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Post-Election
POST-ELECTION DEVELOPMENTS IN GEORGIA
Key dates:
Nov. 13 - AP calls Georgia for Biden.
Nov. 13-18 - Full hand recounts in the counties from 9 am on Friday, Nov. 13 to 11:59 pm on Wednesday, Nov. 18.
Nov. 17 - SOS voting machine audit concluded.
Nov. 20 - Gov. Brian Kemp certifies the results.
Nov. 21 - Trump campaign requests formal recount.
Dec. 3 - Hearings by the Georgia Senate Government Oversight Committee and Georgia Senate Judiciary Subcommittee.
Dec. 7 - Results of formal recount announced.
Dec. 14 - Georgia electors meet.
Dec. 30 - Hearing by the Election Law Sub-Committee of the Standing Senate Judiciary Committee.
Jan. 2, 2021 - President Trump phone call to Secretary of State Raffensperger.
Jan. 6 - Congress meets to certify the electoral votes. Congressman Jody Hice attempts to raise an objection, but does not gain support from any Senators.
Jan. 7 - Trump lawyers voluntarily dismiss four remaining lawsuits against Secretary Raffensperger.
See also:
Angeo Fichera. "Video Doesn't Show 'Suitcases' of Illegal Ballots in Georgia." FactCheck.org, Dec. 4, 2020.
Johnny Kauffman. "Inside The Battle For Fulton County's Votes." WABE, Feb. 3, 2021.
Johnny Kauffman. "'You Better Run': After Trump's False Attacks, Election Workers Faced Threats." NPR, Feb. 5, 2021.
PRESENTED BELOW AS A RESOURCE FOR READERS IS A COLLECTION OF SOURCE MATERIAL ARRANGED CHRONOLOGICALLY TO GIVE A SENSE OF HOW THE POST-ELECTION UNFOLDED IN GEORGIA. KEEP IN MIND THAT WHILE ELECTION OFFICIALS WERE DOING THEIR JOBS TO ENSURE AN ACCURATE TALLY OF THE VOTE, THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN AND OTHER ACTORS WERE SPREADING DISINFORMATION. THE CHALLENGE AT THE TIME WAS TO SORT THROUGH IT ALL AND MAKE SENSE OF WHAT LATER CAME TO BE KNOWN AS "THE BIG LIE."
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
November 4, 2020
Trump Campaign Statement on Georgia Lawsuit
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. released the following statement on the heels of the Trump campaign's lawsuit filed to ensure election integrity in Georgia:"President Trump and his team are fighting for the good of the nation to uphold the rule of law, and Georgia’s law is very clear: to legally count, mail ballots must be received by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day. That’s still the law, even after Democrats sued earlier this year to extend the deadline and delay Election Day—President Trump and Republicans fought to uphold Georgia law, and we won.
"But today, a Republican poll observer in Georgia witnessed 53 late absentee ballots illegally added to a stack of on-time absentee ballots in Chatham County. We will not allow Democrat election officials to steal this election from President Trump with late, illegal ballots. President Trump and the Georgia Republican Party have filed suit to require all Georgia counties to separate any and all late-arriving ballots from all legally cast ballots to ensure a free, fair election in which only legal, valid ballots count.
"We look forward to the court swiftly resolving this issue and to President Trump’s upcoming repeat win in Georgia."
- Justin Clark, Deputy Campaign Manager and Senior Counsel
Click here to read the full lawsuit
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
November 5, 2020
UPDATE: Trump Campaign to Host Atlanta Press Conference at 7:30 PM EST
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. will host a press conference in Atlanta, Georgia with Donald J. Trump Jr., Rep. Doug Collins (GA-09), Georgia State Rep. Vernon Jones, and Georgia Republican National Committeewoman Ginger Howard at 7:30 pm EST.WHEN: Thursday, November 5 at 7:30 pm EST
WHERE: Georgia Republican Party Headquarters
470 East Paces Ferry Road NE
Atlanta, GA 30305
_____
[originally scheduled for 6:00 p.m. | video]
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger
November 5, 2020
With 61,367 Votes Out, Officials Focused on Getting it Right
With counting continuing in numerous counties throughout Georgia, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said that as of 9:15 a.m. today there are approximately 61,367 ballots still outstanding.“Officials in numerous counties are continuing to count ballots, with strong security protocols in place to protect the integrity of our election,” said Raffensperger. “We have long anticipated – and said publicly – that counting would most likely take place into Wednesday night and perhaps Thursday morning. We’re on pace to accomplish that responsibly, ensuring that the voice of every eligible voter is heard. It’s important to act quickly, but it’s more important to get it right.”
Raffensperger noted numerous security measures in place to secure the vote and increase public confidence in the electoral process:
- Absentee drop boxes were locked at 7 p.m. Tuesday evening, preventing illegal voting or potential fraud.
- Surveillance cameras monitored drop boxes at all times.
- State monitor is in the room with Fulton County for all counts and the public is welcome to observe any county as an added layer of transparency.
- A pre-certification audit will provide additional confidence that votes were accurately counted.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger
November 6, 2020
With More Than 22,600 UOCAVA and Provisional Votes Out, Officials Focused on Getting it Right
Note: this is a retransmission of this news release to fix the broken link below to the Known Provisionals data file.(ATLANTA) - With counting continuing in numerous counties throughout Georgia, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said that as of 3:00 p.m. today there are approximately 8,400 military and overseas ballots (UOCAVA), and 14,200 provisional ballots outstanding.
“Officials in numerous counties are continuing to count ballots, with strong security protocols in place to protect the integrity of our election,” said Raffensperger. “We have long anticipated – and said publicly – that counting would most likely take place into Wednesday night and perhaps Thursday morning. We’re on pace to accomplish that responsibly, ensuring that the voice of every eligible voter is heard. It’s important to act quickly, but it’s more important to get it right.”
Raffensperger noted numerous security measures in place to secure the vote and increase public confidence in the electoral process:
- Absentee drop boxes were locked at 7 p.m. Tuesday evening, preventing illegal voting or potential fraud.
- Surveillance cameras monitored drop boxes at all times.
- State monitor is in the room with Fulton County for all counts and the public is welcome to observe any county as an added layer of transparency.
- A pre-certification audit will provide additional confidence that votes were accurately counted.
The documents included in the link below provide a breakdown of the outstanding UOCAVA ballots by county for those counties that have provided data and the provisional ballots that have been cast statewide.
Corrected link
UOCAVA Ballots
An additional approximately 8,410 military and overseas absentee ballots have been sent out to requesters but not yet returned. Such ballots, if postmarked by Election Day, can be accepted within three days of Election Day.
The document titled “UOCAVA Update 11062020” provides total numbers and a county by county breakdown of the total number UOCAVA ballots that have been accepted and that have not yet been returned.
Provisional Ballots
There are also more than 14,200 provisional ballots that have been received by county elections officials. Provisional ballots are used in several situations and handled differently based on the situation. If a voter tries to cast a ballot at the wrong precinct, they cast a provisional ballot and only the races relevant to their assigned precinct are counted. If a voter tries to cast a ballot in the wrong county, they are only eligible to cast ballots in statewide races. If a voter attempts to cast a ballot but is not listed as a registered voter, they vote a provisional ballot, which is set aside until county officials or the voter him or herself clarifies their registration status. Lastly, provisional ballots are used for any votes cast during court extended voting hours.
The document entitled “Known Provisionals 10-6 3pm” contains the information the Office of the Secretary of State had available as of 3 pm on November 6 on the provisional ballots received by counties in Georgia. Data was not available for all counties. Fulton County is not included in this document. A key explaining the various codes is included to the right of the data set.
An additional document, “Fulton Provisional Recap Notice Nov3,” contains the data on provisional ballots received by Fulton County as of noon on November 6.
Nov. 6, 2020 Georgia Vote Count Update - C-SPAN
November 8, 2020
Trump campaign announces Rep. Doug Collins to lead Georgia recount effort
President Donald J. Trump’s campaign today announced that Rep. Doug Collins (GA-9) will lead the campaign’s recount team in Georgia, where a recount will begin as soon as the canvassing has concluded.“We are concerned about the lack of transparency in the tabulation process, especially given the reports of irregularities and improper ballot harvesting in Georgia,” said Matt Morgan, Trump 2020 general counsel. “In order for Americans to have full faith and confidence in our elections, every legal vote must be counted and every illegal or fraudulent vote must be excluded. We look forward to guaranteeing that our elections are safe and secure, just as we look forward to President Trump winning Georgia.”
“Republicans stand by the ideal that every eligible voter should be able to vote legally and have it be counted,” said Rep. Collins. “During the coming recount, we are confident we will find evidence of improperly harvested ballots and other irregularities that will prove that President Trump won Georgia fairly again on his way to re-election as President. Georgians deserve a free and open process, and they will get one.”
Nov. 9, 2020 News Conference on Georgia Vote Count - C-SPAN
True the Vote
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 10, 2020
True the Vote Laser Focused on Georgia Ballot Count; Calls on Army of Volunteers to Assist the Effort
"Yesterday, Georgia’s two sitting Senators jointly called for the resignation of their state’s Secretary of State – a member of their own party – due to the egregious mismanagement of the state’s ballot counting efforts, which remain underway. The Office of Georgia’s Governor followed up with a critical statement calling on the Secretary of State to take a serious look at numerous allegations of fraud and irregularities. While the media and others may be content to move on from our most recent election, we cannot ignore the fact that votes are still being counted in numerous states and all states’ elections have yet to be certified.
"True the Vote is committed to fact-checking credible allegations from start to finish, and our eyes are laser-focused on the state of Georgia. We are calling our entire network of volunteers to mobilize in key areas across Georgia, where they will be on the ground, serving election workers and observing the ballot count, ensuring that every legal vote is counted and every illegitimate vote is not.
"Never in our history has there been such blatant disregard for election integrity. During these pivotal times, we refuse to stand on the sidelines. True the Vote will keep fighting to ensure 2020 election returns reflect the principle of 'one vote for one voter' and to repair our broken elections once and for all."
True the Vote recently launched Validate the Vote, an initiative that establishes a whistleblower fund in excess of $1 million to support those who come forward with credible evidence of criminal malfeasance, takes the steps to resolve illegal actions through litigation, and ensures the final vote tally is valid to maintain public confidence in the U.S. election system. True the Vote has already received thousands of reports to our Election Integrity Hotline from citizens in Georgia and around the country.
The following is a timeline of key dates surrounding this contested election:
- Dec. 8: "Safe Harbor" – date by which states must certify results and assign electors. If an election is in dispute, state legislatures may assign electors.
- Dec. 14: Electors meet in their states to cast votes for the president and VP.
- Jan. 3: New Congress is sworn in; 117th session starts.
- Jan. 6: Electoral votes are counted in House chamber by members of House and Senate; if neither candidate has 270 electoral college votes, the election is in dispute.
- Jan. 20: Inauguration Day – new president takes oath of office. In a disputed election, the House will appoint the president and Senate will choose the VP.
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
November 11, 2020
Victims of Voter Fraud: Initial Announcement of Deceased Georgians Used to Vote in 2020 General Election
Trump campaign releases first set of illegally cast ballots from dead voters; Americans should have confidence their votes are not rendered meaningless due to illegally cast votes by scheming fraudsters.The American people deserve a free, fair, and fully transparent election in which every legal ballot is counted and every illegal ballot is not counted. Having confidence in our elections means knowing that votes are legally cast and that voters themselves are legally eligible to cast a ballot.
Americans cannot have confidence in election results unless elected officials, law enforcement authorities, and fair-minded journalists take the issue of voter fraud seriously and investigate potential instances thoroughly. The Trump campaign will continue to bring these allegations to light, and the media and election authorities should vigorously examine them.
Here are several examples in Georgia that should be investigated:
Voter records show someone used the identity of Mrs. Deborah Jean Christiansen of Roswell, Georgia to vote in the recent election, even though Mrs. Christiansen passed away in May 2019. Further, someone registered Christiansen to vote on October 5, the day of the deadline to register, more than a year after she passed away. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran an obituary announcing Christiansen’s death at the time of her passing.
Someone used the identity of James Blalock of Covington, Georgia to cast a ballot in last week’s election, even though Blalock died in 2006. Blalock’s death notice ran in the Journal-Constitution shortly after he passed away that year.
Linda Kesler of Nicholson, Georgia died in 2003, but someone cast a ballot under her identity in last week’s election. Nicholson’s death notice ran in the Journal-Constitution when she passed away.
Edward Skwiot of Trenton, Georgia is shown as having cast a ballot last week, even though he died in 2015. The Chattanooga Times Free Press ran a death notice in April of that year.
These victims of voter fraud deserve justice, and legal voters should be able to have confidence that their votes are not rendered meaningless due to illegally cast votes.
Holmes Lybrand and Tara Subramaniam. "Fact check: Evidence undermines Trump campaign's claims of dead people voting in Georgia." CNN, Nov. 13, 2020.
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
November 11, 2020
Trump Campaign to Host Georgia Press Call with Rep. Doug Collins (GA-09) and Counsel to the Trump Campaign Stefan Passantino
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc. will host a press call with Rep. Doug Collins (GA-09) and Counsel to the Campaign Stefan Passantino on the campaign's legal efforts in Georgia. The number of lines are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Ground rules will be set at the top of the call.WHEN: Wednesday, November 11 at 12:00 pm EST
Nov. 11, 2020 Georgia Secretary of State Update on 2020 Election - C-SPAN
Nov. 12, 2020 Georgia Update on Election Recount - C-SPAN
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger
November 13, 2020
Monitors Closely Observing Audit-Triggered Full Hand Recount: Transparency is Built Into Process
(ATLANTA) – Monitors from state and county party organizations will be closely observing the statewide full hand recount, which was triggered by Georgia’s first statewide Risk Limiting Audit. From the beginning of planning, the Secretary of State’s office has made sure to instruct counties to allow political party organizations to observe the audit/recount throughout the process.“Transparency is indispensable for ensuring confidence in the outcome of Georgia’s elections, which is why I have instructed county elections officials to ensure political party monitors can watch every step of the way,” said Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. “Providing access and oversight of the full hand recount process has been part of the planning since the beginning. We have encouraged counties to livestream their recounts when possible and have made sure political parties can ensure a clean and fair recount in Georgia. Transparency should be a guiding principle in how counties are conducting the audit. While there are rules in place that allow counties to keep order, the more transparency they can provide the better while still ensuring an orderly process.”
Georgia counties were required to begin their statewide Risk Limiting Audit triggered full hand recounts by 9 am on Friday, November 13. The counties must finish their recounts by 11:59 pm on Wednesday, November 18. As prescribed by Georgia law, the Secretary of State’s office will then certify statewide election results after completion of the audit, by November 20.
Per the instructions given to counties as they conduct their audit triggered full hand recounts, designated monitors will be given complete access to observe the process from the beginning. While the audit triggered recount must be open to the public and media, designated monitors will be able to observe more closely. The general public and the press will be restricted to a public viewing area. Designated monitors will be able to watch the recount while standing close to the elections workers conducting the recount.
Political parties are allowed to designate a minimum of two monitors per county at a ratio of one monitor per party for every ten audit boards in a county. If DeKalb County, for example, has 75 audit teams, each political party would be allowed to designate 8 monitors to monitor the process. Beyond being able to watch to ensure the recount is conducted fairly and securely, the two-person audit boards conducting the hand recount call out the votes as they are recounted, providing monitors and the public an additional way to keep tabs on the process.
The instructions for the audit triggered hand recount build in transparency and provide ample opportunity for party organizations and the voters of Georgia to be confident of a fair and secure process.
Georgia is recognized as a national leader in elections. It was the first state in the country to implement the trifecta of automatic voter registration, at least 16 days of early voting (which has been called the “gold standard”), and no-excuse absentee voting. Georgia continues to set records for voter turnout and election participation, seeing the largest increase in average turnout of any other state in the 2018 midterm election and record primary turnout in 2020, with over 1.1 million absentee by mail voters and over 1.2 million in-person voters utilizing Georgia’s new, secure, paper ballot voting system.
Brian Slodysko. "EXPLAINER: Why AP called Georgia for Biden." AP, Nov. 13, 2020
Democratic Party of Georgia
November 13, 2020
Georgia Democrats’ Statement on Historic Victory
Today, Democratic Party of Georgia Chairwoman Nikema Williams released the following statement:
“The votes have been counted, and Georgia Democrats have made history — Georgia is a blue state. I am so incredibly thrilled to send Georgia’s 16 electoral votes to President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris.
Today’s victory is the result of years of hard work by organizers and volunteers across this state who believed in the power of Georgia voters, and who listened to them. Most importantly, this is not about one person or one election cycle — this is about Georgia voters finding their collective voice to change our state.
Our work isn’t done — Georgia Democrats have made history, and we’re ready to do it again by sending two Democratic senators to Congress on January 5th. Our future is bright and blue.”
