Patrick Witt Commentary: Election Integrity Will Save Our Nation, and It Starts in Georgia

Election integrity lies at the very foundation of what it means to be a citizen of the American republic. The 2020 presidential election was badly marred by fraud, constitutional violations (both state and federal), and abuses of authority under the guise of public health. These problems were especially acute in our State of Georgia, which is why it is critical that we elect the right individuals in 2022 who will be bold champions for election reform and accuracy.

In recent weeks, our feckless and weak Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, has even been forced to belatedly acknowledge the enormous abuses of drop-boxes in Georgia in 2020. Thanks to the investigative efforts of True the Vote, evidence continues to accumulate of shadowy agents engaged in illegal ballot harvesting—the practice of collecting ballots on behalf of other voters—which is expressly prohibited by Georgia law. New video evidence, mobile phone records, plus the account of a whistleblower all point to a highly unlawful, coordinated operation to deposit thousands of absentee ballots in harvested bunches, often in the dark of night. In fact, according to True the Vote, 40% of these ballot drops occurred between midnight and 5am and involved thousands of ballot deposits.

Read the full story

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Attorney General Chris Carr Won’t Comment on Vernon Jones’ Request for Feds to Investigate Ballot Harvesting

Staff members for Georgia’s attorney general and secretary of state this week declined to respond to Vernon Jones call for the feds – and not state officials – to investigate new claims of ballot harvesting in 2020. Staff for Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger declined The Georgia Star News’ requests for comment.

Read the full story

Georgia’s Raffensperger: ‘Nationwide There Should Be a Law That Bans Ballot Harvesting’

Sign that says "protect election integrity"

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says he supports a national law that bans ballot harvesting, the third-party gathering and delivering of absentee ballots for voters.

“One thing that I do think we need is to make sure that nationwide there should be a law that bans ballot harvesting,” the Republican politician said Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” “I don’t think that ballot harvesting is good. The only person that should touch your ballot is you and the election official. So I think that’s one solid election reform measure.”

Ballot harvesting is legal in some states but not in Georgia.

Read the full story

John Solomon: Whistleblower Admits He Was Paid $45k to Illegally Ballot Harvest in Georgia 2020 Presidential Election and 2021 Senate Runoffs

Just the News founder and Editor in Chief John Solomon appeared on The John Fredericks Show Wednesday morning to discuss his breaking story involving a massive ballot harvesting ring in Georgia exposed by the election integrity group True the Vote. 

In all, the number of illegally cast ballots could number as high as 1,000,000, at a cost, one whistleblower says, of $10 per ballot.

Read the full story

DeKalb County GOP Chair Blasts Brad Raffensperger for Claiming Credit for Georgia’s High Ranking Election Security Scorecard

The Washington, D.C.-based Heritage Foundation this month ranked Georgia first on its election integrity scorecard, and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger took credit. DeKalb County Republican Party Chair Marci McCarthy said this week, however, that Raffensperger was out of line to make such a statement. McCarthy wrote on the DeKalb County GOP’s website that Raffensperger “unilaterally weakened Voter ID protections and controls” and “did not strengthen them.”

Read the full story

Brad Raffensperger Appears on The John Fredericks Radio Show to Defend the 2020 Election and Pitch His 2022 Reelection Campaign to Voters

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger appeared on Tuesday’s edition of The John Fredericks Show and told voters why he believed the state’s 2020 presidential election was legitimate and why he thinks he’s worthy of reelection. During his appearance, the secretary of state even pitched his candidacy to voters who supported former President Donald Trump. This, even though Trump and his supporters have long questioned Raffensperger’s competency.

Read the full story

Georgia’s Raffensperger Files Lawsuit Against Justice Department over Request for Documents

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R-GA) filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration’s Department of Justice (DOJ) for information about the department’s lawsuit against Georgia’s election integrity law.

Raffensperger’s lawsuit seeks to enforce a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request sent by the secretary months prior to find the motivations behind the DOJ’s initial case.

