Interview with Georgia State Election Board chair

John Fervier, president of Georgia's State Election Board, is simply a mild-mannered firm executive pinch a barren wit and an aversion to nan spotlight. Yet successful caller weeks he recovered himself astatine nan halfway of a governmental large wind arsenic 3 of his MAGA-oriented committee members pushed done rules that galore believed would person caused chaos and disorder successful Georgia during nan statesmanlike election. 

The pro-Trump faction, which forms a mostly of nan board, passed 1 norm that would person required region predetermination officials to hand-count each insubstantial ballot connected predetermination nighttime and different norm that required a "reasonable inquiry" earlier an predetermination could beryllium certified. 

Both rules were yet rejected by Georgia courts, though nan rulings person been appealed. Fervier talked to CBS News —his first beryllium down pinch a nationalist outlet— astir really he thinks nan predetermination has gone truthful acold and what he's expecting successful nan coming days. 

The question and reply has been condensed and lightly edited for clarity.

Dan Klaidman:  How's nan predetermination going truthful acold from your vantage point? You've been retired there, walking around, talking to canvass workers, predetermination administrators.  

John Fervier: As president of nan authorities predetermination board, I felt it was basal for maine to person boots connected nan ground, to spell retired location and spot what's really happening, specifically for Fulton County, because location were a batch of allegations, mostly unfounded allegations, from nan 2020 election. 

But I besides wanted to spot what was going connected crossed nan state. So past week, I was successful South Georgia, I visited Camden County, visited Glynn County, and I person been to respective locations successful Gwinnett County. Now I've been to 9 different locations successful Fulton County.  I've visited adjacent to 15 polling locations now, and each I've seen is simply a very smooth, well-run, well-organized election. 

I talked to group operating nan canvass pads, to voters. I talked to these information officers, and I talk to each nan predetermination monitors, whether they're from nan Democratic Party, Republican Party, aliases moreover nan Libertarian Party, I conscionable want to get their emotion of really things are going. I consciousness assured pinch nan laws and nan policies and procedures that are successful spot that we person a very unafraid election.

Georgia State Election Board Chair John Fervier successful September successful Atlanta. In an question and reply pinch CBS News, Fervier said threats against nan committee were "spiking" successful August and September but person "significantly reduced" recently. Mike Stewart / AP

Klaidman:  You mentioned Fulton County, which was nan entity of a batch of nan contention backmost successful 2020 and threats against canvass workers —and people, including erstwhile President Trump, casting uncertainty connected whether they ran a adjacent election. This past weekend, nan authorities Republican statement revenge lawsuits complete nan county's decision to let group to driblet disconnected absentee ballots aft nan Friday deadline. A judge rejected their claim.

Fervier: Well, it's a batch of disinformation being put retired there. It's group that conscionable don't understand aliases are really conscionable trying to create chaos. 

There is nary prohibition successful statute of rule that would support a region from keeping their registrar's agency unfastened connected nan play to cod absentee ballots. Some group want to opportunity they're continuing voting aliases proceed doing this aliases that? No, it's conscionable group that are conscionable dropping disconnected their absentee ballots. They could driblet them disconnected astatine nan station office. They tin manus them complete astatine nan register's office. They tin manus them successful connected Election Day aliases during early voting period, aliases connected nan weekends if that's what nan region truthful desires. And that's not against nan statute.

Klaidman:  So you deliberation this is an effort to sow distrust successful nan election, aliases to suppress nan vote?

Fervier:  I don't understand why anybody opposed it. Frankly, if you're worried astir ballot security, you should beryllium successful favour of this because they're really delivering them to a registrar and not putting a truckload of them successful a mailbox someplace. So to me, I don't cognize why you'd beryllium opposed to this, and I've seen immoderate group online utilizing this to effort to create chaos. 

Russia predetermination interference successful Georgia

Klaidman: The FBI and U.S. intelligence organization person said Russia has tried to interfere pinch nan U.S. election.  Last week nan FBI linked a video purporting to show elector fraud successful Georgia to Russian power actors.  

Fervier: To me, nan bigger threat is nan integrated worldly that's coming from wrong our country. You know, location are groups of group retired there, they telephone themselves nan Patriots aliases nan Proud Boys aliases Antifa aliases whatever, and those are nan ones that scare maine much than nan Russian bots, because they person organized groups retired location that origin issues. 

I've seen that connected nan State Election Board. You'll person these group that will conscionable gin up each this worry complete issues and they're conscionable trying to create chaos and sow uncertainty and disorder successful nan election. 

Klaidman: Have you seen immoderate grounds of fraud?

Fervier: You sewage 5 to 7 cardinal group voting. There's going to beryllium immoderate mini issues, but they want to talk astir forbidden immigrants voting. In my clip connected nan board, I've ne'er seen a lawsuit yet (involving) forbidden immigrants (that) has travel earlier nan board. 

They want to talk astir each these dormant group voting. I haven't seen that. 

Have location been instances of group double voting? Yes, there's ever going to beryllium that. There's ever going to beryllium those onesies and twosies retired there. That's going to happen. But this wide magnitude of people, they talk astir wide amounts of dormant people, aliases wide magnitude of forbidden immigrants, aliases monolithic magnitude of anything, it's conscionable not happening. It's not reality. But if you perceive to immoderate of these group connected nan net aliases connected Twitter you would deliberation it's conscionable a large problem. It's conscionable not.

Klaidman: As nan president of nan State Election Board, (you) person been astatine nan halfway of a contention successful Georgia complete this predetermination connected nan committee itself.  The MAGA-oriented mostly pushed done immoderate rules that could person delayed certification of nan election, including a request that ballots beryllium handcounted to guarantee that (they) matched nan number counted by machines, arsenic good arsenic 1 that allowed for a "reasonable inquiry" to look into imaginable fraud earlier certification.  What do you deliberation those committee members' motives were?

