ATLANTA — An appeals court in the battleground state of Georgia declined Friday to expedite review of an appeal of a judge’s ruling that county election officials must vote to certify results within the deadline set by law.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled this month that “no inspector of elections (or member of a board of elections and registration) may refuse to certify or refrain from certifying election results under any circumstances.” His ruling came in a lawsuit filed by Julie Adams, a Republican member of the Fulton County Board of Elections, which includes most of Atlanta and is a Democratic stronghold.

Adams, who had requested a declaration saying her duties as an election board member were discretionary, appealed that order Wednesday and asked the Georgia Court of Appeals to hear it on an expedited basis.

“If the appeal proceeds as usual, this appeal will not be fully briefed (let alone decided) until well after Election Day,” her lawyers argued in a motion.

But the appeals court decision means McBurney’s decision will almost certainly stand through the deadline for county officials to certify results, which this year is Nov. 12. A lawyer for Adams declined to comment on the appeals court’s decision.

Adams has asked the appeals court to weigh McBurney’s claim that she is required to vote to certify election results because of the deadline set by the law.

McBurney had also noted in her order that if Adams were to find fraud or abuse, she could file an election contest in court. She asked the appeals court to determine whether it is a “sufficient and proper remedy” for her if she finds “fraud, error, mistake or abuse” before the deadline.

The traditionally routine administrative task of vote certification has become an arena for political disputes since then-President Donald Trump sought to reverse his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

Several swing-state Republicans, including Adams, refused to certify results earlier this year, and some have sued to avoid being forced to sign off on the election results.