Read the full story

Georgia Secretary of State Candidate Jody Hice Releases New TV Ad Featuring Donald Trump

U.S. Representative Jody Hice (R-GA-10) has released a new television ad — featuring former President Donald Trump — in his campaign to replace Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. In the ad, Trump endorsed Hice. Trump said Hice will “fight for free, fair, and secure elections in Georgia.” The former president also called Raffensperger one of the worst secretaries of state in America.

Read the full story

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s Claim About No Counterfeit Election Ballots is Not Credible, Garland Favorito Says

Henry County Superior Court Chief Judge Brian Amero has reportedly done away with a lawsuit that alleged election fraud in Fulton County, Georgia during last year’s presidential election. Members of the nonprofit VoterGA wanted to inspect Fulton County’s mail-in ballots. This, after four senior poll managers signed sworn affidavits indicating they handled counterfeit ballots during the Fulton County hand count audit.

Read the full story

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger Wants Feds to Investigate New Allegations Against Fulton County

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Monday called upon members of the U.S. Justice Department to investigate Fulton County elections. This, following recent allegations that Fulton County shredded 300 municipal election-related applications in violation of state law. The Georgia Secretary of State’s office has already launched an investigation into the allegations, according to a press release.

Read the full story

11 Months After 2020 Election Georgia Secretary of State Missing Chain of Custody Documents for 6,995 Absentee Ballots Deposited in Fulton County Drop Boxes

A review of transfer forms provided to The Georgia Star News in response to an open records request reveals that the Secretary of State’s office in Georgia is missing chain of custody documents for 6,995 absentee ballots deposited in drop boxes in Fulton County during the November 2020 election.

The number of absentee ballots for which the office has no evidence of the origination of the ballots represents 9 percent of the 79,460 total that Fulton County has recorded as being deposited into drop boxes during the more than month-long early voting and election day period.

Read the full story

Georgia Opens Probe into Drop Box Ballots, Chain of Custody in DeKalb County

The Georgia Secretary of State’s office has opened an investigation into the handling of drop box ballots last November in one of the state’s Democratic strongholds following a media report that there were problems with chain of custody documentation in DeKalb County.

The probe, confirmed in a statement to Just the News, comes at a tumultuous time for DeKalb County, whose elections director was placed on an extended leave of absence two weeks ago. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office said the probe is ongoing and the county is cooperating.

Read the full story

Georgia’s Largest County Considers Stacey Abrams Lobbyist for Top Election Job, Angering State

Georgia’s largest county is prepared to name a paid lobbyist for liberal voting law activist Stacey Abrams’ group to be the next chairwoman of its election board, drawing immediate condemnation from the state’s top election official.

Fulton County’s Board of Commissioners confirmed Tuesday it is considering hiring Cathy Woolard, a former Atlanta city council president and mayoral candidate, as the next chair of the county’s election board. A vote is expected as early as Wednesday, according to the commission’s meeting docket.

Read the full story

Former President Trump Sends Letter to Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger Asking to Investigate Report of DeKalb County Chain of Custody Violations; ‘If True Start the Process of Decertifying’

Former President Donald Trump sent a letter on Friday to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, asking the top election official to investigate potential threats to the state’s election integrity.

In the letter to Raffensperger, Trump cited a report from The Georgia Star News, which detailed that 43,000 absentee ballot votes counted in DeKalb County, Georgia 2020 election potentially violated chain of custody rule.

Read the full story

Georgia Elections Chief Expects to Be Subpoenaed by January 6 Commission, Vows Not to Comply

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger expects to be subpoenaed as early as Friday by the congressional commission investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, and is vowing not to comply.

“I’m focused on secure and accessible elections — not re-litigating the past, whether January 6th, the 2018 election, or the 2020 election,” Raffensperger said in a statement provided to Just the News on Thursday evening.

