DeKalb County GOP urges Georgia Election Board member to step down due to lobbying conflicts

The DeKalb County GOP unanimously approved a resolution on Saturday calling on Georgia State Election Board (SEB) member Edward Lindsey to resign over his history of voting on cases before the board involving clients he lobbied for.

“Whereas, Ed Lindsey has been unable to keep track of potential conflicts between his service on the State Elections Board and his lobbying practice,” the resolution reads, “This County Republican Party calls on Ed Lindsey to resign immediately.”

Lindsey was elevated to the SEB by the Georgia House in January 2022 and is up for re-confirmation this week.

The Federalist previously unearthed that Lindsey has presided over several cases involving DeKalb and Cobb Counties during his time as an SEB member. According to Georgia lobbyist registration and disclosure reports, not only is Lindsey registered as a lobbyist for the governments of DeKalb and Cobb Counties, he’s also a lobbyist for Dentons US LLP, a global law and lobbying firm that was contracted with both localities as recently as last year.

Lindsey also previously lobbied on behalf of the National Vote at Home Coalition, a left-wing organization that pushes insecure mail-in voting policies and notably interfered in the 2020 election to boost Democrats.

While the SEB’s Code of Conduct requires members to “avoid any appearance of conflict and/or impropriety,” Lindsey has declined to recuse himself from some matters involving DeKalb and Cobb that have been brought before the board. On Oct. 3, 2023, for instance, Lindsey and the SEB heard a case pertaining to a complaint filed against DeKalb County over several election-related issues, such as late poll openings and poor practices surrounding absentee ballot tabulation. He also presided over a case involving Cobb County last month.

In its resolution, the DeKalb County GOP noted how “the public does not know the details of Ed Lindsey’s lobbying contracts with these and other clients, including the goals these clients are trying to achieve with his help.”

“[P]ublic confidence is undermined when lobbyists serve on this key watchdog agency’s Board,” the document reads.

The local party further referenced Lindsey’s recent decision to recuse himself from a case involving a 2023 complaint filed by DeKalb GOP Chair Marci McCarthy. That complaint alleged wrongdoing by DeKalb County for its acceptance of a $2 million grant from the Center for Tech and Civic Life, which poured hundreds of millions of “Zuckbucks” into local election offices leading up to the 2020 to help Joe Biden. In order to acquire the monies, DeKalb’s Democrat officials had the county’s finance department apply for the grant instead of the elections board, effectively circumventing Georgia’s “Zuckbucks” ban.

SEB Paralegal Alexandra Hardin previously told The Federalist that an investigation into the allegations raised in McCarthy’s complaint is “still pending and open,” and findings have yet to be presented to the board.

After being pressed on the matter, Lindsey informed McCarthy last week that he would be recusing himself from the complaint, citing the fact that the “complaint is against the DeKalb Commission and not merely the separate DeKalb Election Board.” Lindsey previously told The Federalist, “If a claim involves a direct allegation against a client of our firm, I have in the past and will in the future recuse myself.”

In addition to calling for Lindsey’s resignation, the DeKalb County GOP requested Speaker Jon Burns and the Republican-controlled House to replace Lindsey with someone who has “no such conflicts” and is “committed to restoring public confidence in elections administration.”

McCarthy sent the resolution to Burns and every member of the GOP House majority on Tuesday.

Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He previously served as a state content writer for Convention of States Action and his work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Conservative Review. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood