Republicans throughout Georgia have asked Gov. Brian Kemp to convene a special session of the state legislature so that independent parties can conduct a forensic audit of the state’s November 2020 presidential election.
These Republicans sent an open letter to the people of Georgia, which they forwarded to The Georgia Star News Thursday.
“We hear you. We hear your concerns, your frustrations, and your fears about the how the 2020 election was carried out in our great state. That is why we are calling for a statewide forensic audit of every single ballot. You deserve to know the truth about your election. As American citizens, you have a right to vote, and you have a right to know that your vote counted,” according to the letter.
“Unfortunately, many in Georgia did not have that luxury last year. Elected officials in both parties mishandled the 2020 presidential election, and as a result, the integrity of that election is in question. Why, more than six months later, are hundreds of thousands of absentee ballots missing legally required chain of custody documents?”
The letter also cited a Star News report that said “officials at the state and county level in Georgia have failed to produce chain of custody records for more than 333,000 absentee vote by mail ballots deposited in drop boxes located around the state” for the 2020 election.
“Approximately 5 million people in our state voted last year, and President Joe Biden won with fewer than 12,000 votes. That is why it is so important for us to have a statewide audit. Only a handful of votes could have swayed the election either way. In Fulton County alone, officials have ‘failed to produce complete chain of custody documents for 18,901 vote-by-mail absentee ballots deposited by voters into drop boxes.’ Even that seemingly small number of votes could have potentially flipped our state’s election in favor of President Donald Trump. And to complicate matters further, Fulton County’s own records are apparently flawed,” according to the letter.
“The Georgia Star News reported on May 20 that county officials ‘provided two different versions of 34 completed critical chain of custody documents for absentee ballot drop boxes from the November 2020 election.’ How can we trust the validity of our election when officials from one of our largest and most well-funded counties cannot keep their own records straight? Even the courts are beginning to weigh in. On May 21, a judge ruled 145,000 absentee ballots in Fulton County could be unsealed for an audit.”
The Washington Examiner reported Thursday that more than 500 Georgia Republicans sent a letter requesting an audit to Kemp’s office.
Members of Kemp’s staff did not return a request for comment Thursday, but they told The Examiner that Kemp does not “have the constitutional or statutory authority to conduct an audit of the 2020 election.”
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Ballot Worker” by Phil Roeder. CC BY 2.0.
Let’s audit Kemp, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and all of the other despicable racists!