Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger released a statement on Thursday praising the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold two key voting laws in the state of Arizona.
The two provisions would prevent the use of third-party ballot harvesting and require election officials to throw out any ballots that were cast in the wrong precinct.
“I applaud today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding Arizona’s commonsense election integrity laws banning ballot harvesting and requiring voters to vote in their assigned precinct,” Raffensperger said in an emailed statement.
Supporters of the law argue that ballot harvesting — a practice that allows political operatives and others to collect voters’ ballots and submit them to polling stations in large numbers — increases the opportunity to commit voter fraud. And, throwing out ballots who were cast in the wrong precinct prevents individuals from voting in multiple locations.
In the ruling, the Court identified the added measures as “modest burdens.” But, the laws did not violate any constitutional provisions, and the group rejected the notion that the move creates a disproportionate burden on minority voters.
While praising the decision, Raffensperger highlighted his own record.
“As Secretary of State, my first action was to work with the Georgia General Assembly to ban ballot harvesting. And requiring voters to vote in their correct precinct ensures that votes count in down-ballot races and makes election administration smoother,” he added.
However, many conservatives across the state of Georgia have questioned Raffensperger’s commitment to election security. After the November 2020 election, Raffensperger dismissed claims of improper actions across many jurisdictions in the state. However, after numerous, shocking reports from The Georgia Star News, Raffensperger agreed to open an investigation into the election process in Fulton County.
Raffensperger’s quick denial has drawn praise from President Barack Obama and a formidable primary challenge from Congressman Jody Hice (R-GA-10) — who has already received an endorsement from President Donald Trump.
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Cooper Moran is a reporter for the Star News Network. Follow Cooper on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