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Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger
November 14, 2020
Secretary of State's Office Explains Signature Verification
(ATLANTA) -- Secretary Brad Raffensperger's Office issued an explanation Saturday of the signature-verification process in Georgia to address misinformation that has circulated in social media.How Signature Verification for Absentee Ballots Works in Georgia
When absentee ballots are requested, the application, if made by the individual voter, on a paper application which must be signed by that voter. When the application is reviewed by the county elections/registration office, that signature on the application is compared to signature(s) of the same voter on file in the voter registration. If the signature is consistent with previous signatures (it need not be an “exact match”) then the application is accepted and an absentee ballot packet is mailed to the voter.If a voter uses the Secretary of State’s Absentee Ballot Online Portal, the applicant must provide their date of birth and driver’s license number to verify their identity when applying for their absentee ballot. If this information matches the voter registration information, the voter need not provide a signature and the absentee ballot packet is mailed to the voter.
When the voter marks their absentee and places it in the envelope to return to the county, the voter MUST sign the oath on the outside of the outer envelope. When the ballot is returned to the county, the first thing the county must do is compare the signature to the absentee ballot application (unless the application was made online) and then also compare the ballot envelope signature to the signature(s) of the voter from the voter registration system. Again, the signatures must be consistent, though need not match “exactly.”
If the signature is missing or is NOT consistent with the signatures on file, the county office rejects the ballot, but then contacts the voter and sends a “cure affidavit” for the voter to provide a signature AND copy of identification to confirm that it is actually the registered voter who voted and returned the ballot. If the voter fails to provide this information by three days after the election, the ballot is not counted. If the voter does provide this “cure affidavit” and copy of identification, the absentee ballot is “cured” and is counted with the other absentee ballots.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger
November 17, 2020
SECRETARY RAFFENSPERGER ANNOUNCES COMPLETION OF VOTING MACHINE AUDIT USING FORENSIC TECHNIQUES: NO SIGN OF FOUL PLAY
ATLANTA) - Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger last week ordered Pro V&V, a U.S. Election Assistance Commission certified testing laboratory, to do an audit of a random sample of machines to confirm no hack or tamper: “Pro V&V found no evidence of the machines being tampered.”“We are glad but not surprised that the audit of the state’s voting machines was an unqualified success,” said Secretary Raffensperger. “Election security has been a top priority since day one of my administration. We have partnered with the Department of Homeland Security, the Georgia Cyber Center, Georgia Tech security experts, and wide range of other election security experts around the state and country so Georgia voters can be confident that their vote is safe and secure.”
Pro V&V, based in Huntsville, Alabama is a U.S. Election Assistance Commission-certified Voting System Test Laboratory (VSTL), meaning the lab is “qualified to test voting systems to Federal standards.” VSTL certification is provided for under the Help America Votes Act of 2002. Pro V&V’s accreditation by the USEAC was also recommended by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the U.S. government’s physical science laboratory dedicated to creating standards and measures that would help America be the leading science innovator in the world. NIST contributes regularly to the development of cybersecurity and elections security standards for the U.S. and the world.
Pro V&V conducted an audit of a random sample of Dominion Voting Systems voting machines throughout the state using forensic techniques, including equipment from Cobb, Douglas, Floyd, Morgan, Paulding, and Spalding Counties. ICP (precinct ballot scanners), ICX (ballot marking devices), and ICC (central absentee ballot scanners) components were all subject to the audit. In conducting the audit, Pro V&V extracted the software or firmware from the components to check that the only software or firmware on the components was certified for use by the Secretary of State’s office. The testing was conducted on a Pro V&V laptop independent of the system.
According to the Pro V&V audit, all of the software and firmware on the sampled machines was verified to be the software and firmware certified for use by the Office of the Secretary of State. Coupled with the risk-limiting audit of all paper ballots relying solely on the printed text of the ballots, these steps confirm the assessment of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency that there are no signs of cyber attacks or election hacking.
Georgia is recognized as a national leader in elections. It was the first state in the country to implement the trifecta of automatic voter registration, at least 16 days of early voting (which has been called the “gold standard”), and no-excuse absentee voting. Georgia continues to set records for voter turnout and election participation, seeing the largest increase in average turnout of any other state in the 2018 midterm election and record overall, early, in-person, and absentee-by-mail turnout during the November 2020 elections.
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Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
November 17, 2020
Georgia Recount Reveals That President Trump is Right About Voting Irregularities and Fraud
Recent revelations from Georgia's ongoing statewide recount have shown that President Trump was absolutely correct to raise concerns about widespread voting irregularities that have favored the Biden-Harris ticket.Specifically, the state of Georgia revealed Monday that 2,600 in-person ballots had been left uncounted in Floyd County, raising additional questions. By not counting these ballots, the State of Georgia incorrectly tilted its election results towards Joe Biden and hurt President Trump. Georgia officials must continue with their recount efforts to ensure that the American people know the true outcome of the 2020 presidential election, and the Georgia recount must include a thorough matching of signatures. The State of Georgia must not certify its results until the recount is done accurately and the results are correct.
Additionally, journalists on Monday validated President Trump's statement that Georgia's Consent Decree - pushed by radical leftist Stacey Abrams - "makes it impossible to check & match signatures on ballots and envelopes." President Trump is absolutely accurate to note that Georgia stripped protections against voter fraud at the urging of left-wing activists who sought to tip the state's election results towards Joe Biden. The Trump Campaign will continue to fight in the State of Georgia until every instance of voter fraud is rooted out and all previously uncounted ballots are tallied.
“The Trump campaign has amassed a significant amount of evidence of voter fraud from the November 3rd election and we continue to collect information,” added personal attorney to the President, Rudy Giuliani. “We continue to do everything possible to uncover and combat this fraud, so every lawful vote is counted and every unlawful vote is not counted.”
Nov. 17, 2020 Georgia Election Update - C-SPAN
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger
November 18, 2020
NUMBER OF ABSENTEE BALLOTS REJECTED FOR SIGNATURE ISSUES IN THE 2020 ELECTION INCREASED 350% FROM 2018
(ATLANTA)- The number of absentee ballot rejections for signature issues increased approximately 350% in the November 2020 election in Georgia from the 2018 election, about the same rate of increase as the total number of absentee ballots accepted. The rejection rate for absentee ballots with missing or non-matching signatures in the 2020 General Election was 0.15%, the same rejection rate for signature issues as the 2018 General Election.
2,011 absentee ballots were rejected in the November 2020 election for missing or non-matching signatures out of 1,322,529 absentee ballots cast. In November 2018, 454 absentee ballots were rejected for missing or non-matching signatures out of 284,393 absentee ballots cast. The 0.15% rejection rate for signature issues was the same in both the 2018 and 2020 General Elections.
In the 2020 Primary, 3,266 absentee ballot were rejected for missing or non-matching signatures out of 1,151,371 absentee ballots cast, a rejection rate of 0.28%. The lower rejection rate in the general election compared to the primary is likely the result of both parties attempting to help voters cure their absentee ballots pursuant to the process set forth in Georgia statute.
Numbers for total number of rejected absentee ballots for the 2020 election, including ballots received after the 7:00 p.m. Election Day deadline, are still being input by county election officials and are not yet available.
Georgia is recognized as a national leader in elections. It was the first state in the country to implement the trifecta of automatic voter registration, at least 16 days of early voting (which has been called the “gold standard”), and no-excuse absentee voting. Georgia continues to set records for voter turnout and election participation, seeing the largest increase in average turnout of any other state in the 2018 midterm election and record overall, early, in-person, and absentee-by-mail turnout during the November 2020 elections.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger
November 19, 2020
HISTORIC FIRST STATEWIDE AUDIT OF PAPER BALLOTS UPHOLDS RESULT OF PRESIDENTIAL RACE
(ATLANTA)-Today, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced the results of the Risk Limiting Audit of Georgia’s presidential contest, which upheld and reaffirmed the original outcome produced by the machine tally of votes cast. Due to the tight margin of the race and the principles of risk-limiting audits, this audit was a full manual tally of all votes cast. The audit confirmed that the original machine count accurately portrayed the winner of the election. The results of the audit can be viewed HERE , HERE , and HERE .“Georgia’s historic first statewide audit reaffirmed that the state’s new secure paper ballot voting system accurately counted and reported results,” said Secretary Raffensperger. “This is a credit to the hard work of our county and local elections officials who moved quickly to undertake and complete such a momentous task in a short period of time.”
“Georgia’s first statewide audit successfully confirmed the winner of the chosen contest and should give voters increased confidence in the results,” said Ben Adida, Executive Director of VotingWorks. “We were proud to work with Georgia on this historic audit. The difference between the reported results and the full manual tally is well within the expected error rate of hand-counting ballots, and the audit was a success.”
