No Updated Voter Registration from Georgia Secretary of State as Early Voting Begins

 

A week after the new voter registration deadline, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger hasn’t issued an updated version of Georgia’s voter registration list.

Senators Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) and David Perdue (R-GA) published a joint statement requesting an updated list:

It’s been one week since the voter registration deadline passed and the Secretary of State has failed to compile and release a final list of newly registered voters. This is totally unacceptable – the deadline for new voter registration was December 7, 2020. In-person early voting starts today, and the public remains without a full accounting of who is registered and who may attempt to cast a ballot in the runoff. This lack of transparency needs to be rectified immediately, or the integrity of our elections will remain threatened. Georgians demand transparency, accountability, and accuracy in our elections process – and the Secretary of State is failing to provide it in a timely manner.

A spokesperson from the secretary of state’s office told The Georgia Star that the 30 day registration deadline in conjunction with the multiple recounts and December 1st election has delayed counties from updating their voter registration lists.

The secretary of state’s office issued a reminder on a press release that counties are responsible for managing voter registration. Their office also noted that counties require, at minimum, 3 to 4 weeks for processing before individuals should contact their county about precinct cards.

Additionally, the spokesperson stated that the post-election review of the voting results signifies that the election runoff will be secure.

“We’ve had two recounts that verified that the election was accurate. We’ve had extensive investigations – anytime that anybody has offered any evidence, we’ve asked for that and forwarded that to our investigators. We’ve said repeatedly that there’s no evidence of widespread election irregularities. If we find evidence, then those people are prosecuted. Now, it’s not only us saying this, but every court that any of this [evidence] has come before has said the same thing.”

There are four voter registration organizations currently under investigation for voter fraud by the secretary of state’s office. One of the organizations, New Georgia Project, was founded by Democratic activist Stacey Abrams and previously chaired by Loeffler’s Democratic opponent Raphael Warnock.

At this time, the office informed The Star that there isn’t a projected date for completing its investigation.

Early voting for the runoff election began on Monday.

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Corinne Murdock is a reporter at The Georgia Star News and the Star News Network. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to [email protected].