Raffensberger says 2020 election blunder 'does not erase votes'

By Kim Jarrett
The Center Square

Five years after the 2020 election, challenges in Georgia continue despite multiple audits.

The latest questions surround the December meeting of the Georgia State Election Board. Nearly two weeks after the meeting, some continue to claim Fulton County was fraudulent because tabulation tapes were not signed that included 315,000 votes.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger addressed the accusations in a social media post.

“Georgia has the most secure elections in the country and all voters were verified with photo ID and lawfully cast their ballots. A clerical error at the end of the day does not erase valid, legal votes," Raffensperger said.

Other Republicans questioned Raffensperger.

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who is running for governor, criticized his opponent, Raffensperger, in a post Monday.

"If only Georgia had an official responsible for preventing clerical errors that undermine election integrity. Is there anyone in Georgia who has that job, Brad?" Jones said

U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, who is running for Senate, said he was "tired of empty words from weak leaders" in a social media post from his campaign page.

"President Trump is owed a massive apology," Collins said. "Turns out over 300,000 early votes in the 2020 election were illegally certified but still included in the final results."

An election cannot be overturned based on a rule, Robert Sinners communications director for the Secretary of State's Office, told The Center Square.

"The basis for these claims is that Fulton County admitted to sloppy election administration and not following a State Election Board rule," Sinners said in an email. "There is no mechanism in law to overturn the election based on not following this rule – as it wasn’t even part of the election code – it was a procedural rule."

New procedures were put in place to ensure the mistake doesn't happen again, Ann Brumbaugh, an attorney for the Fulton County Board of Registrations and Elections, told the State Election Board.

Sinners acknowledged improvements were needed.

"Based on the reports from appointed monitors who were on site in Fulton County reviewing the conduct of the election – there was sloppiness that needed improvement, but outright fraud was not a concern," Sinners said.

The 2020 election was recounted twice, and then, subject to a 100% hand count, according to Sinners.

"This is in addition to more audits that took place in localized jurisdictions. I would say the 2020 election was the most scrutinized in history – at least in this state," Sinners said.

Trump had repeatedly said the election that put Joe Biden in the White House was stolen. This month, the Department of Justice sued Fulton County and the state of Georgia, alleging that they had failed to turn over data about the 2020 ballots. Those cases are still pending. 

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