By law, Georgia was required to conduct a Risk Limiting Audit of a statewide race following the November elections. Understanding the importance of clear and reliable results for such an important contest, Secretary Raffensperger selected the presidential race in Georgia for the audit. Meeting the confidence threshold required by law for the audit meant conducting a full manual tally of every ballot cast in Georgia.
The Risk Limiting Audit reaffirmed the outcome of the presidential race in Georgia as originally reported, with Joe Biden leading President Donald Trump in the state.
The audit process also led to counties catching making mistakes they made in their original count by not uploading all memory cards. Those counties uploaded the memory cards and re-certified their results, leading to increased accuracy in the results the state will certify.
The differential of the audit results from the original machine counted results is well within the expected margin of human error that occurs when hand-counting ballots. A 2012 study by Rice University and Clemson University found that “hand counting of votes in postelection audit or recount procedures can result in error rates of up to 2 percent.” In Georgia’s recount, the highest error rate in any county recount was .73%. Most counties found no change in their finally tally. The majority of the remaining counties had changes of fewer than ten ballots.
Because the margin is still less than 0.5%, the President can request a recount after certification of the results. That recount will be conducted by rescanning all paper ballots.
Click here for the Risk Limiting Audit Report
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
November 19, 2020
Trump campaign statement on Georgia
"Headlines are already falsely reporting that Joe Biden is declared the winner in Georgia. Sorry, media, that's not how it works. The State of Georgia has not certified its results, and it should not. This so-called hand recount went exactly as we expected because Georgia simply recounted all of the illegal ballots that had been included in the total. We continue to demand that Georgia conduct an honest recount, which includes signature matching. We intend to pursue all legal options to ensure that only legal ballots are counted."- Jenna Ellis, Trump Campaign Senior Legal Advisor
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
November 19, 2020
Statement from the Trump legal team on Georgia
“Today, the Trump campaign filed a petition for recount in Georgia. We are focused on ensuring that every aspect of Georgia State Law and the U.S. Constitution are followed so that every legal vote is counted. President Trump and his campaign continue to insist on an honest recount in Georgia, which has to include signature matching and other vital safeguards. Without signature matching, this recount would be a sham and again allow for illegal votes to be counted. If there is no signature matching, this would be as phony as the initial vote count and recount. Let’s stop giving the People false results. There must be a time when we stop counting illegal ballots. Hopefully it is coming soon.”- Trump legal team
November 20, 2020
Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) Certifies Election Results
facebook live
November 20, 2020
Governor Kemp Formalizes Election Certification, Calls for Signature Audit, Endorses Voter ID for Mail-In Balloting
Atlanta, GA – Today from the Governor's Ceremonial Office at the Georgia State Capitol, Governor Brian P. Kemp delivered the following remarks regarding the results of the 2020 election in Georgia:"Good afternoon. COVID-19 has introduced numerous challenges to county and state elections officials as they work to keep Georgia elections secure, accessible, and fair. Given the record number of absentee ballots and narrow margin in the November 3rd election for president in Georgia, I joined many in backing a hand recount and urging a thorough investigation into any voting irregularities. The Secretary of State oversaw a complete audit which revealed significant errors made in several counties, including: Floyd, Fayette, Douglas, and Walton.
"It is important for Georgians to know that the vast majority of local election workers did their job well under unprecedented circumstances, and I thank them for their service. However, it’s quite honestly hard to believe that during the audit, thousands of uncounted ballots were found weeks after a razor-thin outcome in a presidential election. This is simply unacceptable. I have heard directly from countless Georgians. They expect better, and they deserve better.
"It’s important to note that this audit only looked at ballots, not the signatures on the absentee applications or the signatures on the ballot envelopes. The Georgians I have heard from are extremely concerned about this, so I encourage Secretary Raffensperger to consider addressing these concerns. It seems simple enough to conduct a sample audit of signatures on the absentee ballot envelopes and compare those to the signatures on applications and on file at the Secretary of State’s Office.
"This morning, the Secretary announced his support of strengthened photo ID requirements for absentee balloting. Voters casting their ballots in person must show photo ID, and we should consider applying that same standard to mail-in balloting. I have heard from many members of the General Assembly, and I appreciate their input and share their concerns. I look forward to working with Lt. Governor Duncan, Speaker Ralston, and members of both bodies to address the issues that have been raised over the last few weeks.
"Earlier today, Secretary Raffensperger presented the certified results of the 2020 general election to my office. Following Judge Grimberg’s ruling yesterday, state law now requires the Governor’s Office to formalize the certification, which paves the way for the Trump campaign to pursue other legal options and a separate recount if they choose. Georgia has runoff elections for two U.S. Senate seats and a Public Service Commissioner scheduled to occur over the next several weeks. We demand complete explanations for all the discrepancies identified so that our citizens will have complete confidence in our elections. In the runoff election, we cannot have lost memory cards or stacks of uncounted ballots. We must have full transparency in all monitoring and counting. Every legal vote must be counted, and the security of the ballot box must be protected.
"As Governor, I have the solemn responsibility to follow the law, and that is what I will continue to do. We must all work together to ensure citizens have confidence in future elections in our state. Thank you, God bless you, and may God continue to bless the Great State of Georgia."
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
November 21, 2020
Statement from the Trump legal team on Georgia
“Today, the Trump campaign filed a petition for recount in Georgia. We are focused on ensuring that every aspect of Georgia State Law and the U.S. Constitution are followed so that every legal vote is counted. President Trump and his campaign continue to insist on an honest recount in Georgia, which has to include signature matching and other vital safeguards. Without signature matching, this recount would be a sham and again allow for illegal votes to be counted. If there is no signature matching, this would be as phony as the initial vote count and recount. Let’s stop giving the People false results. There must be a time when we stop counting illegal ballots. Hopefully it is coming soon.”- Trump legal team
Nov. 21, 2020 Georgia Officials Election Recount Update - C-SPAN
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
November 30, 2020
Trump Campaign Sends 5th Request to Georgia Secretary of State for Signature Audit
For the fifth time, the Trump Campaign has requested that the Georgia Secretary of State perform an immediate audit of the signatures on all absentee ballot applications and absentee ballot envelopes received for the November 3rd General Election. The Trump Campaign estimates that between 38,250 and 45,626 illegal votes from the absentee ballots alone were cast in the state of Georgia - far beyond the Biden-Harris ticket's current margin of 12,670 votes.The Trump Campaign has substantial evidence of other violations of Georgia’s Election Code and numerous other serious discrepancies in voting across the state which call into question the validity of the Secretary of State’s certification of the presidential election.
Trump Campaign attorneys requested that the Georgia Secretary of State uphold his duty to preserve the legitimacy of his state's elections, saying: "It is not possible for you to accurately certify the results in the presidential race from the November 3, 2020, election until and unless there is a thorough audit of the signatures, which we have now requested four times in writing prior to this request. You cannot in good faith conclude the ongoing statutory recount until you have instituted a signature matching audit," said Ray S. Smith, III, Counsel to Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
“Until the signatures are matched, the vote count in Georgia is a complete fraud,” added former New York City Mayor and Personal Attorney to President Trump, Rudy Giuliani. “There is no way of knowing which ballots are honest and which ballots are fraudulent.”
Click here to read the full letter.
Americans for Limited Government
November 30, 2020
Georgia signature verification essential to legitimacy of election
"Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has an affirmative responsibility to ensure that the Georgia election results reflect the actual legal votes cast in Georgia for the presidential race. There is no way to certify the results without allowing signature verification on mail-in absentee ballots in accordance with state law. In March, Raffensperger's office entered into a consent decree that effectively nullified the ability to determine fraudulently filed mail-in ballots. Given the massive increase of mail-in ballots from 2020 compared to 2016, it is reasonable for the Georgia government to follow the written law in order to make certain that the Covid emergency was not used as a pretense for voter fraud. While we recognize that the consent decree was agreed to under stressful times, it is clear that the interest of the people of the state of Georgia demand signature verification with 100 percent scrutiny from both political parties to put concerns about the election's outcome to rest."
