Georgia Judge Orders Audit of 147K Fulton County Absentee Ballots
A Georgia judge on Friday agreed to unseal absentee ballots in Fulton County in a lawsuit alleging that thousands of counterfeit ballots were cast there.
Henry County Superior Court Judge
Brian Amero’s order forces Georgia’s largest county to allow a group of Georgia voters and their experts to inspect copies of 147,000 mail-in ballots cast in light of their evidence-challenged claims that the ballots were fraudulent.
Amero said details regarding specifics of the inspection would be forthcoming.
The order comes after Georgia ballots were audited on three separate occasions, all confirming
President Biden’s victory in the Peach State in November and that no widespread fraud occurred.
Rob Pitts, the chair of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, panned the ruling as “outrageous” and said it perpetuated the lie touted by former
President Trump and his allies that the White House election was stolen.
“The fact remains that Fulton County safely and securely carried out an election in the midst of a public health pandemic,” Pitts said in a statement to
The Washington Post. “It’s a shame to see that the ‘Big Lie’ lives on and could cost the hardworking taxpayers of this county.”
Still, the ruling underscores the sway unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud still hold on large swaths of the GOP. Polls have showed that many Republicans continue to doubt President Biden’s victory in November despite no evidence of widespread fraud or irregularities emerging since votes were tallied last year.
Republicans touted the ruling, saying it was a step in restoring faith in election integrity.
“Allowing this audit provides another layer of transparency and citizen engagement,” tweeted Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
“The integrity of future elections is critical, and Judge Amero's decision is a helpful step in restoring transparency, accountability, and voter confidence. We look forward to the findings and their role in promoting transparency and rebuilding faith in our elections,”
added former Sen.
Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.).
A Georgia judge on Friday agreed to unseal absentee ballots in Fulton County in a lawsuit alleging that thousands of counterfeit ballots were cast there.
thehill.com
In his one-page order, Amero's order said the county election officials must allow plaintiff Garland Favorito and his group called Voters Organized for Trusted Election Results in Georgia to review the ballots "at a time and place to be determined later," according to
The Wall Street Journal.
Following the lead of Arizona's forensic audit of 2020 presidential election results, 147,000 Fulton County, Georgia, absentee ballots are being unsealed for an audit.
www.newsmax.com
The decision in Georgia comes after a handful of plaintiffs filed a lawsuit to access the ballots. But the audit in Fulton County is likely to come with more stipulations than the opaquely operated, GOP-run audit playing out in Arizona’s Maricopa County.
While Henry County Judge Brian Amero ordered that the ballots be unsealed, “Petitioners shall only be permitted to inspect and scan said ballots in accordance with protocols and practices that will be set forth by further order of the Court,” according to court documents. The judge directed counsel for the parties to convene where the ballots are being stored next week.
Garland Favorito, one of the plaintiffs who brought the lawsuit and the co-founder of Voters Organized for Trusted Election Results in Georgia, said he and his counterparts are formulating a plan to scan and forensically analyze the Fulton County mail-in ballots. He said they will submit that plan to the judge before May 28.
Favorito told CNN that he hopes roughly a dozen experts will have a chance to evaluate the newly scanned ballot images and search for characteristics that could determine whether any ballots are counterfeit.
“The reason that we want to do it is to determine whether or not there are counterfeit ballots,” Favorito said.
Fulton County Chairman Robb Pitts, a Democrat, slammed the push for yet another review of the 2020 election.
“It is outrageous that Fulton County continues to be a target of those who cannot accept the results from last year’s election,” Pitts said. “The votes have been counted three times, including a hand recount, and no evidence of fraud has been found. The fact remains that Fulton County safely and securely carried out an election in the midst of a public health pandemic. It’s a shame to see that the ‘Big Lie’ lives on and could cost the hardworking taxpayers of this county.”
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican who has come under fire from many members of his own party after standing up to Trump’s attempts to overturn the election, offered a more sanguine response to the judge’s ruling.
“From day one I have encouraged Georgians with legitimate concerns about the election in their counties to pursue those claims through legal avenues,” Raffensperger said in a statement. “Fulton County has a longstanding history of election mismanagement that has understandably weakened voters’ faith in its system. Allowing this audit provides another layer of transparency and citizen engagement.”
“The fact remains that Fulton County safely and securely carried out an election in the midst of a public health pandemic. It’s a shame to see that the ‘Big Lie’ lives on an…
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