY to search voter rolls for supposedly suspicious voters 1.

What the recordings show

Vice chair Janelle King and her predecessor, Janice Johnston, both attended meetings of EIN or VoterGA, an allied group. Johnston retired in June but still plays an active role behind the scenes, ProPublica said 1.

At an August 2025 VoterGA fundraiser, Mitchell said she loved both women. She added, "You know, we’ve worked so hard together" 1. At least three members of the board's eight-person professional staff have taken part in EIN meetings. Executive director James Mills has worked closely with EIN members, according to five sources 1.

From Channel GOPKeisha Lance Bottoms on making history in GeorgiaKeisha Lance Bottoms · 244 plays · captioned, with the source named

King said she talked with EIN activists but they did not influence her decisions. Mills declined to answer questions. Mitchell posted on X that "An election integrity group is working with election officials to oversee elections" 1.

The more I look into this, the more I’m realizing that the Election Integrity Network has been having an undue influence on the State Election Board, and that needs to cease
John Fervier, chair, Georgia State Election Board, Republican1

The ELLY tool and the voter rolls

ELLY pulls from public voter files, change-of-address records, obituaries and property websites. It cannot see Social Security numbers or full birth dates, so voting rights groups say it often flags legitimate voters 1.

After the election, a Forsyth County election board member who belongs to EIN submitted ELLY data questioning more than 60 ballots. Four were said to be from dead people. ProPublica found all four voters alive, and the county board rejected the challenges 1.

In Chatham County, a state investigator gave the local board a list of 224 voters flagged by ELLY in August. County review cut it to 101, and 93 voters with address issues came before the board 2. Board member Carry Smith said the list "was generated from partisan program" 2.

What happens next

Chair John Fervier, one of four Republicans on the board, called a special meeting for Friday, partly to discuss personnel matters. EIN leader Garland Favorito urged followers to flood board members with messages defending Mills and other staff 1.

Last week Democrats won every statewide office and the state House in Georgia. The House appoints one member of the election board 1. Governor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms campaigned on working with the legislature to "eliminate the current State Election Board" and replace it with a more independent structure 1.

That matters because the board decides how voter challenges and certifications are handled. It also decides which outside tools counties are pushed to use. Whoever shapes the board shapes how smoothly older voters, who vote in large numbers, stay on the rolls.

The report describes coordination and influence. It does not allege that any votes were changed. King and Favorito dispute that anyone improperly influenced the board; Favorito called the idea of secret work a "patently false conspiracy theory" 1.

The Record

  1. Chatham County's registrars hear 93 ELLY-flagged address challenges; the chairman says the county won't adopt ELLY for now 2.
  2. Georgia Democrats win all statewide offices and the state House, ProPublica reports 1.
  3. ProPublica reports board members and staff coordinated with EIN; Chair Fervier's special meeting on personnel is set for Friday 1.
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Sources

  1. ProPublica, “Members of Georgia’s Election Board Have Been Coordinating With Cleta Mitchell’s Network” (2026-11-13). propublica.org/article/georgia-election-board-cleta-mitchell
  2. WTOC, “Chatham County board of registrars holds voter registration challenge hearing amid concerns over new software” (2026-08-05). wtoc.com/2026/08/05/chatham-county-board-registrars-holds-vo

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