Attachments:
Fifth Request for Audit of Signatures
on Absentee Ballot Applications and Ballot
Return Envelopes for the Nov. 3, 2020
General Election in the State of Georgia,
Trump campaign attorneys, Nov. 30, 2020 at https://getliberty.org/wp-
Rep. Colton Moore via Globe Newswire
November 30, 2020
GA Rep. Colton Moore demands Special Session to revoke Gov. Kemp’s Emergency Powers
ATLANTA and WASHINGTON, Nov. 30, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Georgia State Representative Colton Moore R-GA, informed Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to turn the Georgia election review and certification over to the State Legislature. He became the first State Legislator in the United States to support such a measure within a State’s Legislative branch of government. Days later, Moore’s emergency concerns were published in the Washington Post.Rep. Moore has since released this follow-up statement on November 30 to the 53,820 citizens he represents and the entire state of Georgia:
Citizens of Georgia,
I will support delaying the directive of Georgia’s electoral votes until allegations against Dominion Voting Systems, the unauthorized distribution of absentee ballots, and the firing of Georgia election officials in multiple counties can be cleared of reasonable suspicion.
The Governor and Secretary of State created election “laws” that were never approved by the Georgia Legislature. The Secretary of State sent absentee ballot applications out to every Georgia voter without requiring voters to meet the application eligibility standard the law sets forth. The Secretary of State broke this law, destroyed election integrity and our legislative intent they were charged with. This action has now induced this terrible situation our State is in. Georgians can judge for themselves with the laws that have existed for years.
Georgia O.C.G.A § 21-2-381 - Making of application for absentee ballot;
(C) The application shall be in writing and shall contain sufficient information for proper identification of the elector; the permanent or temporary address of the elector to which the absentee ballot shall be mailed; the identity of the primary, election, or runoff in which the elector wishes to vote; and the name and relationship of the person requesting the ballot if other than the elector.
(4)(b)(1) Upon receipt of a timely application for an absentee ballot, a registrar or absentee ballot clerk shall enter thereon the date received. The registrar or absentee ballot clerk shall determine, in accordance with the provisions of this chapter, if the applicant is eligible to vote in the primary or election involved. In order to be found eligible to vote an absentee ballot by mail, the registrar or absentee ballot clerk shall compare the identifying information on the application with the information on file in the registrar's office and, if the application is signed by the elector, compare the signature or mark of the elector on the application with the signature or mark of the elector on the elector's voter registration card. In order to be found eligible to vote an absentee ballot in person at the registrar's office or absentee ballot clerk's office, such person shall show one of the forms of identification listed in Code Section 21-2-417 and the registrar or absentee ballot clerk shall compare the identifying information on the application with the information on file in the registrar's office.
(2) If found eligible, the registrar or absentee ballot clerk shall certify by signing in the proper place on the application and shall either mail the ballot as provided in this Code section or issue the ballot to the elector to be voted within the confines of the registrar's or absentee ballot clerk's office or deliver the ballot in person to the elector if such elector is confined to a hospital.
(3) If found ineligible, the clerk or the board of registrars shall deny the application by writing the reason for rejection in the proper space on the application and shall promptly notify the applicant in writing of the ground of ineligibility, a copy of which notification should be retained on file in the office of the board of registrars or absentee ballot clerk for at least one year.
This law and legislatively-approved process already existed to ensure broad participation and security of the absentee ballot voting process. Actions by the Governor’s administration violated this law and undermined all integrity of the election. Now, the Governor and Secretary want to wipe all Georgia voting systems and reset the machines to zero this week?
Resetting these machines would destroy evidence currently being sought in multiple courts and in the interest of our State’s cybersecurity defense measures and review process. To add insult to injury, the Governor certified this election with serious doubts about the integrity of the signature verification process.
Unfortunately, this situation is one where the Governor has abused his emergency powers outside the bounds of existing Georgia law. The Speaker and the Lieutenant Governor have the power to convene a Special Session.
By restricting the Legislature to act only furthers the damage if and when the Supreme Court intervenes. The inability to present a confident result, coupled with the actions of the current and previous Secretary of State, have left Georgia in the wake of three scandal-ridden General elections. This Governor’s vision for our elections is ripping us apart.
Together, with Representative Vernon Jones, Senator Brandon Beach, Senator Greg Dolezal, Senator Burt Jones, and Senator William Ligon we call for a Special Session. Without an understanding of these terminations and a review of the absentee ballot distribution that violated Georgia law, the people of Dade and Walker County demand this Special Session immediately.
We want election officials involved in DeKalb and Floyd County voting issues under oath immediately. These election officials were terminated and involved in altering thousands of votes, later corrected by their county. Americans deserve an explanation for their termination.
Let this evidence, the admission by Vice President Joe Biden, and these allegations be considered by the Georgia Legislature. If they do not rise to the bar required to further a Special Session, I would support the Georgia Legislature confirming Governor Kemp’s certification for Joe Biden to bring some peace and confidence back into our State and America. Until then, it is difficult for Citizens to have any type of faith in this election process.
Sincerely,
Rep. Colton Moore
A copy of Rep. Moore’s original emergency letter to Georgia’s Executive branch can be read on ABC’s Chattanooga affiliate website, News Channel 9.
Rep. Moore is an outgoing Representative whose term will conclude on January 20, 2021. Representative-elect Mike Cameron will fill his position. Moore ran for State Senate in Northwest Georgia in the June primary, but was narrowly defeated by Senator Jeff Mullis.
This June 2020 primary was the first statewide Georgia election to occur on the Dominion Voting Systems. At the direction of Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary Brad Raffenspurger in 2019, Walker and Catoosa Counties were among the first counties in Georgia to install the Dominion Voting Systems.
For media or citizen inquiry, you can contact Rep. Moore at 423##[phone number omitted-ed]
Dec. 1, 2020 Gabriel Sterling press conference: "It has all gone too far." >
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger
December 1, 2020
SECRETARY RAFFENSPERGER AND SPALDING LEGISLATIVE DELEGATION CALL FOR RESIGNATION OF SPALDING COUNTY ELECTIONS DIRECTOR FOLLOWING SERIOUS MANAGEMENT ISSUES
(ATLANTA)-Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and the Spalding County legislative delegation - Sen. Marty Harbin, Rep. David Knight, and Rep. Karen Mathiak – are calling for the resignation or termination of Spalding County Elections Supervisor Marcia Ridley following serious management issues and poor decision-making during the November 3 general election.“County elections officials are responsible for ensuring the voting process is smooth and efficient and must take responsibility when they fail,” said Secretary Raffensperger. “Georgians statewide waited on average just 3 minutes on Election Day but poor decision making in Spalding County denied those voters a quick and reliable voting experience. The serious management issues we saw in Spalding County on Election Day demonstrate that new leadership is needed to uphold election integrity there.”
Georgia’s November elections saw record turnout, record absentee ballot requests and ballots cast, and record early, in-person voting. On Election Day, voters cast their ballots in just 3 minutes statewide on average.
In Spalding County, however, voters faced mismanagement and poor decision-making that put the integrity of their vote at risk. Spalding County faced issues early in the morning getting their voting systems up and running on Election Day. If voting machines are not operating normally, county elections superintendents have been trained to use a number of workarounds to allow voters to cast ballots using the Ballot Marking Devices like all other voters. Additionally, if that is impossible, which was not the case in Spalding County, Georgia law instructs county elections superintendents to conduct voting in those locations on emergency ballots, which are scanned immediately like other ballots cast in person on Election Day.
In Spalding County, none of that was done. Instead of using one of the many workarounds built into the system or using emergency ballots as required by law when the equipment is not working, Spalding County Elections Supervisor Marcia Ridley instructed elections workers to use provisional ballots, which are processed differently than regular ballots. This violated established election process and possibly, Georgia law.
Additionally, when asked about the issues faced in Spalding County on Election Day, Ridley claimed an “update” made to the voting system on the night before Election Day caused problems with the machines. No such update had been made nor had the voting machines been touched for days before the election.
By spreading this baseless and thoroughly inaccurate rumor, Ridley greatly harmed election integrity in Georgia and provided talking points for those looking to undermine elections in the Peach State.
Georgia is recognized as a national leader in elections. It was the first state in the country to implement the trifecta of automatic voter registration, at least 16 days of early voting (which has been called the “gold standard”), and no-excuse absentee voting. Georgia continues to set records for voter turnout and election participation, seeing the largest increase in average turnout of any other state in the 2018 midterm election and record overall, early, in-person, and absentee-by-mail turnout during the November 2020 elections.