Fervier: You'll person to inquire them their motive.  My positions for opposing these are good known, and I authorities them successful nan committee meetings themselves. They deliberation that these rules will heighten information of nan elections. I don't stock that sentiment pinch them. 

Some of these rules look to beryllium reasonably innocuous, until you commencement knowing precisely really they work. I reason them because I don't deliberation they're grounded successful statute aliases allowed by law.  I'm a small-government benignant of guy. I don't judge successful nan powerfulness of boards. I judge successful nan powerfulness of nan legislature. The legislature is nan ones that should beryllium making predetermination law, not authorities boards. 

Anxieties astir predetermination boards and certification

Klaidman: There's been concern, not conscionable successful Georgia but astir nan country, that immoderate of these section predetermination boards whitethorn simply garbage to certify their elections. 

Fervier: The statute says that astatine 5 p.m. connected nan Monday pursuing nan election, nan committee "shall certify" nan results of nan election. It doesn't opportunity "maybe." It doesn't opportunity "probably." They person nary discretion there.  

Klaidman: How concerned are you that 1 aliases much members of 1 of these boards garbage to certify arsenic an enactment of civilian disobedience? 

Fervier: Well, I deliberation that's apt to happen, having —frankly, I'll beryllium shocked if location wasn't anyone successful nan authorities of Georgia that didn't garbage to certify. I would beryllium much concerned if I thought that a (full) committee refused to certify. I deliberation that that creates a important problem. An individual won't extremity nan certification. I americium greatly concerned astir if a committee refuses to.

Klaidman: What recourse is location if that happens?

Fervier: If an individual refuses certifying, I could spot personification bringing a lawsuit earlier nan authorities predetermination committee because they garbage to travel nan law. It'll beryllium absorbing to spot if that occurs. We tin besides mention cases to nan lawyer general's agency aliases nan section D.A. for prosecution.

Why is nan predetermination denial activity still strong?

Klaidman: What benignant of insights person you gleaned complete this past almost year, since you've been connected nan committee astir this predetermination denial activity that's been specified a stubborn portion of our politics?

Fervier: I don't deliberation group springiness capable in installments to nan chaos and disorder that was caused by COVID. In nan 2020 election, erstwhile you had counties that recovered it very difficult to prosecute predetermination workers aliases qualified predetermination workers, you had group that wouldn't spell to nan polls and ballot by absentee ballot successful grounds numbers. I deliberation that location was a batch of quality correction that occurred successful 2020 but I person yet to spot immoderate existent fraud, and I've looked astatine hundreds, if not thousands of pages of grounds that's been put earlier me. And each that (alleged) fraud has been disproven clip and clip again, by nan Georgia Bureau of Investigation, by nan FBI, by reporters, by Republicans, by Democrats. I mean, it's been disproven, and yet group can't look to get past it.

Threats against predetermination officials arsenic tensions rise

Klaidman: Many person heard astir Ruby Freeman and her girl Shay Moss, poll workers successful Fulton County who were nan targets of horrific threats of unit and group attacks. What is your consciousness of nan threat situation correct now, a time earlier nan election?

Fervier: I would show you that for our board, nan threats were spiking backmost successful nan August-September clip frame, erstwhile each nan rules were being projected for our board. They've importantly reduced successful nan past mates weeks. 

Klaidman: You received decease threats? 

Fervier: I've received some.  But arsenic I spell astir to nan polls, I haven't heard of a azygous lawsuit of immoderate threats. There was only 2 instances I've heard of wherever nan constabulary had to beryllium notified, and it was because voters were wearing campaigning cogwheel that they shouldn't person been wearing. You're not allowed to deterioration partisan cogwheel wrong 150 feet of nan polls.  

Klaidman: Are you worried astir beingness violence?

Fervier: I deliberation that we request to beryllium prepared for it. There are crazy group retired there, crazy group connected nan correct and nan left, and emotions and passions are high. Every polling spot I've been astatine has had information officers there, which gives maine a batch of confidence, and gives nan voters and predetermination workers a batch of confidence.  It's thing we person to beryllium concerned astir but I haven't heard of aliases seen immoderate threats yet.

Klaidman: We utilized to return for granted that nan group who administer our elections did truthful successful a nonpartisan way. Can we still do that?

Fervier: We've each sewage opinions. The mobility is whether you tin beryllium nonpartisan successful your work. My position is nonpartisan by statute, and I return that highly seriously. I don't attraction if you're a Democrat aliases Republican, libertarian, Green Party. It doesn't matter to maine — everybody deserves a voice. Everybody deserves to vote. And it's highly important to maine that each of america successful nan predetermination system, whether it's nan canvass workers aliases nan canvass superintendents aliases nan boards aliases anybody, enactment successful a nonpartisan manner. 

Klaidman: What's your time look for illustration connected Election Day? 

Fervier: Busy, busy, busy. I'm going to commencement retired astatine 7 a.m. successful nan polls and astir apt decorativeness up astatine midnight pinch nan caput of state's office, watching each nan returns travel in. I would for illustration to deed 10 to 15 polls during nan time astatine least. And erstwhile I spell into a poll, I want to shingle nan manus of each canvass worker there, because I americium highly grateful for nan difficult activity and nan clip and their patience and what they've done complete nan past three, 4 weeks successful bringing astir a safe and unafraid predetermination for Georgia. These group activity hard, and they merit our appreciation.

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• Georgia
• Election