Lawmaker Urges Investigation of GA Sec of State Over 'Numerous' 2020 Election 'Failures': Report
A state lawmaker reportedly wants to investigate Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, saying there were “numerous and documented failures” related to the way the 2020 election was conducted.
Republican state Sen. Burt Jones, who serves on the Senate Government Oversight Committee, reportedly wants committee Chairman Sen. Marty Harbin to summon Raffensperger to testify under oath, according to a letter obtained by the Washington Examiner.
In the Thursday letter, Jones said the depth and breadth of allegations about the contest, and the recent revelation that nearly 200 ballots were scanned twice in Fulton County, mean the election cannot simply be consigned to the past.
“Trusted, transparent, and secure elections are the bedrock of our democracy. As the head of our elections in Georgia, the buck stops with the Secretary of State, and our citizens deserve answers to these questions and to have their faith in our electoral process restored,” he wrote.
“I am confident that a thorough investigation of Secretary Raffensperger’s actions will provide the accountability and clarity surrounding the 2020 election that the citizens of this great state deserve.”
Jordan Fuchs, Raffensperger’s deputy, took issue with the possible motivation of Jones, who is a potential candidate for lieutenant governor.
“There are multiple lawsuits over this topic. This will be decided by the courts, not power grasping political candidates,” Fuchs told the Examiner.
For months, former President Donald Trump has railed against Raffensperger and other state officials, alleging President Joe Biden’s victory in the state was marred by fraud.
Although no determinations of fraud have been found, the fact that nearly 200 absentee votes in Fulton County were scanned twice in the initial count (although the error was later caught) has renewed concern that inaccuracies — whether by sloppiness or fraud — impacted the contest.
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“It’s Fulton failing to follow proper election protocols again,” said Carter Jones, an independent monitor of Fulton’s elections, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “Fulton is so poor at managing the actual process that if they had actually tried to rig the election, they would have bungled it and we would have found out.”
Not everyone agrees.
“If we’re finding this in Fulton County, we’re probably going to find it throughout the state. The question is, why did it happen?” said David Cross, an investment manager working with Georgia residents suing over the results.
“The simple fact that it happened and we found it here means that it probably occurred elsewhere.”
Jones told a recent election integrity town hall that although fighting the results has not always been popular with political leaders, he will not abandon his claims, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“We were the outcasts because we spoke out. But it hasn’t stopped us,” Jones said. “We’re still talking because the people are on our side.”
The debate over last year’s election impacts the future. On Wednesday, Trump waded into the discussion about the Republican race for Georgia’s lieutenant governor.
“I will not be supporting or endorsing Senator Butch Miller, running for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, because of his refusal to work with other Republican Senators on voter fraud and irregularities in the State. Hopefully there will be strong and effective primary challengers for the very important Lieutenant Governor position!” he wrote on his website.
Well said, Mr. President! I will continue fighting for election integrity in our state.
Stay tuned!https://t.co/CFeOGaj6T2
— Burt Jones (@burtjonesforga) July 15, 2021
Jones issued a tweet applauding Trump’s comment.
This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.
