GA senators attack top election official over vote count. Their claim is ‘laughable,’ he says
Georgia’s two Republican U.S. Senators and its Republican Secretary of State are sparring over the integrity of Georgia’s election results as President-elect Joe Biden widens his lead.
In a statement Monday afternoon, Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler called for Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to resign, calling the handling of the state’s election “an embarrassment.”
“We have been clear from the beginning: every legal vote cast should be counted. Any illegal vote must not. And there must be transparency and uniformity in the counting process,” the statement read, in part. “There have been too many failures in Georgia elections this year and the most recent election has shined a national light on the problems.”
Loeffler and Perdue went on to say that the “buck ultimately stops” with Raffensperger, and that he should step down immediately.
The statement does not provide specific examples or cite any evidence to demonstrate their claims.
In response, Raffensperger said he would not step down from his post and that the process of reporting election results has been “orderly and followed the law.” He called claims that his office was not transparent “laughable.”
“I know emotions are running high. Politics are involved in everything right now,” the statement reads, in part. “If I was Senator Perdue, I’d be irritated I was in a runoff. And both Senators and I are all unhappy with the potential outcome for our President.”
Raffensperger said that his office was investigating all claims of “illegal voting.”
“Was there illegal voting? I am sure there was,” the statement read, in part. “Does it rise to the numbers or margin necessary to change the outcome to where President Trump is given Georgia’s electoral votes? That is unlikely.”
In response to Raffensperger’s statement, Gov. Brian Kemp said the close outcome and record number of mail-in and absentee ballots is a “wake-up call” to the Secretary of State’s office to take a “serious look” at all allegations of voting irregularities.
“Georgians deserve to have every legal vote counted in order to have full confidence in the outcome of our election,” Kemp’s statement reads, in part.
The statements came after a Monday afternoon press conference where Gabe Sterling, the state’s voting system implementation manager, said claims of widespread voter fraud in the state were “misinformation.”
As of 4:30 p.m., the Associated Press reports Biden’s lead over Trump is nearly 11,600 votes.
This story was originally published November 9, 2020 at 4:56 PM with the headline "GA senators attack top election official over vote count. Their claim is ‘laughable,’ he says."