Fulton County, Georgia, sued the Georgia State Elections Board this week in what was the latest development in an unfolding battle between the two entities over how to monitor and ensure election integrity in November.

The county board filed the lawsuit on Monday, The Associated Press reported, asking a judge to declare that the state board lacks the authority to force it “to accept, and Fulton County to pay for, additional monitors for the 2024 election that have been hand-picked by certain State Election Board members.”

“The State Election Board has no statutory authority to force the Fulton County BRE [Board of Registration and Elections] to accept, and Fulton County to pay for, election monitors hand-picked by the State Election Board,” the lawsuit says.

On Tuesday, the Georgia State Elections board responded by voting 3-2 to subpoena a trove of 2020 election documents from the Fulton County clerk of court, the Atlanta Journal Constitution reported.

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The State Election Board in May found that the county violated some parts of the state election code. It voted to issue a letter of reprimand, which included instructions for an agreement on a mutually acceptable monitor to be entered into by the board’s August meeting.

However, the county and state election boards have been unable to reach an agreement. The county favors a team it has already approved that was proposed by Ryan Germany, a former chief lawyer for the secretary of state’s office, and the Atlanta-based Carter Center. The Trump-endorsed majority on the State Election Board has proposed an alternative slate that includes people who questioned the results of the 2020 presidential election.

An Aug. 19 legal opinion, written by state Attorney General Chris Carr and obtained by The Associated Press, says final decisions of the State Election Board are “preclusive” and that “re-litigation of all claims which have already been adjudicated, or which could have been adjudicated, is therefore prohibited.” Fulton County attorneys assert that the approval of the motion at the May meeting and resulting reprimand meant the case is closed and cannot be reopened, and that “argument is likely correct,” Carr wrote.

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Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is seen here at the National Association of Secretaries of State winter meeting on Feb. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

When asked about the attorney general’s guidance, Johnston said, “That was opinion. That’s not a legal finding. That was their advice or opinion. We have different opinions about that.”

The Republican majority on the State Election Board repeatedly said during meetings in August that they did not approve of the county’s team. However, the county board reaffirmed its selection, and county commissioners voted to approve the contract days later.

Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta. (Getty Images)

A Republican official told Fox News Digital that what the Georgia State Election Board is doing is “delegitimizing Republican governance in the state.”

“They don’t know what they’re doing. Today hit the high water mark when they investigated a county over voter challenge rejections that didn’t have any voter challenges, period.”

‘The recent development comes a week after the Georgia State Election Board sparked controversy by voting 3-2 to approve a rule that requires poll workers to count the number of paper ballots by hand after voting is completed in a decision that was opposed by the state attorney general’s office, the secretary of state’s office and an association of county election officials but supported by many conservatives.

The new rule, according to the Associated Press, requires that the number of paper ballots — not the number of votes — be counted at each polling place by three separate poll workers until all three counts are the same. If a scanner has more than 750 ballots inside at the end of voting, the poll manager can decide to begin the count the following day.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

A lawsuit lodged against Virginia attorney general Jason Miyares and various state elections officials alleges that an effort to eliminate noncitizens from voter registration rolls runs afoul of federal law.

The suit refers to the voter roll maintenance effort as a “Purge Program” and asserts that it violates the National Voter Registration Act.

Plaintiffs include the Virginia Coalition for Immigrant Rights, League of Women Voters of Virginia and the League of Women Voters of Virginia Education Fund.

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“Less than 60 days ago, Defendants announced the latest version of an effort to implement an ongoing program to systematically remove certain voters from the rolls. But federal law mandates that no such voter cancelation or list maintenance programs may be conducted during the 90-day ‘quiet period’ before an election,” the suit reads. 

“It is an illegal, discriminatory, and error-ridden program that has directed the cancelation of voter registrations of naturalized U.S. citizens and jeopardizes the rights of countless others,” the suit claims.

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A sample ballot is displayed on the first day of Virginia’s in-person early voting at Long Bridge Park Aquatics and Fitness Center on Sept. 20, 2024, in Arlington, Virginia. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Christian Martinez, a spokesperson for Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), has defended the process.

