ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia's most populous county has a history of problems with its elections but has also shown considerable improvement, and the state should not step in to take over its elections, a bipartisan review panel said.The State Election Board appointed the three-person panel in August 2021 after Republican lawmakers used a provision of a sweeping election law passed earlier that year to request a review of Fulton County's handling of elections. The report was submitted on Friday to the board and the Secretary of State's office.Fulton County includes most of the city of Atlanta and is home to about 11% of the state’s electorate. A Democratic stronghold, it has long been targeted by Republicans.The report says that in previous years Fulton County's elections have been plagued by “disorganization and a lack of a sense of urgency in resolving issues.” But it also says the county showed “significant improvement” from 2020 to 2022, former staff members have left and “new staff can bring new energy and renewed commitment."AdvertisementThe Fulton County Board of Elections and Registration is a driving force behind those improvements, the report says.“Replacing the board would not be helpful and would in fact hinder the ongoing improvements to Fulton County elections,” it says.County officials applauded the findings.“The Performance Review Board's report affirms what we already know — our staff work every day to serve Fulton County voters and deliver free and fair elections in compliance with the law,” Cathy Woolard, chair of the Fulton elections board, said in a news release.State Election Board Chair William Duffey said last month that the board will discuss the panel's recommendations at its Feb. 7 meeting.Republican lawmakers whose districts include parts of Fulton in July 2021 submitted a letter to the State Election Board noting the county's history of problems and demanding answers.Former President Donald Trump had zeroed in on the county after he lost Georgia by a slim margin in the November 2020 general election. In phone calls to state election officials and in public comments, Trump made unfounded claims of widespread election fraud in Fulton.Actions he took as he tried to overturn his election loss, including a phone call to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, led Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to open an ongoing investigation into whether Trump and others illegally meddled in the state’s election.The review panel named by the State Election Board included Stephen Day, a Democratic appointee to the Gwinnett County election board; Ricky Kittle, a Republican appointee to the Catoosa County election board; and Ryan Germany, general counsel for the Secretary of State’s office.The panel considered the county's performance in 2020 and observed operations before, on and after Election Day for the 2021 municipal elections and the 2022 primary and general votes, the report says. The panel also relied on help from The Carter Center, which regularly monitors elections around the world and was invited to observe the 2022 general election in Fulton County.The county has "a long and well-documented history of issues administering elections," the report says, including long lines and inefficiency in reporting results. Its shortcomings were particularly pronounced during the 2020 primary, resulting in a consent order between the county and the State Election Board that included the appointment of an independent monitor for the general election that year.That monitor, Carter Jones, said he found sloppy practices and poor management but no evidence of "any dishonesty, fraud or intentional malfeasance."Many of the county's issues in 2020 stemmed from or were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, but some of the county's responses to that made things even worse, the panel found.The county's election process was more organized in 2022 than in 2021, which showed improvement over 2020, the report says. A number of changes, including implementing an inventory tracking system for elections equipment, creating new management positions and filling others, helped to spread responsibility and improve performance in key areas, according to the report.The panel nevertheless recommended areas for additional improvement, such as poll worker training, general organization and polling place layout review.The controversial takeover provision in the 2021 election law allows state lawmakers who represent a county to request a review of local election officials and their practices. The State Election Board must then appoint a review panel that is required to investigate and issue a report.If the state board finds evidence that county officials violated state election law or rules three times in the previous two election cycles and have not fixed violations, it could eventually suspend the county board. The law also says the state board could remove the county board if it finds that during at least two elections over two years the county board has shown “nonfeasance, malfeasance, or gross negligence.”If a county board is removed, the state board would appoint a temporary administrator.Democrats and voting rights activists complained when the law was passed that the takeover provision would open the door for political interference in local elections and could suppress turnout. Republicans said it was necessary to make sure county election officials are following the law.

