If an audit of absentee ballots that Fulton County officials tallied during the 2020 presidential election produces any irregularities then the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) must step in, said one state legislator.
State Sen. Burt Jones (R-Jackson) told The Georgia Star News Monday that if the audit proves any irregularities then that means one or more people committed fraud in last year’s election.
“The state attorney general, the secretary of state, or the governor can ask the GBI to get engaged in the process,” Jones said.
“The governor’s office is the most appropriate venue to make that request.”
But, under such circumstances, would Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp call upon the GBI?
Jones said he believed Kemp would.
“As the governor, he has been pretty clear that he wanted every legal vote to be counted and every illegal vote seen about in the appropriate manner,” Jones said.
And, independent of the GBI’s potential involvement, if the audit produces irregularities then what happens next?
“The judge’s ruling will give you a blueprint on what the next direction needs to be,” Jones said.
“And if the judge rules that if they get a summary judgement against Fulton County then the legislative body is the appropriate venue to settle the dispute.”
A Georgia judge late last week issued a ruling that will allow officials to audit roughly 145,000 absentee ballots cast in Fulton County in the 2020 election. The scope of the audit will allow individuals to examine ballot signatures to ensure they were legitimate.
Fulton County officials have provided files that show no chain of custody documents called “absentee ballot transfer forms” for 385 out of the 1,591 drop box collections that took place in Fulton County between September 24, 2020 and November 3, 2020. This, per a Star News investigation.
Jones and State Sen. Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta) said state leaders stifled their efforts to have a special session to address voter irregularities late last year. Both men learned in January they would not chair committees over which they previously presided.
– – –
Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Polling facility” by Jason Riedy CC 2.0 and photo “Senator Burt Jones” by Georgia State Senate.
