Georgia Democrats, DNC Sue State Election Board, Warn New Rules Could Block Final Vote Certification

Georgia Rep. Lucy McBath in front of the Georgia State Capitol Building (composite image)

Georgia Democrats have sued the state Election Board, arguing new measures implemented by the agency regarding the election-certification process are illegal.

According to the lawsuit filed Monday in state court, local election officials are now able to “hunt for purported election irregularities of any kind, potentially delaying certification and displacing longstanding (and court-supervised) processes for addressing fraud.”

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Sec. of State Raffensperger Calls for Tougher Penalties for Anyone Who Tampers with Georgia Voting Machines

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger wants state lawmakers to increase the penalties for anyone who tampers or tries to tamper with voting machines in the state.

According to Raffensperger’s office, anyone convicted of attempting to interfere with a voting machine — a felony in Georgia— faces between one and 10 years in prison and a maximum $10,000 penalty.

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Georgia Gov. Kemp Appoints New State Election Board Chair

Governor Brian Kemp tapped William S. Duffey, Jr. to be the next Chair of the State Elections Board.

“I announced the appointment of Judge William Duffey as Chair of the State Elections Board. With vast experience & as someone who upholds the highest ethical standards, he will help to ensure our elections continue to be secure, accessible, & fair,” said Kemp in a tweet on Friday.

William S. Duffey Jr, was a United States District Judge for the Northern District of Georgia before his retirement in 2018. Before he received a post on the federal bench, Duffey was the United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia.

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Fulton County May Not Have Retained Video Recordings Surveilling More Than 60,000 Absentee Ballots Deposited into Drop Boxes During the November 2020 Election

Downtown Atlanta

More than one year after the November 2020 presidential election, Fulton County election officials are offering conflicting accounts about whether video recordings, used to surveil drop boxes where absentee ballots were deposited in the November 2020 presidential election, have been destroyed and whether their actions comply with federal law that requires retention of all election records for 22 months.

The video recordings that may no longer exist would have monitored more than 60,000 absentee ballots being deposited into drop boxes during the majority 35 of the maximum 49 days drop boxes were allowed to have been deployed for the November 2020 presidential election.

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Georgia Secretary of State and State Election Board Changed Absentee Ballot Signature Verification and Added Drop Boxes Without State Legislature’s Approval

As early in-person voting began Monday, December 14, for the general election run-off of two U.S. Senate seats in Georgia, significant changes for absentee ballot signature verification and drop boxes put into place by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and the State Election Board without the state legislature’s approval are still in place.

Meanwhile, registered voters “mailing” an absentee ballot for the general election run-off for the federal offices started more than three weeks ago on November 18, according to Georgia’s election calendar. 

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Investigation Finds Georgia Officials Decline to Prosecute or Correct the Double Voters They Catch

More than 1,700 Georgians were singled out for illegally casting two ballots in 2020 elections – including last month’s hotly contested presidential race – but their fraudulent votes weren’t canceled out, according to state election officials. And so far, none of the cheaters has been prosecuted, raising concerns about continued fraud as Georgia prepares to vote again in twin U.S. Senate runoff elections next month.

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Ballot Transfer Forms Show 78 Percent of 89,000 Absentee Ballots from Drop Boxes in Cobb County, Georgia Were Not Transported to Registrar ‘Immediately’ As Election Code Rule Requires

An analysis of ballot transfer forms from Cobb County reveals that 78 percent of the more than 89,000 absentee ballots from drop box locations, required to be “immediately transported” to the county registrar according to Emergency Rule of the State Election Board for Absentee Voting, took more than one hour to be transferred to election officials.

State Election Board Emergency Rule 183-1-14 relative to securing absentee ballot drop boxes was adopted by the State Election Board at the July 1, 2020, meeting.

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