MEETING NOTICE
TO: SENATE GOVERNMENT OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE MEMBERS:
Senator Marty Harbin, 16th,
Vice-Chairman Senator Elena Parent, 42nd, Secretary Senator Greg Dolezal, 27th, Member Senator Jennifer Jordan, 6th, Member Senator Sheikh Rahman, 5th, Member Senator Valencia Seay, 34th, Member FROM: Senator Bill Heath, 31st, Chairman |
Senator Butch Miller, 49th,
Ex-Officio Senator Randy Robertson, 29th, Ex-Officio Senator Tyler Harper, 7th, Ex-Officio Senator Steve Gooch 51st, Ex-Officio |
WHEN: THURSDAY, DECEMBER 3rd, 2020
TIME: 9:30 AM, 450 CAP
AGENDA:
To hear from:
- Secretary of State’s Office
- Fulton County Election Board
- Muscogee County Election Board
- DeKalb County Election Board
Over the last few elections, there has been concerns expressed about how elections are conducted in Georgia. We will hear how the election process went and take suggestions on what can be done to improve the process and confidence in how the election is conducted.
Anyone with firsthand knowledge of problems with the election or fraudulent activity relative to the election may submit sworn written statements of fact. A notary will be present to notarize written statements.
*****The chairman reserves the right to change the agenda*****
Dec. 3, 2020 Georgia Senate Government Oversight Committee - WXIA-TV Channel 11 Transcript - rev.com
ed. Muscogee County Election Board director did not attend
TO: MEMBERS OF SENATE JUDICIARY SUB-COMMITTEE
Sen. William Ligon (3rd), Current Sub-Committee Chairman
Sen. Bill Heath (31st)
Sen. Blake Tillery (19th)
Sen. John Kennedy (18th)
Sen. Elena Parent (42nd)
Sen. Michael Rhett (33rd)
AND MEMBERS OF THE SENATE JUDICIARY
Sen. Bill Cowsert (46th)
Sen. Harold Jones, II (22nd)
Sen. Brian Strickland (17th)
FROM: Senator Jesse Stone (23rd), Chairman of Standing Committee
SUBJECT: Sub-Committee of the Standing Senate Judiciary Committee
DATE: December 3, 2020
TIME: 1:00 pm
PLACE: 450 CAP
Agenda:
To study Georgia’s election laws, and their past and present impact on the current election cycle.
*Please note that this meeting will follow a Government Oversight Committee meeting at 10am, with testimonies by government officials and certain election boards. Any person wishing to submit testimonies by affidavits only can concur with the 10am meeting.
*The Chair reserves the right to change the agenda at his discretion*
Dec. 3, 2020 Georgia Senate Judiciary Subcommittee hearing - WXIA-TV Channel 11
Fair Fight
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 3, 2020
JOINT STATEMENT: Fair Fight and Allied Organizations Release Statement Rejecting GOP Conspiracies, Disinformation, and Undermining of Electoral Process
"We cannot undermine free and fair elections in Georgia because of baseless and unproven claims of fraud. Those who have echoed election fraud conspiracies without evidence under the guise of “election integrity” for years have laid the groundwork for this culture of fear and intimidation. The Republican Party must shut down their disinformation narratives and conspiracy theories that are endangering the lives of Georgians.Black and Brown voters in Georgia have been subjected to false claims of voter fraud and voter fraud disinformation tactics for decades in attempts to intimidate, suppress, and depress voter participation, which has caused evergreen fear in these communities of being arrested or punished for using their constitutional right to participate in our democracy. Here in Georgia, our Republican elected officials have consistently and directly fed voter fraud narratives and fears for political purposes. Worse, they have used those narratives to push the prosecution and intimidation of voters of color specifically, including raiding Asian-American-led voter registration offices, sending police officers to Black voters’ homes in Sparta, and incarcerating Black voters in Quitman. The Georgia Secretary of State office’s long and shameful history of abusing its power to intimidate and suppress political opponents must end.
The current GOP created this democracy disinformation propaganda strategy as a way to suppress enough votes on the margins to try and win the November election. But this cynical and dangerous strategy backfired on them, infecting their own party and voters. Trump’s deputy campaign manager, Justin Clark, over a year ago clearly laid out the plan to intentionally escalate and broadcast small issues or mistakes that election administrators or voters made as “evidence” of widespread voter fraud.
We will continue to fight back against baseless and blatantly partisan attempts to undermine voting rights and restrict ballot access. Widespread voter fraud is a malicious myth. Voter suppression, however, is real, and we must not allow conspiracy-bloated narratives to inflict unnecessary and harmful restrictions on voting. Voters have spoken, and we must not allow bad actors to undermine the legitimacy of our system and incite dangerous rhetoric and threats against election officials, election workers, advocates, and voters.
We, the undersigned, reject the conspiracies and disinformation spread by those who seek to undermine our democratic process for partisan gain. Plainly put, any official who acts to legitimize these baseless attacks through shameful efforts or self-serving silence is complicit in an architecture of voter suppression and propaganda.”
Signed,
Fair Fight
Poder Latinx
Georgia Equality
Georgia Conservation Voters
Showing Up for Racial Justice
Georgia NAACP
Mijente
Step Up Savannah
Partnership for Southern Equity
Indivisible Georgia Coalition
Progress Georgia
Represent Georgia Action Network, Inc.
Georgia AFL-CIO
NARAL Pro-Choice
Georgia Working Families Party
American Federation of Teachers
Black Voters Matter
Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights
GALEO Impact Fund, Inc.
Advancement Project National Office
SEIU
Donald J. Trump for President, Inc.
December 4, 2020
TRUMP CAMPAIGN FILES ELECTION CONTEST IN GEORGIA
Atlanta, GA - The Trump Campaign filed an election contest today in Georgia state court seeking to invalidate the state’s November 3, 2020 presidential election results. Joining President Trump and the Trump campaign in the lawsuit is David Shafer, Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, who is also a Trump presidential elector.
“What was filed today clearly documents that there are literally tens of thousands of illegal votes that were cast, counted, and included in the tabulations the Secretary of State is preparing to certify,” said Ray S. Smith III, lead counsel for the Trump Campaign. “The massive irregularities, mistakes, and potential fraud violate the Georgia Election Code, making it impossible to know with certainty the actual outcome of the presidential race in Georgia.”
Attached to the complaint are sworn affidavits from dozens of Georgia residents swearing under penalty of perjury to what they witnessed during the election: failure to process and secure the ballots, failure to verify the signatures on absentee ballots, the appearance of mysterious “pristine” absentee ballots not received in official absentee ballot envelopes that were voted almost solely for Joe Biden, failure to allow poll watchers meaningful access to observe the election, among other violations of law.
Data experts also provided sworn testimony in the lawsuit identifying thousands of illegal votes: 2,560 felons; 66,247 underage voters, 2,423 votes from people not registered; 1,043 individuals registered at post office boxes; 4,926 individuals who voted in Georgia after registering in another state; 395 individuals who voted in two states; 15,700 votes from people who moved out of state before the election; 40,279 votes of people who moved without re-registering in their new county; and another 30,000 to 40,000 absentee ballots lacking proper signature matching and verification.
“The Secretary of State has orchestrated the worst excuse for an election in Georgia history,” added Smith. “We are asking the Court to vacate the certification of the presidential election and to order a new statewide election for president. Alternatively, we are asking the Court to enjoin the certification and allow the Georgia legislature to reclaim its duty under the U.S. Constitution to appoint the presidential electors for the state,” Smith concluded.
Click here to read the petition.
Gov. Brian Kemp
December 7, 2020
Gov. Kemp, Lt. Gov. Duncan Issue Statement on Request for Special Session of General Assembly
Atlanta, GA - Today, Governor Brian P. Kemp and Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan issued the following joint statement regarding a call from four Georgia State Senators for a special session of the Georgia General Assembly."While we understand four members of the Georgia Senate are requesting the convening of a special session of the General Assembly, doing this in order to select a separate slate of presidential electors is not an option that is allowed under state or federal law.
"State law is clear: the legislature could only direct an alternative method for choosing presidential electors if the election was not able to be held on the date set by federal law. In the 1960s, the General Assembly decided that Georgia’s presidential electors will be determined by the winner of the state’s popular vote. Any attempt by the legislature to retroactively change that process for the November 3rd election would be unconstitutional and immediately enjoined by the courts, resulting in a long legal dispute and no short-term resolution.
"The judicial system remains the only viable - and quickest - option in disputing the results of the November 3rd election in Georgia."
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger
December 7, 2020
SECRETARY OF STATE CERTIFIES ELECTION, KRAKEN CASE DISMISSED
(ATLANTA)-Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger today recertified the results of the November 3, 2020 presidential election. The recertification came following an audit-triggered hand recount and a formal recount requested by the Trump campaign. Both recounts upheld the original outcome of the race. The certified results of state and federal races can be found on the Secretary of State’s website: sos.ga.gov.Also this morning, the “Kraken” lawsuit launched by former Trump lawyer Sidney Powell was dismissed by judge of the United States District Court of the Northern District of Georgia Timothy Batten.
