After approving a signature review of ballots in Cobb County, Georgia earlier this week, Sec. of State Brad Raffensperger has announced a study to look at a sampling of ballots from each county throughout the state. Despite concerns over voter fraud in the previous election, Sec. Raffensperger said the review is intended to be "forward-looking."
"Secretary Raffensperger has asked researchers at the University of Georgia's School of Public and International Affairs to conduct research, including a randomized signature match study of election materials handled at the county level in the November 3 Presidential contest," reads a press release from Raffensperger's office. "This work will also include research on processes used at the county level to perform signature-matching."
President Trump has repeatedly called for signature verification throughout the state of Georgia and chastised GOP Gov. Brian Kemp and Sec. Raffensperger for failing to order it.
While announcing the signature study, Sec. Raffensperger said in a statement that he remains "confident that elections in Georgia are secure, reliable, and effective."
"Despite endless lawsuits and wild allegations from Washington, D.C. pundits, we have seen no actual evidence of widespread voter fraud, though we are investigating all credible reports," said Raffensperger.
Sounds like Raffensperger is keeping an open mind (sarcasm).
Raffensperger said the study conducted by the University of Georgia will involve only "a sample of signed envelopes in each county from the presidential election." Raffensperger said the study "is intended to be forward-looking, helping to inform and optimize election administration for future electoral contests in the State of Georgia."
Sounds like a whitewash. If voter fraud is uncovered in the last election, why not promise to address it?
Georgians deserve honest elections. And for Republicans, uncovering every last vestige of Democrat voter fraud in Georgia should be paramount given the high stakes of the upcoming Senate runoffs.