Georgia Sec. of State announces Absentee Ballot Fraud Task Force
ATLANTA - In an effort to discourage any potential fraud, Georgia's Secretary of State announced the creation of a new Absentee Ballot Fraud Task Force Monday.
"We are taking an additional step for ballot security," Sec. Brad Raffensperger said in a news conference outside the state Capitol. "[The task force] is created to ensure that even as the way we vote may fluctuate, the power of that vote does not."
The group, which will be made up of law enforcement officials, district attorneys, and election security experts, will be tasked with developing a framework for investigating suspected fraud.
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Last week, the state sent out millions of absentee ballot request forms for the May 19 primary and more Georgians are expected to vote by mail because of concerns about in-person voting during the coronavirus pandemic.
"Years of evidence show us that voter fraud does not exist in Georgia, but voter suppression does," said Democratic Party of Georgia Executive Director Scott Hogan. "Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s announcement of an Absentee Ballot Fraud Task Force is state sponsored voter intimidation, full stop. There is no empirical evidence that voter fraud is a legitimate issue in Georgia."
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Georgia House Speaker David Ralston, however, disagrees.
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"To, you know, propose the creation of this task force is basically to admit that there is a real problem out there and that we can expect problems to arise," said Ralston.
Ralston is one of several prominent elected leaders in the state who has called on Raffensperger to postpone the May contest.
"At the present time we don't have the lawful authority to move the election, because of the expiration of the emergency declaration by the governor," said Raffensperger.
State law, Ralston pointed out, allows the Secretary of State to move an election because of either a state emergency declaration or a federal one and President Donald Trump declared a national emergency in mid-March without an end date.
"That in and of itself is enough basis for him to postpone this election. He has the power to postpone this primary and he needs to postpone this primary," said Ralston.
Raffenspergers said his office continues to monitor the situation and hinted that the date could, in fact, change.
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