“Every step in the established list maintenance process is mandated by Virginia law and begins after an individual indicates they are not a citizen. The DMV is mandated by law to send information about individuals who indicate they are a noncitizen in DMV transactions to (the state elections office),” Martinez noted, according to The Associated Press. “Anyone spreading misinformation about it is either ignoring Virginia law or is trying to undermine it because they want noncitizens to vote.”

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A sample ballot and a voting sign are displayed on the first day of Virginia’s in-person early voting at Long Bridge Park Aquatics and Fitness Center on Sept. 20, 2024, in Arlington, Virginia. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

The AP also reported that Shaun Kenney, a spokesperson for the attorney general, noted via email, “We feel confident in the position the Department of Elections has taken and stand ready to defend.”

Early voting in Virginia for the 2024 elections began last month.

Shawn “Mickey” Stines, the Kentucky sheriff accused of shooting a district judge dead in his chambers, did not plan the killing and was not in his right mind, according to his lawyer. 

“It was not something that was planned and occurred in the heat of passion,” defense attorney Jeremy Bartley told People. “For us, the highest level of culpability should be manslaughter based on the partial defense of extreme emotional disturbance.”

A video of the shooting, played without audio during an Oct. 1 preliminary hearing, allegedly showed Letcher County Sheriff Stines shooting District Judge Kevin Mullins multiple times as he sat at his desk on Sept. 19.

The sheriff, the judge’s longtime colleague and friend, allegedly continued to fire after Mullins fell to the floor. 

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“We believe there had to be a compelling reason for Sheriff Stines to feel like he had to take action,” Bartley said. “We are looking forward to obtaining additional information and begin[ning] to tell his story.”

Kentucky State Police Detective Clayton Stamper testified at the preliminary hearing that the two men had eaten lunch together with a group in the hours before the shooting, according to the Louisville Courier Journal. 

“I was told that the judge made a statement to Mickey about, ‘Do we need to meet private in my chambers?’” Stamper testified, the Associated Press reported.

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District Judge Kevin Mullins, 54, was killed by Letcher County Sheriff Shawn M. Stines, 43, in his judge’s chambers, authorities said. (Kentucky Court of Justice; Letcher County Sheriff’s Office)

According to Stamper, Stines attempted to call his daughter on his own phone, then on Mullins’ phone – according to the AP, Stines’ daughter was stored in Mullins’ contacts. 

“It could be, but I don’t know that for a fact,” Stamper said when asked whether Stines was motivated to shoot Mullins based on what he saw on the judge’s phone.

NEW VIDEO SHOWS KENTUCKY SHERIFF POINTING GUN AT JUDGE BEFORE ALLEGED FATAL SHOOTING

Kentucky sheriff seen pointing his gun at the judge in his chambers. (Letcher County handout)

“I talked to him, but he didn’t say nothing about why this had happened,” Stamper said, according to the AP. “But he was calm… Basically, all he said was, ‘Treat me fair.’”

When Stines was taken into custody, he allegedly told another officer, “they’re trying to kidnap my wife and kid,” Stamper said.

Shawn “Mickey” Stines wipes his eyes as he listens to testimony during his arraignment on Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Timothy D. Easley)

The shooting in the city of Whitesburg has shaken the community of Letcher County, Kentucky, where Stines served as a bailiff in Mullins’ court before becoming sheriff in 2018. 

“We’re all in a state of shock over it,” Garnard Kincer Jr., Mullins’ friend and former mayor of Jenkins, told People. “It practically immobilized us. We just can’t believe it happened.”

Booking photo of Shawn Stines, provided by Leslie County Detention Center in Kentucky on Friday, Sept. 20, 2024. (Leslie County Detention Center via AP)

Stines resigned as sheriff last week, but has pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder. A judge determined at the Oct. 2 hearing that there was sufficient evidence to move forward with the case. 

Bartley could not be reached for comment at press time.