State Elections Board selects third batch of voter fraud cases for prosecution
Feb. 27—ATLANTA — The State Election Board sent the month's third batch of alleged election violations to prosecutors Wednesday after getting answers to the most common conspiracy theories from the makers of Georgia's new voting system.
"The allegations of widespread election fraud in November were completely baseless, and it was good to hear the explanation directly from the top officials of the voting system," Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who is also chairman of the State Election Board, said. "Georgians should be assured their votes were counted accurately by the new system. The cases of alleged election violations that the board referred to prosecutors also provide assurance that if there is wrongdoing, we will catch it."
As part of a broad upgrade in election security, Georgia rolled out new voting machines last year supplied by Dominion Voting Systems of Colorado, the winner of the public bidding process. Even though the paper-ballot system increased voters' protections, provided added documentation and shrank voting-place lines, there were still some baseless rumors after the election about the machines. To address those, Raffensperger invited Dominion executives to answer questions.
"Dominion is proud to be the State of Georgia's partner in the successful rollout of the new statewide voting system for the 2020 cycle," CEO John Poulos said. "We are grateful to the Georgia Secretary of State's office and county election officials, who not only helped to maintain the resiliency of the election process during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also persevered in the wake of a widespread disinformation campaign aimed at sowing doubt and confusion in the outcome of the presidential election.
"The historic statewide hand count of every paper ballot produced by Georgia voters validated the security and accuracy of Dominion systems and added to a substantial body of evidence confirming the falsity of the lies being told about our company. We appreciate the opportunity to highlight the new system rollout in 2020 and share the facts about Dominion, and we look forward to continuing to serve the Peach State."
The board considered 75 cases during its third meeting of the month, sending dozens of them to the attorney general or local district attorneys for prosecution. In acting on more than 300 cases in February, the board demonstrated its intolerance for violations that impact the integrity of elections.
Among the noteworthy cases are those for campaigning within 150 feet of a polling place, offering pizza and drinks to voters in line, late poll openings and advertising payment for voting — including two sign trucks with a promise of $1,200 for voting Democratic.
Those facing scrutiny include:
— The Irwin County Board of Elections and Registration for allegedly failing to secure and maintain voting equipment in 2018;
— The Stewart County Board of Elections and Registration for allegedly sending the wrong ballot to a voter, opening a polling place late, failing to offer a provisional ballot during the late opening, improper setup of voting machines and failing to post required voter instructions during the 2018 primary;
— Miguel V. of Valdosta for allegedly casting two ballots in the 2018 primary.
