Georgia Republican Party leader David Shafer said Johnston was qualified for the job.
“She has served as a poll worker, poll observer and postal ballot observer. As a citizen, she oversaw the meetings of the state electoral committee. She is now retired from her medical practice and can fully devote herself to this important responsibility,” Shafer said.
State law requires Governor Brian Kemp to immediately nominate political party candidates to the state election committee. Johnston will replace Ahn Le, whose two-year term ended late last year. A spokeswoman for Kemp did not respond to a request for comment.
Johnston joins two other Republicans on the five-member state election board: Ed Lindsey, who was nominated by House Speaker David Ralston this month, and Matt Mashburn, who was confirmed by the state Senate last year. The Georgia Democratic Party appointed Sara Tindall Ghazal to its executive board last year.
The fifth seat on the state election board has been vacant since Georgia’s election law ousted Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger last year. The Republican-majority General Assembly has the power to nominate anyone to fill that seat during this year’s legislative session.
