James Mills: Rogue Election Administrator

James Mills is an active election denier who leads day-to-day operations at the Georgia State Election Board. Known for posting conspiracy theories about the 2020 election while in office, Mills has recently gone further even than the MAGA Board members who hired him, exceeding his authority under a resolution they passed to ask for federal intervention in Georgia’s voting machines.

Worst moments:

• Posted conspiracy theories about Fulton County election administration while serving as Executive Director of the State Election Board.
• Hired an election denial activist as official state investigator.
• Exceeded his authority under a resolution passed by the Board to ask for direct federal intervention in installing new software on Georgia’s voting machines, prompting the Board’s Republican appointees to admit that they had “no control” over Mills’ actions in office.

History of election denial

Mills began his political career as a Republican state lawmaker, representing House District 25 from 1993 to 2011 before resigning to join the state Board of Pardons and Paroles. As a legislator he passed proof-of-citizenship-at-registration legislation and was named the Christian Coalition's Legislator of the Year in 2001.

Hired as Executive Director of the State Election Board in May 2025, Mills has posted conspiracy theories about Fulton County’s 2020 election conduct while in office, including false claims that “clerical errors rendered the 2020 election uncertifiable.” Based on his amplification of misinformation, Mills was named by a voting rights group as one of the most dangerous election deniers in Georgia.

Impact while in office

As Executive Director, Mills has been aligned with the Board’s MAGA majority, and conservative activists have praised him as “willing to pursue questions about voting systems, voter rolls, and 2020 that they believe others ignored.” Under Mills, the board hired Jason Frazier, an election denial activist who has challenged thousands of Georgia voter registrations, questioned the 2020 election, and called Gov. Kemp a “supposed Republican,” as the board’s official investigator.

But recent events show that Mills is willing to go beyond even the MAGA majority on the State Elections Board. In late September 2026, the board narrowly passed a resolution urging the secretary of state to begin recommended software updates to Georgia’s voting machines, authorizing Mills to seek federal help over the failure to update, and directing him to assist existing federal inquiries.

Mills sent letters to Attorney General Todd Blanche, Civil Rights Division head Harmeet Dhillon, and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin that went well past his authority under the resolution. Mills asked Trump’s DOJ to compel state and county officials to install specific newer software before November and to ban QR-code tabulation outright under a binding six-month deadline. The letters also added allegations against Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger that appear nowhere in the resolution, claiming that he misled the legislature and the public about the cost and feasibility of fixing the system and asking the DOJ to investigate his office.

Upon learning of Mills’ letters, State Elections Board Chair John Fervier said that the Board never authorized, reviewed, or even knew about the letters, and that they far exceeded what it approved. According to Fervier, “We have no control over our executive director,” who “does whatever the hell he wants to.” He called the letters a political attack on the secretary of state meant to sow confusion. Salleigh Grubbs, a longtime election denier who voted for the resolution and forms the core of the MAGA majority, agreed with Fervier, and said that her vote was not intended to authorize demands that “we don’t have time to do.”

Mills’ requests pose a genuine danger of inviting federal interference amid efforts by the Trump administration to meddle in Georgia’s elections. Despite uniting MAGA appointees and the Georgia Secretary of State’s office against his moves, Mills remains in office and able to cause further damage unless removed by the State Election Board.