With the general election just around the corner, it's important to take stock of some of the most pressing unresolved issues in the nation's key states, like Georgia.

Weeks after Georgia's latest primary election, issues continue to emerge that highlight important procedural issues that must be addressed before the November election. Election security advocates should be more concerned about the election problems revealed in Macon-Bibb County.

Macon-Bibb County's vote shuffle was widely reported by national outlets. Due to redistricting, some voters received the wrong ballots, preventing voters from voting for the correct candidates. The confusion was so severe that the Georgia NAACP publicly called on a pause in the elections

All citizens should be concerned about possible meddling, especially when it comes to an issue that could have a significant impact on election results. Even if procedural errors like these ended up being too minor to affect the results, putting a public pause on an election can signal to voters that their local officials are taking the integrity of their vote seriously.

This year, the Democratic Party of Georgia it began guidance election officials who failed to certify with letters threatening legal action and alleging that certification is a non-discretionary task. Leftist media and organizations have doubled down on this claim, publishing articles, reportsi review of the law articles stating that election officials must certify every election no matter what.

However, the certification must follow the appropriate schedule. Just as election officials cannot be expected to certify before an election has taken place, they cannot be expected to certify before certain election procedures have been completed under the election code. The election is not complete until the entire process is over.

While the Left's narrative would have us believe that election officials are only not certifying to protest the results, that's simply not the case. In Fulton County, Julie Adams, a member of the Board of Registration and Elections requested electoral documentation necessary to fulfill their functions according to the electoral code well in advance of the elections. He was refused, so she sued Fulton County to access the necessary documents and obtain clarification on their duties.

Although many articles and reports claim that certification is a ministerial task, they often overlook the reasons why election officials refuse to certify. For example, a recent Protect Democracy report on certification states that election procedures prior to certification help prevent problems of fraud and inaccuracy. But what this report fails to understand is that election officials are refusing to certify elections because it is unclear whether these procedures, required by law, have been followed and followed.

Groups across the political spectrum have questions about sloppy election processes. A discretionary certification process can prevent oversight by holding election officials accountable for fulfilling their duties before certifying.

It is clear that Georgians—and Americans—want electoral procedures to be completed properly. As we look to November, voters must recognize that the authority of election officials to enforce a full election process will be the key issue and solution to this problem.

Josh Findlay is the director of the National Election Protection Project at the Texas Public Policy Foundation and the former national director of election integrity for the Republican National Committee.

The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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