Barrett’s bid for Georgia secretary of state centers on election administration and a dispute that has put Fulton County’s local election system in the spotlight. On Jan. 8, the Democratic Fulton County commissioner announced her campaign at a downtown Atlanta bookstore news conference, setting up a Democratic primary contest for the statewide post, according to the Associated Press.
Barrett entered the race as Georgia also faces a transition in top election oversight. Current Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, is running for governor this year, and Republican Gabriel Sterling, one of Raffensperger’s top deputies, is running to replace him. The two Republicans drew national attention in 2020 when they defended Georgia’s presidential election results after President Donald Trump pressed them to help “find” votes needed to overturn Democratic President Joe Biden’s narrow win, the AP reported.
At her launch, Barrett framed the secretary of state job as a bulwark against political pressure on election processes. She said she was running “to prevent elections from being handed ‘to extremists and election deniers who think that their voices are more important than yours.’” In the AP report, Barrett also connected the stakes of the office to protecting voters’ ability to determine outcomes.
Barrett defended the Fulton County commissioners’ decision to fight the court order tied to appointments to the county election board. She said she did not believe a lower court followed the law, and she argued the case should be appealed and continued, using the language of persistence against the ruling. She added, “Your vote is your voice. And now they want to take that away, too,” and said, “That’s why I was going to go to jail to protect Fulton County elections. That’s why I’m running to be the next secretary of state of Georgia,” according to AP.
The underlying Fulton County controversy dates to last year, when Barrett was described as a vocal part of a Democratic majority that refused to approve two Republican nominees to the county election board. A judge then found the Fulton Board of Commissioners in civil contempt and imposed a fine of $10,000 a day until the nominees are appointed. The AP said that ruling is currently on hold pending appeal.
Barrett’s candidacy also joins a Democratic field that already includes other declared contenders. The AP report said former Fulton County State Court Judge Penny Brown Reynolds, who had a brief reality TV career, was already running in the Democratic primary, along with Adrian Consonery Jr. and Cam T. Ashling.
The Democratic entry by Barrett underscores how the secretary of state race is unfolding alongside a Republican contest to determine who will lead Georgia’s elections office. While the AP report lists additional names in the Republican primary, it highlights Raffensperger’s gubernatorial bid and Sterling’s bid to succeed him as the central leadership questions for the post.