“Today is an important day for election integrity in Georgia and across the country,” said Secretary Raffensperger. “The claims in the Kraken lawsuit prove to be as mythological as the creature for which they’re named. Georgians can now move forward knowing that their votes, and only their legal votes, were counted accurately, fairly, and reliably.”
In recertifying the results, the Secretary of State affirmed that all 159 counties have provided to the state the total votes tabulated for presidential candidates in the November 3, 2020 presidential election. Further, the Secretary of State affirms that the statewide consolidated returns for the presidential election are a true and correct tabulation of the certified returns received by this office from each county.
Georgia is recognized as a national leader in elections. It was the first state in the country to implement the trifecta of automatic voter registration, at least 16 days of early voting (which has been called the “gold standard”), and no-excuse absentee voting. Georgia continues to set records for voter turnout and election participation, seeing the largest increase in average turnout of any other state in the 2018 midterm election and record turnout in 2020, with over 1.3 million absentee by mail voters and over 3.6 million in-person voters utilizing Georgia’s new, secure, paper ballot voting system.
December 7, 2020
SECRETARY OF STATE’S OFFICE DEBUNKS WARE COUNTY VOTING MACHINE STORY
(ATLANTA) – The Secretary of State’s Office said Monday there is no truth to allegations circulating in social media that voting machines in Ware County had been seized or that they somehow revealed tampering.“This is another of the falsehoods being pedaled by conspiracy advocates trying to convince the gullible of why the presidential election didn’t turnout as they’d hoped,” said Walter Jones, the office's communications manager for voter education and a conservative former journalist. “No voting machines have been seized. No one has unearthed evidence of ‘vote flipping’ because it didn’t happen. And no one has discovered some secret algorithm for altering the election outcome because that’s nonsense.”
A statewide hand recount as part of a post-election audit resulted in a difference of 37 additional votes for the president in Ware County. That totals 0.26 percent, well below the average 1-2 percent variation demonstrated by academic research when comparing the accuracy of manual counts compared to machine counts because of normal human error.
This small vote change is evidence of humans being less precise than machines at counting, and nothing more. To allege that it somehow proves the machines flipped votes is irresponsible and reckless, Jones said. The results of the hand recount statewide would have showed a consistent variation similar to the one in Ware County if there really had been a secret algorithm. Instead, the hand recount showed the machine totals substantially reflected the plain text printed on the ballots.
Ware County Election Supervisor Carlos Nelson pooh-poohed the conspiracy theory as instead a “human-error tabulation issue.”
“I can tell you this is —I don’t want to cuss — this is a darned lie. Our vote machines are secure. There’s no vote-flips,” he told Politico on Monday.
Georgia is recognized as a national leader in elections. It was the first state in the country to implement the trifecta of automatic voter registration, at least 16 days of early voting (which has been called the “gold standard”), and no-excuse absentee voting. Georgia continues to set records for voter turnout and election participation, seeing the largest increase in average turnout of any other state in the 2018 midterm election and record primary turnout in 2020, with over 1.1 million absentee by mail voters and over 1.2 million in-person voters utilizing Georgia’s new, secure, paper ballot voting system.
December 9, 2020
SECRETARY OF STATE'S OFFICE OPENS INVESTIGATION INTO COFFEE COUNTY'S HANDLING OF RECOUNT
All counties were to be completed by Wednesday night, December 2, at midnight, as instructed by the Secretary of State. By Thursday, there were 6 counties finalizing their recount upload. On Thursday, Coffee County officials were working with the Secretary of State’s office and Dominion Voting Systems to resolve a discrepancy of 50 votes.On Friday, Coffee County was the sole remaining county that had not completed their recount upload. On the morning of Friday, December 4, a letter from Coffee County’s Board of Election was forwarded to our office saying they were not going to certify their recount.
State Elections Director Chris Harvey, called Coffee County’s elections director, Misty Martin. Mr. Harvey brought Deputy Director Blake Evans in on the call to discuss the situation. Ms. Martin said that the hand audit showed that they were off by 1 vote from the original count, but now, following the recount, Coffee County’s tally was off by 51 votes. Further, the county’s tally was showing two batch uploads of 50 ballots each. It became apparent that Ms. Martin was unsure whether she had scanned a batch of 50 ballots twice, which would account for the 50-vote discrepancy (Ms. Martin also noted that Coffee County had comingled their Advance Voting and Election Day ballots, adding further disorganization to the process). Again, though she could not say for certain that she had scanned the same batch of 50 ballots twice, that seemed a likely possibility.
The Coffee County letter blamed the voting system for the 51-vote discrepancy, but Ms. Martin could not specify what machine problems were encountered.
The Secretary of State’s office informed Ms. Martin that she had to resolve the recount and, and if necessary, recertify and upload the recount results. She said she instead wanted to use her election night results. Director Harvey informed her that the recount required the scanning of the ballots. Ms. Martin stated she was going to rescan some of her ballots and try to resolve the issue.
Mr. Harvey called her back later Friday afternoon. Ms. Martin said she was scanning ballots, but that the scanner was stopping intermittently. Mr. Harvey called Dominion to make sure they could send a technician to help.
Around 4:00 PM on Friday afternoon, Mr. Harvey tried calling Ms. Martin back to check on Coffee County’s progress. He could not get her on the phone despite multiple attempts. He then attempted contacting her by text message as well but got no response. Later that afternoon, Mr. Harvey learned from Dominion that the Board told her to “go home” and that they would start again Monday.
On Monday morning, members of the Secretary of State’s Elections team spoke with Ms. Martin. She said that they were planning to start scanning again around noon.
Mr. Harvey called her back after hearing this report and told her that she had to complete the recount immediately. He pointed out that they already had over a week to complete the recount process and that Georgia had to certify the recount.
Ms. Martin completed the recount upload and provided the Secretary of State’s office with the documentation from their Election Management System to back up their uploaded results.
Every other county was able to complete this task within the given time limits. In some cases, counties realized they made mistakes in scanning ballots and had to rescan, or realized they neglected to scan some ballots and had to correct that error. But nonetheless, those counties completed the recount on time.
The Secretary of State’s office will investigate Coffee County for their recount procedures and ascertain if the case needs to be brought to the State Election Board for review and potential action.
Dec. 12, 2020 - Georgia Supreme Court denies cert in Trump et al. v. Raffensperger et al..
Dec. 14, 2020 Georgia electors meet. - C-SPAN
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger
December 29, 2020
3RD STRIKE AGAINST VOTER FRAUD CLAIMS MEANS THEY'RE OUT AFTER SIGNATURE AUDIT FINDS NO FRAUD
(ATLANTA)-After a hand recount and a subsequent machine recount requested by the Trump campaign, a signature audit has again affirmed the original outcome of the November 2020 presidential race in Georgia. A signature match audit in Cobb County found “no fraudulent absentee ballots” and found that the Cobb County Elections Department had “a 99.99% accuracy rate in performing correct signature verification procedures.”
“The Secretary of State’s office has always been focused on calling balls and strikes in elections and, in this case, three strikes against the voter fraud claims and they’re out,” said Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. “We conducted a statewide hand recount that reaffirmed the initial tally, and a machine recount at the request of the Trump campaign that also reaffirmed the original tally. This audit disproves the only credible allegations the Trump campaign had against the strength of Georgia’s signature match processes.”
On December 14, 2020, Secretary Raffensperger announced a signature match audit in Cobb County following credible allegations that the process was not followed in the June primaries. The Secretary of State’s Office partnered with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) to conduct the audit. Of the 150,431 absentee ballots received by Cobb County elections officials during the November elections, the audit “reviewed 15,118 ABM ballot oath envelopes from randomly selected boxes,” or around 10% of the total. The sample size was originally chosen to meet the 99% confidence threshold.
The audit found “no fraudulent absentee ballots” with a 99% confidence threshold. The audit found that only two ballots should have been identified by Cobb County Elections Officials for cure notification that weren’t. In one case, the ballot was “mistakenly signed by the elector’s spouse,” and in the other, the voter “reported signing the front of the envelope only.” In both cases, the identified voters filled out the ballots themselves.
The absentee ballot envelopes for the audit were “pulled from 30 randomly selected boxes of the accepted ABM ballots and one box identified as accepted Electronic Ballot Delivery ABM ballots.” Each of the boxes that held the ballots were previously “secured in boxes by the Cobb County Elections Department” and were selected by a random number generator.
To conduct the audit, Law Enforcement Officers (LEOs), from GBI and SOS were instructed to “analyze and compare the known signatures, markings, and identifying information of the elector as stored in databases with the signature, markings, and identifying information on the elector’s ABM ballot oath envelope.” They looked for “distinctive characteristics and unique qualities … individual attributes of the signature, mark, or other identifying information” to “make a judgment of the validity of the signature on each envelope based on the totality of the documents.”
