Georgia Elections Board dismisses “ballot harvesting” claims promoted in new “2000 Mules” documentary – Atlanta Civic Circle

The State Elections Board on Tuesday voted unanimously to dismiss three ballot-fraud claims introduced by right-wing activists–judging their allegation to be false that fraudulent actors illegally stuffed massive batches of absentee ballots in drop packing containers throughout the 2020 presidential election.

A kind of dismissed allegations is featured in a documentary, “2000 Mules,” directed by conservative pundit Dinesh D’Souza set to be launched Could 20. The movie falsely claims unnamed nonprofits linked to the Democratic Social gathering paid individuals, whom it calls “mules,” to illegally acquire and deposit absentee ballots in drop packing containers in 5 swing states the place Biden gained–Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. 

Poll “harvesting” or assortment, is when somebody aside from the voter delivers their absentee poll to a dropbox. In Georgia, it’s solely authorized for relations or disabled voters’ caregivers to do that for them.

The film options surveillance footage of a person in a white SUV depositing 5 absentee ballots right into a Gwinnett County dropbox. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation decided in an investigation final fall that the person was legally delivering ballots solid by himself, his spouse and kids.

State Elections Board chair Matt Mashburn stated on the board’s assembly Tuesday that the “2000 Mules” allegation that 92,000 absentee ballots had been illegally collected in Georgia was false. “They had been saying there have been 92,000 illegitimately manufactured votes in Georgia,” stated Mashburn, a Republican. “Possibly I misunderstood the purpose they had been making, however that was the purpose I heard. That isn’t true.”

The opposite two claims that the State Elections Board dismissed had been over comparable surveillance movies. 

“Banana republic”

One Duluth resident on the assembly, David Cross, blasted the board and the Georgia Secretary of State’s workplace for not sufficiently investigating his wide-ranging complaints of poll improprieties. Cross accused the elections board of ignoring his allegations of “poll trafficking,” under-investigated surveillance movies, and unsigned tabular tapes, that are the paper tapes of vote totals that county elections places of work ship to the board. 

Cross began a Twitter account final June known as @GAballots, which says within the bio: “My crew finds errors within the Georgia votes -we’ve spent hundreds of hours on this.” Up to now, it’s amassed 3,686 followers. 

In one other Twitter account, @5xStock, Cross calls himself an “funding fanatic.” When he began a monetary planning agency, U.S. Asset Administration, in 2016, the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce hosted a grand opening attended by then-U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall and then-Gwinnett County Chairwoman Charlotte Nash, in line with the Gwinnett Each day Publish. 

Cross stated he contacted Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger a dozen occasions over the past 12 months about his considerations, however solely heard from Raffensperger when he known as looking for a marketing campaign donation.

“Nobody has been held accountable. I’m embarrassed to be a Georgian,”  Cross instructed the board. ”Is that this the best way we run elections within the best nation on Earth–like some third-rate banana republic? Our leaders–the governor and the secretary of state–want to satisfy their constitutional duties to the residents.” 

“Put in your massive boy pants,” he added. “Roll up your sleeves and get to work. Everybody right here desires a safe vote. Election integrity is paramount.”

“2000 Mules” relies on data from Reality The Vote, a conservative vote-monitoring group in Houston, which gathered drop-box surveillance video in Georgia and different swing states. In April, the State Elections Board subpoenaed paperwork, recordings, and names of the individuals who allegedly harvested the Georgia ballots from Reality the Vote, however the group has not complied.

In accordance with the Secretary of State’s normal counsel, Ryan Germany, the group has confidentiality considerations for somebody it claims has details about the so-called poll harvesting. 

Germany instructed the board that his workplace is in discussions with Reality the Vote’s attorneys about acquiring the subpoenaed data “Reality The Vote does have some real considerations in regards to the confidentiality of data. So we’re attempting to work with them to resolve these considerations,” he stated. 

The board approved the Georgia Lawyer Basic’s workplace to petition a decide to implement the subpoenas and defend witnesses’ confidentiality.