Read the full story

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger Wants U.S. Justice Department to Release Contacts with Stacey Abrams and Other Left-Wing Activists

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced Wednesday he has filed a Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA) with the U.S. Department of Justice to release any records of contact with Stacey Abrams. Raffensperger said in a press release that he also wants records of contact with Abrams’ Fair Fight Action and 60 other liberal activist organizations.

Read the full story

Analysis of DeKalb County, Georgia 2020 Election Absentee Ballot Transfer Forms Identifies Several Problems

An analysis by The Georgia Star News of DeKalb County’s absentee ballot drop box transfer forms from the November 2020 election identified a number of problems that puts the documents out of compliance with the Georgia Board of Election Emergency Rule 183-1-14-1.8-.14.

The Star News reviewed 725 absentee ballot drop box transfer forms, obtained from the DeKalb County law department in response to an open records request, that were used by DeKalb County during the November 2020 election to document the chain of custody of the 61,731 absentee ballots deposited in drop boxes .

Read the full story

Brad Raffensperger Wants Georgia Constitution to Make Plain That Only American Citizens Can Vote

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger wants members of the Georgia General Assembly to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to clarify that the state constitution permits only American citizens to vote. Raffensperger, at a press conference Wednesday, said seeing this through was one of his top priorities when he ran for his seat in 2018.

Read the full story

Raffensperger’s Office Seeks Over $100,000 to Complete Open Records Request Submitted by Georgia Secretary of State Candidate David Belle Isle

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office will charge David Belle Isle, who is challenging Raffensperger in the GOP primary for the top elections post, more than $100,000 to complete an open records request. 

Further, Raffensperger’s office claimed producing the documents would take approximately 230 business days to complete — a timeline that conveniently places the results after the GOP primary election for secretary of state.

Read the full story

Georgia Department of Community Health Says COVID-19 Justified No-Bid Contract

Georgia officials rewarded an Alpharetta-based medical company with a generous no-bid contract and cited a provision in state law that allowed them to do so during emergencies — in this case, COVID-19. Jackson Healthcare provides medical staff to several of Georgia’s hospitals and nursing homes through its subsidiary Healthcare Workforce Logistics (HWL). Company CEO Rick Jackson donated generously to Georgia’s top politicians, including Gov. Brian Kemp, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Jackson’s company subsequently received a $434 million no-bid contract. Company officials said politics “had absolutely nothing to do with it.”

Read the full story

Georgia County GOP Clashes with Raffensperger After Office Brushes Off Voter Fraud

Just days after Secretary of State’s office chief operation officer Gabriel Sterling brushed off concrete proof of illegal voting in the 2020 election, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) was met with protests in Bibb County. 

GOP protestors in Bibb County held up signs and demanded a full forensic audit of the vote tallies in the Peach State as Raffensperger spoke to the Bibb County GOP, according to WMAZ. 

Read the full story

Speaker of Georgia House Demands Investigation into Fulton County Election Irregularities

Speaker David Ralston presides over the Georgia House chamber

Georgia’s Speaker of the House David Ralston is demanding an investigation to “determine if any irregularities or willful fraud occurred” in the state’s largest metropolis last November, saying recent revelations about problems with vote counting in Fulton County merit an independent probe.

Ralston sent a letter late last week to Fulton County election officials requesting that the Georgia Bureau of Investigation be allowed to conduct the investigation.

The request comes after Just the News reported last month that an independent observer for Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger noted two dozen pages of irregularities in the Atlanta vote counting center last Nov. 3, including double scanning of ballots, insecure transportation of ballots and possible voter privacy violations.

Read the full story

Georgia Public Broadcasting Reveals Secretary of State Raffensperger Delivered Some Fulton County Absentee Ballot Chain of Custody Documents to Them in April

An interview between The Georgia Star News and Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) News revealed that they had received Fulton County’s drop box absentee ballot transfer forms from the Secretary of State’s office in April.  GPB News, however, did not report on their findings until after The Star News report in June.