The LEOs conducting the audit were split “into 18 two-member teams identified as ‘inspection teams’ and two three-member teams identified as ‘investigation teams.’” If the two members of the inspection team were split on whether a ballot signature was valid, a third impartial “referee” was brought in to break the tie. This only happened on six occasions.
In cases where additional review was necessary, if no signature was on the ballot, or if additional identification documents were not available, the absentee ballots were given to the investigation teams to track down more information.
The inspection teams submitted 396 envelopes to the investigation teams for comparison with additional documents or follow-up with the elector.” 386 of those were accepted as valid. The remaining ten were referred for additional investigation. “All ten electors were located, positively identified, and interviewed.”
The LEOs used the Cobb County Elections Database which included signature information from voter registration forms, absentee ballot applications, voter certificates, passports, certificates of naturalization, in addition to other documents.
The full report is available here: https://sos.ga.gov/admin/uploads/Cobb%20County%20ABM%20Audit%20Report%2020201229.pdf
Georgia is recognized as a national leader in elections. It was the first state in the country to implement the trifecta of automatic voter registration, at least 16 days of early voting (which has been called the “gold standard”), and no-excuse absentee voting. Georgia continues to set records for voter turnout and election participation, seeing the largest increase in average turnout of any other state in the 2018 midterm election and record turnout in 2020, with over 1.3 million absentee by mail voters and over 3.6 million in-person voters utilizing Georgia’s new, secure, paper ballot voting system.
SUBJECT: Sub-Committee of the Standing Senate Judiciary Committee
DATE: December 30, 2020
TIME: 9:00 am
PLACE: 450 CAP
Agenda:
To study Georgia’s election laws, and their past and present impact on the current election cycle
Consider the Committee Report from the December 3rd Meeting
Dec. 30, 2020 Georgia Election Law Sub-Committee hearing - NTD
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger
December 31, 2020
FACT CHECK: GEORGIA SENATE MASQUERADES FAILED TREASURE HUNTER AS HACKER AND ELECTION SECURITY EXPERT
(ATLANTA)-Yesterday, during a Georgia State Senate hearing, failed treasure hunter, J. Hutton Pulitzer, or Commander Pulitzer (no record of military experience), claimed that he had “hacked” Georgia’s voting system. The treasure hunter provided no evidence during the Senate hearing that he had done so, only claiming it had happened.“Fake news is hard enough to combat when mainstream media outlets push it out, but when a small cadre of Georgia legislators do it, it’s a whole different story,” said Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. “These legislators need to stop calling their own reelections illegitimate and focus on getting out the vote for the January 5 elections. The mistrust they are sowing is depressing turnout. If Senators Loeffler and Perdue lose on January 5, the Georgia state legislators have only themselves to blame.”
In another election disinformation filled hearing, a small group of Republicans in the Georgia State Senate featured the claims of failed inventor and failed treasure hunter J. Hutton Pulitzer as a star witness. In his presentation, Hutton Pulitzer, formerly J. Jovan Philylaw, claimed without providing any evidence that he had “hacked” a poll pad. He then went on to claim that meant that the entire voting system was compromised even though the poll pad, like the poll books which they have replaced, are never connected to the rest of the voting system.
Hutton Pulitzer was the inventor of CueCat, a cat shaped device that, when connected to the computer, allowed users to scan barcodes on ads that would bring up the website where they could purchase the advertised product. The device attracted $185 million in investment before becoming “an anathema of the tech industry and a cautionary tale for investors.” In 2006, is was listed as one of the “25 worst tech products of all time” by PC World magazine.
Hutton Pulitzer later became a treasure hunter, searching unsuccessfully for the Ark of the Covenant and later claiming that a sword, that was likely a fake, not only had “‘magical’ magnetic properties” but was also a sign that ancient Romans had visited North America by 200 A.D.
His published work is comprised largely of “Commanders Lost Treasures” books, a separate one for many states in the U.S., and includes “How to Cut Off Your Arm and Eat Your Dog.”
Despite Hutton’s claims, the Poll Pads are the only piece of election infrastructure that is ever hooked up to the internet or connected to devices that are hooked up to the internet. The poll pads have that capability so election workers can download updated voter lists to the poll pads that are used to check people in on Election Day. However, the Wifi capability is disabled before the poll pads are put in to use at the polling place.
Additionally, the touch screen interfaces and attached printers are never attached to the poll pads and are air-gapped so they cannot be connected to the internet. Finally, the scanners, which scan and tabulate the printed paper ballots that voters can review before casting, are not connected to any of the other equipment at any point either.
In a statement, poll pad creator KnowInk said: “The assertions made about unauthorized access to our systems are patently false. The man claiming that someone ‘got into’ our systems did not happen according to our forensic analysis. There was no ‘hack,’ there was no ‘back door’ entry, there was no ‘pump and dump,’ and there was no access through a ‘thermostat’ located hundreds of miles away in Savannah.”
Georgia is recognized as a national leader in elections. It was the first state in the country to implement the trifecta of automatic voter registration, at least 16 days of early voting (which has been called the “gold standard”), and no-excuse absentee voting. Georgia continues to set records for voter turnout and election participation, seeing the largest increase in average turnout of any other state in the 2018 midterm election and record turnout in 2020, with over 1.3 million absentee by mail voters and over 3.6 million in-person voters utilizing Georgia’s new, secure, paper ballot voting system.
the Jan. 2, 2021 phone call...
"There's nothing wrong with saying that you've
recalculated..."
"I won that state by hundreds of thousands of votes..."
– President Donald J. Trump
"Mr. President, the challenge that you have is the data that you have is wrong."
– Secretary of State Brad
Raffensperger
Amy Gardner. "'I just want to find 11,780 votes'; In extraordinary hour-long call, Trump pressures Georgia secretary of state to recalculate the vote in his favor." Washington Post, Jan. 3, 2020.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger
January 7, 2021
SECRETARY RAFFENSPERGER RELEASES LETTER TO PENCE, CONGRESSIONAL LEADERS
(ATLANTA) - Please see the correspondence regarding the 2020 Presidential Election in Georgia that Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger sent to Vice President Pence and other leaders in Congress. The letter is available here.Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger
January 7, 2021
TRUMP LEGAL TEAM FOLDS
(ATLANTA) – On the eve of getting the day in court they supposedly were begging for, President Trump and Chairman David Shafer’s legal team folded Thursday and voluntarily dismissed their election contests against Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger rather than submit their evidence to a court and to cross-examination. However, even in capitulation, they continue to spread disinformation. The President’s legal team falsely characterizes the dismissal of their lawsuits as “due to an out of court settlement agreement.” However, correspondence sent to Trump’s legal team prior to the dismissals makes perfectly clear that there is no settlement agreement. The Trump legal voluntarily dismissed their lawsuits rather than presenting their evidence in court in a trial scheduled for tomorrow in front of Cobb County Superior Court Judge Adele Grubbs.“Rather than presenting their evidence and witnesses to a court and to cross-examination under oath, the Trump campaign wisely decided the smartest course was to dismiss their frivolous cases,” Raffensperger said.
The withdrawals came after Secretary Raffensperger sent a letter to Congress on Wednesday containing point-by-point refutation of the false claims made by the President and his allies. Late last night, Congress accepted Georgia’s slate of electors without objection, as no Senator joined in Congressman Jody Hice’s objection to Georgia’s electors.
“Spreading disinformation about elections is dangerous and wrong,” said Secretary Raffensperger. “It was wrong when Stacey Abrams and her allies made false claims about Georgia’s election processes following the 2018 election and run-up to the 2020 election, and it’s wrong when the President and his allies are doing it now.”
The President’s lawyers also voluntarily dismissed three other lawsuits against Raffensperger in various courts rather than submit to certain repudiation:
- Trump v. Kemp in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia,
- Still v. Raffensperger et al in the Superior Court of Fulton County and
- Boland v. Raffensperger et al in the Supreme Court of Georgia.
Georgia is recognized as a national leader in elections. It was the first state in the country to implement the trifecta of automatic voter registration, at least 16 days of early voting (which has been called the “gold standard”), and no-excuse absentee voting. Georgia continues to set records for voter turnout and election participation, seeing the largest increase in average turnout of any other state in the 2018 midterm election and record turnout in 2020, with over 1.3 million absentee by mail voters and over 3.6 million in-person voters utilizing Georgia’s new, secure, paper ballot voting system.