We reached a landmark settlement with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office regarding its open records policy.

The settlement is a huge win for transparency and accountability. It will benefit all public records requesters — and the greater public. #FOIAFriday
In Oct. 2020, we sued Georgia’s Office of the Secretary of State for repeatedly stonewalling our records requests. After more than a year of litigation, we have reached a settlement. The office has agreed to steps to streamline the process of requesting and obtaining records.
The settlement will enhance public access to government records, requiring the secretary’s office to improve training for staff and to provide requesters with better information about costs, timeline estimates, and the status of their requests.
americanoversight.org/american-overs…
Raffensperger’s office also agreed to provide training, guidance and supervision to staff to ensure the office complies with its statutory obligations.

Here are the full terms of the settlement:
americanoversight.org/american-overs…
While the terms of the settlement are between American Oversight and the Office of the Secretary of State, all records requesters and the general public will benefit from the improved open records policy.
The lawsuit “was not just about obtaining important public records, it was also meant to incentivize the secretary’s office to change its open records procedures,” said Sarah Brewerton-Palmer, attorney with Caplan Cobb LLP, who represented us in litigation.
The settlement “is an important step towards that goal, and we are hopeful that these reforms will make it easier for members of the public to get records from the secretary,” she added.
“We....are very pleased to see the secretary of state’s office agree to meet the basic requirements of the Open Records Act — but unfortunately, it’s what the secretary of state should have been doing all along,” said Richard T. Griffiths, president emeritus of @Ga_FAF.
“[O]pen, public records are absolutely key to the public’s trust in government institutions...[T]rust in government is at all-time lows in the U.S., and when records are withheld, especially in violation of the law, the public’s trust is further eroded.”
This lawsuit was part of our broader investigation into efforts to suppress voting rights and to undermine democracy nationwide. More information on our investigations into election management in Georgia is available here.
americanoversight.org/jurisdiction/g…

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More from @weareoversight

12 Nov
On Nov. 19 2020, Texas Gov. Abbott asked then-President Trump for continued funding and authority for Covid-19 support from the Texas National Guard, a letter we obtained shows.

The same day, Abbott refused to impose new business restrictions as cases soared.
In the Nov. 19 letter, Gov. Abbott acknowledged that Covid-19 cases were surging across his state.
He thought the National Guard extension was “critical to ensuring the safety and health of our citizens as Texas aggressively responds to this surge in Covid-19 cases.”
americanoversight.org/document/texas…
Read 5 tweets
11 Nov
Former President Trump and his allies tried to overturn his 2020 election loss and they tried to pressure DOJ officials to help.

We have filed dozens of #FOIA requests and multiple lawsuits for records that could shed light on Trump's alarming plot.
americanoversight.org/investigation/…
In early December, Attorney General William Barr — who stepped down later that month — publicly said the Justice Department had uncovered no evidence of widespread fraud that would have changed the election’s outcome.
But Trump, who had long sought to use DOJ to serve his own political ends, remained fixated on his campaign to enlist DOJ to perpetuate his false allegations of voter fraud, including a plot to replace its leadership with a loyalist willing to help in his anti-democratic effort.
Read 13 tweets
11 Nov
We’re investigating Texas’ election “audit.” In Sept., the Texas secretary of state’s office announced a “full forensic audit” of the 2020 election — just hours after former President Trump publicly asked Gov. Greg Abbott to do so.
americanoversight.org/investigation/…
Trump’s demand for the investigation in Texas came nearly a year after he won the state by a 5.6 percent margin. The “audit” will focus on results in Dallas, Harris, Tarrant, and Collin counties, all of which except Collin were won by Joe Biden.
We have submitted 14 records requests that ask for the release of communications from the secretary of state, governor, & attorney general’s offices as well as the elections departments & county commissioners in Dallas, Harris, Tarrant, & Collin counties concerning this "audit.”
Read 6 tweets
10 Nov
American Oversight está investigando la “auditoría” de #Texas de los resultados de las elecciones de 2020 — otra acción infundada que ayuda a difundir información falsa, debilita la confianza en la democracia, y justifica nuevas restricciones al voto.
americanoversight.org/espanol/la-gra… Image
El 23 de septiembre, la oficina del secretario del estado de #Texas anunció que “ya había comenzado el proceso” de investigar los resultados de las elecciones de 2020 en cuatro de los condados más grandes: Dallas, Harris, Tarrant, y Collin.
El anuncio llegó solo horas después de que el ex presidente Donald Trump insistió públicamente que el gobernador Abbott apoyara la legislación que haría una revisión similar al proceso emprendido por el Senado de Arizona.
Read 8 tweets
10 Nov
Last week, in response to our lawsuit, a Wisconsin judge ordered the Wisconsin Assembly and Speaker Robin Vos to turn over certain records related to their partisan election investigation within 10 days.
americanoversight.org/court-orders-r…
On Oct. 8, we sued the Wisconsin Assembly & Speaker Vos for these records. Within a few hours, the judge ordered the defendants to release records within 30 days or show cause why they could or would not. Friday, the judge found their reasons insufficient.
americanoversight.org/court-orders-w…
That’s not all the recent news from the partisan review, though. Michael Gableman, the attorney running the sham review, has been keeping secret many details of the investigation, including the identities of several people he has hired at taxpayer expense.
jsonline.com/story/news/pol…
Read 8 tweets
9 Nov
NEW: The Arizona Court of Appeals has upheld a lower court ruling that Cyber Ninjas, the lead contractor in the sham “audit,” must turn over records to @azcentral. The court lifted a stay (pause) of the order to produce documents.
azcourts.gov/Portals/0/Opin…
The court’s ruling today came in a lawsuit filed by the Arizona Republic (@azcentral) seeking records from the Arizona Senate and Cyber ninjas related to the “audit.”

We have brought a separate lawsuit against the Senate for some of the same records.
Cyber Ninjas argued that because it is a private business and not a government agency, it is not subject to Arizona’s Public Records Law. The court nonetheless found Cyber Ninjas subject to the law, as a “custodian” of the records it refused to turn over to the Senate.
Read 8 tweets

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