Stephen Fowler of Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB) News requested an interview with John Fredericks, which also included Laura Baigert, of The Georgia Star News, as part of his fact-check for a story and to get comments from everyone involved.

Read the full story

Georgia Secretary of State Says He Wants Fulton County Elections Taken Over by State

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger told Just the News on Wednesday that he wants Fulton County elections taken over by the state under a new law that addresses localities with habitual problems counting ballots, dramatically escalating his battle with the state’s largest urban center in the aftermath of the 2020 election.

“I think people are saying, enough is enough,” Raffensperger said in a podcast interview in which he discussed using the new election integrity law known as Senate Bill 202 to have the State Elections Board take over the Atlanta-area election counting in time for the 2022 elections.

Read the full story

Georgia SOS Brad Raffensperger Issues Challenge to Stacey Abrams and Joe Biden After DOJ Lawsuit Announced

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger reacted harshly Friday to news that U.S. Justice Department officials, under Attorney General Merrick Garland, will sue the Peach State over its new voting law Senate Bill 202. “The Biden Administration continues to do the bidding of Stacey Abrams and spreads more lies about Georgia’s election law,” Raffensperger said on Facebook Friday.

Read the full story

Georgia Voters’ Rights on the Docket as Judge Grapples with Fulton County Election Controversy: No Decision Yet

McDONOUGH, GEORGIA — The lawsuit alleging voting shenanigans in Fulton County during last year’s presidential election continued Monday as Chief Judge Brian Amero heard opposing attorneys spar over voters’ rights and who to hold accountable for violating those rights. Amero presides over the case out of Henry County.

Read the full story

Bombshell Investigative Piece About Fulton County Documents ‘Massive Election Integrity Problems’ Last November

Fulton County, Georgia had more election integrity problems during last year’s U.S. presidential elections than were previously known, according to a new investigative report that Just the News published late Thursday night. Reporters John Solomon and Daniel Payne cited a 29-page memo they obtained that documented double counting of votes, insecure storage, threats, and massive chain of custody irregularities.

Read the full story

Georgia Secretary of State Candidate David Belle Isle Files Open Record Requests for Election Documents

David Belle Isle

David Belle Isle, former mayor of Alpharetta and candidate for Secretary of State in Georgia, filed multiple open records requests to examine documents related to the November 2020 election. 

According to his interview with Breitbart News, the requests cover a wide variety of concerns about the security of the election — including items such as signature complaints, chain of custody documents for drop boxes, and surveillance videos for drop boxes. Belle Isle is utilizing Georgia’s Open Records Act to bring more transparency to the election process.

Read the full story

Chain-of-Custody Documents: View All the Ballot Transfer Forms from the November 2020 Election Provided by Fulton County to The Georgia Star News

On May 3, 2021, six months after the November 3, 2020 presidential election, Fulton County election officials provided The Georgia Star News with a thumb drive containing 30 files those officials said complied with an Open Records Request made by The Star News. The request made to Fulton County was one in a series of Open Records Requests made to all 159 counties in Georgia to produce all chain of custody documents, known as absentee ballot drop box transfer forms, from that election.

Read the full story

Mike Collins Launches Campaign to Replace Jody Hice

Michael Collins

Mike Collins, former candidate for Congress and trucking executive, officially launched his campaign on Tuesday to represent Georgia’s 10 Congressional District.

The seat which Collins is aiming for is being vacated by Congressman Jody Hice (R-GA-10). Hice, instead of running for reelection to Congress, has decided to begin a primary challenge attempt against embattled Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. 

Read the full story

Georgia GOP Censures Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger

The Georgia Republican Party passed a motion on Saturday at their state convention to formally censure current Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

“A censure is about as strong as it gets out of here, other than our votes at the ballot box which is the most important censure of all,” added Mike Crane, District 3 Chairman of the state party, before reading the language of the censure. 

Read the full story