After the chaotic elections of 2020, Americans wanted common-sense reforms to strengthen the security of elections. One of the most common-sense reforms, already the law in most states, is requiring voters to prove they are who they say they are by providing a photo ID.Georgia was one of the states that enacted voter ID as far back as 2005. After 2020, it extended verification requirements to mail ballots. This simple requirement that voters use a numeric code unique to each voter caused some on the left to go into a frenzy.  It was 1958 all over again, we were told. Stacey Abrams, a Georgia politician and voting rights activist, called the law “Jim Crow 2.0” and unsuccessfully challenged it in court. Even President Biden chimed in calling the law “Jim Crow in the 21st century.” Major League Baseball pulled the All-Star Game from Atlanta, citing the state’s new voting law as being too restrictive. Coca-Cola called the measure a “step backward” that would “diminish or deter access to voting.” Who knew requiring an ID to vote would trigger so many corporations? Opponents of voter ID are content to marginalize so many racial minorities to the fringes of American life. Being content with so many not possessing photo ID is being content with so many not being able to get married, fly on a plane, check into a hotel, or buy a firearm. In this past election, data show that turnout in Georgia went up. The Peach State had a record early-voter turnout in both the general and runoff elections in 2022.  More people participate in a process when they trust a process. If voters believe in the integrity of the outcome, they will cast a ballot no matter the outcome. Georgia is not the only state to enact this reform. Florida, Texas and, most recently, Ohio have passed voter ID laws. This is good news for the integrity of our elections. Not only does voter ID ensure that a voter is who he says he is but it also increases voter confidence in our election process. Voter ID is the most basic election reform a state can make to increase the security of their elections. We need to ensure that everyone voting is who they say they are. That is why voter ID is so popular with the American people. According to a Monmouth poll, 80% of Americans support requiring voters to show photo identification in order to cast a ballot. Only 15 states lack some form of ID requirement. The opponents of voter ID laws are the outliers. There are other benefits to having a voter ID law in place. For example, I have encountered election crime investigations where a prosecution for double voting does not proceed because there is no voter ID law in one state. It is harder to prove that someone actually cast a ballot when a state does not require proof of identity. Voter ID also speeds up election check-in and reduces long lines. In Florida, for example, every driver’s license has a QR code that links to the state voter database, requiring a second or two for voters to check in and receive a ballot. We can all agree that we only want legal votes to count. With photo ID, we can help voters trust that everyone voting is who they say they are while at the same time improve election administration. J. Christian Adams is the president and general counsel for the Public Interest Legal Foundation. He also served on the Presidential Advisory Commission for Election Integrity/InsideSources

Kellyanne Conway and Donald Trump listen during a White House meeting on the opioid epidemic in 2019. SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images Kellyanne Conway argued in an NYT op-ed that Donald Trump has a path to victory in 2024. To do so, Trump's campaign needs to avoid the "disastrous mistakes" it made in 2020, she wrote. Trump's 2020 campaign quickly spent a majority of the $1.6 billion it raised, ABC News reported. Top editors give you the stories you want — delivered right to your inbox each weekday. Loading Something is loading. Thanks for signing up! Access your favorite topics in a personalized feed while you're on the go. download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. .inline-newsletter-signup.loading { width: 100%; max-width: 640px; margin: 0 auto; visibility: hidden; } Kellyanne Conway, Donald Trump's former White House counselor, believes the former president's 2020 campaign made "disastrous mistakes" and wasted a $1.6 billion election war chest that in part led to his chaotic election loss.In a New York Times op-ed published Friday, Conway argues that Trump has a pathway to victory in the 2024 election despite his ongoing legal woes, a lackluster performance by his preferred midterm candidates, and some criticism around his bombastic personality."Shrugging off Mr. Trump's 2024 candidacy or writing his political obituary is a fool's errand — he endures persecution and eludes prosecution like no other public figure," she wrote. "That could change, of course, though that cat has nine lives."To be successful in 2024, Conway wrote Trump needs to avoid several mistakes he made in his last election run, including the "disastrous mistakes in personnel, strategy, and tactics of the 2020 Trump campaign." "With roughly $1.6 billion to spend and Joe Biden as the opponent, the 2020 election should have been a blowout," she said. "Instead, they proved the adage that the fastest way to make a small fortune is to have a very large one and waste most of it." Conway doesn't delve further into the specific strategic or spending mistakes the Trump campaign made.A report from ABC News, which was cited in the op-ed, found Trump's re-election team raised roughly $1.6 billion in two years and spent about $1.4 billion in about 10 months.A large portion of the money was spent on advertising — about $490 million, according to the report. In other areas, the campaign spent millions of dollars on donor gifts and Trump properties. About $56 million was spent on campaign merchandise and donor gifts, ABC News reported.Part of that included hundreds of thousands of dollars buying Donald Trump Jr.'s books, "Triggered" and "Liberal Privilege." The Daily Beast reported in 2020 that the Republican National Committee paid $300,000 for Trump Jr.'s books, which were given away to party donors.Another more than $5 million was spent on Trump-branded hotels, including $900,000 at one of his properties for renting space and catering, according to ABC News.A spokesperson for Trump did not immediately respond to a request for comment. .content-lock-lock .hidden { display: none; } Sign up for notifications from Insider! Stay up to date with what you want to know. Subscribe to push notifications Close icon Two crossed lines that form an 'X'. It indicates a way to close an interaction, or dismiss a notification.

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