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Kemp,
Duncan Block Key Election Integrity Bill to Unseal BallotsNEWS PROVIDED BY
VoterGA
April 7, 2022
ATLANTA, April 7, 2022 /Christian
Newswire/ -- A key integrity provision to unseal Georgia election ballots
was blocked at the last minute on Sine Die by Gov. Brian Kemp and Lt. Gov. Geoff
Duncan. Duncan prevented the Senate from confirming House changes to
SB89 which included language to unseal Georgia election ballots and improve
ballot chain of custody procedures. SB89 language would have allowed counterfeit
ballots to be detected and electronic votes to be verified. Those provisions
are essential to deter fraud in upcoming elections.
Legislators made ballot images public records in 2021 but a year-long, statewide
VoterGA analysis found it impossible to use them to verify the 2020 election
results. VoterGA produced a
15-point analysis that revealed electronic tampering in over 500,000 ballot
images prior to certification.
Another VoterGA study determined well over a million ballots across 70
counties were lost or destroyed despite federal and state retention law. Experts
previously concluded
in court that all of the nearly 5 million images stored have inadequate
resolution to authenticate the corresponding ballots. Counterfeit ballots were
discovered in the Nov. 2020 Fulton County hand count audit by
four senior poll managers and two audit monitors.
SB89 had the support of Republican House and Senate majorities including the
Speaker of the House and Senate President Pro Tempore, Butch Miller, who carried
the bill. There is no rational opposition against making ballots public since
election officials retain custody of them during copying or inspections and can
impose a reasonable charge for time expended under Open Records Request law. The
language to unseal originated from a bi-partisan
HB933 bill and was just a one-minute vote away from passage into law when
Duncan blocked it.
Despite the overwhelming evidence and support for SB89, Duncan used
dubious measures to prevent the legislature from taking corrective action on
behalf of all Georgia voters. Duncan's maneuvering included his challenged out
of order ruling on the motion to vote, his repeated refusal to recognize the
Senate President Pro Tempore who has
recognition priority and his calling of a last hour 10-minute break that
went on for nearly 37 minutes.
VoterGA
co-founder Garland Favorito provided details indicating Duncan's subversive
actions were taken at the request of Gov. Brian Kemp: "Our volunteers were in
touch with a variety of Brian Kemp's policy people throughout the day on Sine
Die. We emphasized how important SB89 is to the voters and the Governor's
re-election. We noted that it is a win-win situation for everyone. We explained
he only needed to call his good friend Geoff Duncan to ensure that SB89 got a
vote. It is now clear that Kemp asked Duncan to block this key election
integrity bill that would have been passed unanimously by Georgia's Republican
Senators."
VoterGA is a non-partisan,
501(c)3 registered non-profit organization created by a coalition of citizens
working to restore election integrity in Georgia. We advocate for independently
verifiable, auditable, recount capable and transparent elections.
SOURCE VoterGA
CONTACT: Sheryl Sellaway, 404-695-5564,
sheryl@righteouspragency.com