An investigation by state authorities into absentee ballots cast during last year’s presidential election in Fulton County, Georgia, has revealed no evidence of systematic fraud, dealing yet another undercut to claims from former President Trump and others that fraud was responsible for Biden’s win in the state. As explained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “Georgia election investigators were unable to find any counterfeit ballots among batches identified by Republican vote-counters,” and on Twitter, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger added that ‘[with] the help of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, my office has Investigators [who’ve] looked into every credible allegation of fraud. Allegations of “pristine ballots” turned up nothing. Georgia’s elections were secure and accurate.’
The ballots that were examined included 1,000 absentee votes which were alleged to include, as Raffensperger mentioned, supposed pristine ballots, with the implication being that such ballots constituted evidence of tampering with the electoral process. As summarized in a court filing by Georgia Assistant Attorney General Charlene McGowan, however, Raffensperger’s “investigators have not uncovered any absentee ballots that match the descriptions given by affiants or otherwise appear to be fraudulent or counterfeit.” This investigation was conducted in connection to a court case brought based on statements by Republican participants in a statewide audit of last year’s presidential election who alleged that ballots that seemed to suggest fraud had been present.
In the wake of the documented conclusions that no fraudulent ballots were actually present in tranches that were examined, Georgia Superior Court Judge Brian Amero has now opted to dismiss the case. After Amero unveiled his move, Fulton County Board of Commissioners Chairman Robb Pitts proclaimed that the case “was the result of the Big Lie, which is nothing more than a meritless conspiracy theory being spread by people who simply cannot accept that their side lost,” adding: “Its defeat here today should echo throughout the nation.”
Those behind the case had been after an examination of all absentee ballots that were cast in Fulton County, although every vote in the state had already been securely examined. The four GOP audit participants whose statements propelled the case didn’t exactly come across as credible witnesses — one, Barbara Hartman, directly contradicted another, Suzi Voyles, who claimed that she’d brought concerns to county election officials. In fact, Hartman claimed, she and Voyles didn’t actually raise concerns with those in charge. Voyles “also told investigators she could have been mistaken in her sworn statement and might have seen counterfeit ballots in Box 135, Batches 28-36,” the Journal-Constitution explains, but “[investigators] found that Box 135 with Batches 28-36 didn’t exist.” Whoops. Read more at this link.
