On Tuesday James Magazine Online reported that Georgia’s State Election Board (SEB) passed a rule giving local election officials additional power to investigate ballot counts before certifying the results. Opponents, including the political writers for the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, claimed the move could inject “chaos” into the 2024 election and “delay” the state’s official vote count. That attack deserves a fact-check.
By the way, many Democrat critics were joined by GOP Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who also said he feared the rule would delay certification of an election.
Ken Cuccinelli, chairman of the Election Transparency Initiative, replied “no way.” He testified in favor of the new rule at the SEB meeting, noting it simply sets uniform standards for counties to follow an existing law about reconciling the number of votes counted with the number of voters casting ballots. “Secretary Raffensperger is, I believe, sincere in his opposition. But he is prioritizing speed, and we are prioritizing accuracy,” the former Virginia attorney general said.
But leave it to former Georgian Hans von Spakovsky, a one-time member of the Fulton County Election Board, to clearly set the record straight: Georgia’s legal deadline for election certification remains 5p.m. on the Monday after the election. Where would any “delay” occur, he asks.
Von Spakovsky, now the manager of the Election Law Reform Initiative at The Heritage Foundation, gave expert testimony ahead of the SEB vote on the rule. He was surprised when opponents said county boards have no authority to review when the ballot numbers don’t add up. “The idea that county boards are not allowed to investigate is absurd,” he declared. “Under the law, county election boards are fully required to run elections. I was astounded by the opposition to this rule that just says that votes cast and counted should match the number of people who came to vote. The fact that anyone opposes it is unbelievable.”
And a footnote to this controversy. The state Republican Party had something to say about the vicious attacks on the three-member conservative GOP majority on the SEB. It issued a statement which said:
“The continuing coverage in the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, The New York Times and other media outlets is shameful and dangerous. Their wildly false mischaracterization of the (three) SEB. members as ‘far right’ is not only untrue, but potentially subjects these members to violence from those incited by the lies they print. They know full well their coverage will be picked up by other media outlets and amplified all across the world.”
