Courtney Kramer
As 2020 came to a close, it proved to be the start of a Republican Party reckoning. While the November election was anything but normal, Georgians deserve to understand what happened in the lawsuit filed on behalf of President Donald Trump. On December 4, Atlanta attorney Ray Smith filed an election contest petition on behalf of the president citing alarming fraud, misconduct and irregularities enough to place the outcome of the election in doubt. Alongside the lawsuit, Trump’s team filed a bolstering mound of supporting evidence.
Conveniently enough for Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, this case was assigned a judge only after it was too late. This is not only infuriating but simply unjust.
Anyone who took the time to read the lawsuit would see that the president’s attorneys did nothing short of zealously advocating for their client. They did their job and did it well. The evidence filed undoubtedly supports a finding that there was in fact fraud, misconduct and irregularities in this election. Unfortunately, the president never got his day in court.
This grave miscarriage of justice is a deliberate error by the court as O.C.G.A. §21-2-525 clearly states that a hearing must occur within 20 days of the filing of an election contest petition. Such a shame it took exactly one month after filing to get assigned a judge to hear this case. Justice delayed is justice denied– and there is no question that President Trump was denied justice and his rights.
Notwithstanding the complete failure by the judiciary to do its job, Raffensperger was quick to denounce any wrongdoing that occurred and continuously made blanket statements about meritless claims. Though, they lack any of their own evidence proving such. Similar sentiments have been echoed by individuals who clearly never read the lawsuit, including Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan and Attorney General Chris Carr. If in fact those screaming that there was no wrongdoing did read the lawsuit, they would have seen the following:
- 18,325 voters who voted with a residential address that was actually vacant
- 4,502 voters who voted with a registration number that does not appear in any of the State’s voter registration files
- 904 voters who voted with a residential address at a postal facility
Filed alongside 8,000 pages of supporting data and expert reports were100 affidavits of sworn testimony laying out over 40 Election Code violations which display egregious misconduct and irregularities by election officials and poll workers. The Secretary of State’s office would have been aware of this had they truly investigated the claims. Before speaking to its veracity, those in positions of power who are adamant nothing went wrong should instead spend their time reading the lawsuit and looking at the evidence. Only then would they realize this case is unlike any others.
Raffensperger maintains that the president’s numbers are bad data. However, most of that data came directly from the Secretary of State’s public records and USPA public data. No speculation, just facts. Moreover, there were no accompanying conspiracy theories. The word “dominion” does not appear anywhere in this lawsuit. Despite the facts being in the public record, turning a blind eye to the truth is apparently easier than giving the president his day in court to present the evidence.
Roughly 750,000 Republican voters who voted in November did not show up to vote in the January runoff. It is likely because many Georgians lost faith in our elections process. Yet when the Secretary of State blatantly failed to properly perform his duties, how could you blame them? While zero enforcement measures were implemented for these widespread violations, this should cause serious cause for concern not only for Republicans, but across party lines.
Interestingly enough, the Atlanta Journal Constitution released an article that Raffensperger is now the “Most Popular Republican in Georgia.” The AJC failed to point out this poll was taken by majority Democratic voters, so of course he was the “Most Popular Republican” among the left. He essentially helped them steal an election.
Nonetheless, Raffensperger should relish in his newfound title as it is likely the only title he will have after a necessary 2022 GOLP primary.
It is clear that serious election reform must take place if any currently elected Republicans running statewide want to stay in office. The only way for Georgia to recover from this election debacle is in the hands our General Assembly.
Decisive action is needed if our elections have any chance of being free, fair, or transparent. With “leaders” who continuously shy away from anything remotely controversial, how are we to have faith in this process again? Georgians deserve better. The absolute failure of our elected officials to do their jobs is disgusting and disheartening. Though, when you have a fox guarding the hen house, what else would you expect?
Courtney Kramer is an Atlanta attorney who assisted former President Trump’s Georgia legal team.
