Georgia
Georgia official responds to 315,000 Ballots not properly signed in 2020
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has said a “clerical error” in the state does not “erase valid, legal votes,” responding to renewed scrutiny of Georgia’s 2020 election results, which former President Donald Trump has repeatedly and falsely claimed was “stolen” from him.
Earlier this month, Fulton County acknowledged before the Georgia State Election Board that more than 130 tabulator tapes from the 2020 election were not signed, a lapse officials said involved about 315,000 ballots and which brought renewed scrutiny and questioning of the results even though multiple audits, including a hand count, affirmed the results.
Newsweek has reached out to Fulton County Chairman Robb Pitts for comment via email on Wednesday.
Why It Matters
Trump and his allies have consistently claimed, without evidence of widespread voter fraud, that the 2020 election was stolen and that former President Joe Biden did not win in Georgia and other states.
In early January 2021, ahead of Biden taking office, Trump infamously called Raffensperger, a Republican, asking him to help “find” enough votes to overturn the election. Biden won the 2020 election with 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232, and even if Georgia was flipped for Trump, Biden still would have won the election.
There have been multiple audits, recounts and investigations into Georgia’s 2020 election, including a statewide hand recount and audit that confirmed the original results, as well as reviews by state officials and election boards addressing procedural errors and fraud allegations.
What To Know
Earlier this month, Fulton County attorney Ann Brumbaugh told the Georgia State Election Board that the county “does not dispute that the tapes were not signed,” calling the missing signatures “a violation of the rule.”
Georgia state Rule 183-1-12-.12 states that after polls close, and in order to tabulate results, “the poll manager and the two witnesses shall cause each ballot scanner to print three tapes of the tabulated results and shall sign each tape indicating that it is a true and correct copy of the tape produced by the ballot scanner.” This was not properly done for more than 130 tapes, which accounts for around 315,000 votes.
However, the lack of signature does not negate the ballots, and they have been recounted multiple times to verify results.
In a Saturday X post, Raffensperger reiterated this, writing “all voters were verified with photo ID and lawfully cast their ballots.” He continued, “A clerical error at the end of the day does not erase valid, legal votes.”
The news of the missing signatures has ignited claims that the election was stolen among several Republicans and Make America Great Again (MAGA) leaders, including Elon Musk chiming in that “massive voting fraud [was] uncovered,” and the president who reshared a post on his Truth Social account arguing that in Georgia “intentional human intervention” led the election to to be taken from Trump.
What People Are Saying
Representative Mike Collins, a Georgia Republican, said in December 20 X post: “President Trump is owed a massive apology. Turns out over 300,000 early votes in the 2020 election were illegally certified but still included in the final results. I’m tired of empty words from weak leaders. The people of Georgia deserve action.”
Fulton County Chairman Robb Pitts told Channel 2: “We do not have anything to hide, and we will never have anything to hide as long as I’m here.”
Steve Bannon said in a GETTR post on the matter: “Mr President, Please No More Strongly Worded Letters from DoJ…Call Out the U.S. Marshals, Seize the Ballots, the Machines and Arrest the Guilty.”
Donald Trump Jr. said in a December 19 X post: “So what we all knew back in 2020, what we all stated out loud and everyone in the media, the establishment, and the Washington DC machine lied about ended up being 100% true. I’m so shocked! Yet another conspiracy theory proven right!”
What Happens Next
On Friday, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney granted the election board access to the country’s 2020 ballots. He ruled that the election board must pay for the matter, which Fulton County has estimated it will cost nearly $400,000 to comply with the subpoena. The judge has ordered the county to produce a detailed cost list by January 7.
Brumbaugh has noted that “procedures have been updated,” and “since then, the training has been enhanced, the poll watchers are trained specifically. They’ve got to sign the tapes in the morning, and they’ve got to sign the tapes when they’re run at the end of the day.”
GEORGIA, Ga. (WALB) — A new bill introduced to the Georgia Senate could create a constitutional amendment to restrict voting to legal U.S. citizens.
The bill, Senate Resolution 4EX says, “No person who is not a citizen of the United States shall be entitled to vote at any election by the people.”
If passed, Georgians will vote on the constitutional amendment in the November election.
Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger said “I have been calling on the legislature for years to pass this amendment to the state constitution. I am glad to see the legislature finally act to ensure only American citizens are voting in our elections.”
According to Raffensperger, Georgia was the first state in the nation to conduct citizen verification of voter rolls. Since 2022, Raffensperger’s office conducted two citizenship audits of Georgia’s voter rolls.
SR 4EX Text
“Casting a vote is one of the most important elements of American citizenship. Any illegal vote dilutes the value of a citizen’s lawfully cast ballot. U.S. Citizens should decide Georgia elections. Period. I urge the legislature to pass this important legislation.”
The state uses information from the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) to identify people who are non-citizens. This data is based on documents provided to DDS, through its REAL ID drivers licenses or state identification cards.
That information is also ran through the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) program to verify an individual’s citizenship status.
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The Oklahoma Sooners left no doubt in their 11-4 win over the Georgia Bulldogs to advance to the College World Series finals. It is OU’s second trip to the finals since 2022 but this one feels far more improbable.
A bubble team toward the end of the regular season and down 8-2 in an elimination game against Georgia Tech, Oklahoma has defied the odds and powered its way to the finals in Omaha. On Wednesday night, the Sooners hit five home runs against a Bulldogs team that led the nation in home runs per game this season.
Jason Walk got the home run party started, and Dasan Harris hit a pair of two-run bombs to help Oklahoma separate from one of the best teams in college baseball.
From the mound, freshman Nick Wesloski put together a strong performance for the Sooners, allowing just one earned run in 5.2 innings pitched. L.J. Mercurius worked 3.1 and allowed just one earned run against the vaunted Georgia offense.
Everything is clicking for Oklahoma heading into the finals, which begins on Saturday. They’ll face a good North Carolina Tar Heels for all the marbles. But before we get to the championship series, here’s a look at how social media reacted to the Sooners win over Georgia.
Playing for a Natty
Incredible Job by Skip Johnson
Definition of Team
Just Unreal
Got Hot at the Right Time
The Moment from the Dugout
Freshmen Phenoms
Nothing Easy, Everything Earned
Team of Destiny?
Exceeding All Expectations
Dasan Harris is that Dude
Incredible Story
Sooner Magic is alive and well
Playing for a trophy
Time to lay it all on the line
Just doing ridiculous things
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X (formerly known as Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow John on X @john9williams.
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