The Republican attorney general of Georgia announced on Monday that his business did not look into Fulton County’s election-related conduct. Fulton County repeatedly violated election law during the 2020 election, according to a ruling from the Georgia State Election Board ( SEB ) in May.
Attorney General Christopher Carr stated in a blog on X on August 1 that the state had “investigate certain states of voting scam.”
” Based on the facts and data, we stand ready to sue any voting fraud found in the State of Georgia”, Carr’s post continued.
Members of the board precisely referred to a problem titled SEB 2023-025, which Kevin Moncla and Joseph Rossi filed, when the SEB voted 3-2 to request Carr to conduct an investigation of Fulton County. The problem included allegations of around 3, 000 “duplicate ballots” and almost 18, 000 votes” for which no actual vote was in evidence”. In May, the SEB passed a motion finding that the state double-scanned 3, 075 votes, though it did not rule on the 17, 852 seats reportedly missing vote pictures or other claims made in the problem.
According to Fox 5 Atlanta, the board can hire an independent investigator if Carr does n’t conduct an investigation, according to the resolution.
Carr, however, wrote to SEB Chairman John Fervier in a text to Carr stating that the SEB is” certainly inspired to guide the Attorney General to conduct an investigation under Title 21 on his own or through outside authorities.”
The SEB and not the Attorney General has the authority to look into possible election law violations, the text continues. According to the statement,” This Office is not required to conduct an investigation at the request of a client agency alone or with outside workers.”
The email references a status code that authorizes the SEB to “investigate” or “authorize” the secretary of state to “investigate” or “authorize” any alleged violations and then submit those violations to the solicitor general for “further research and prosecution” according to the letter.
Carr’s company allegedly contacted The Federalist to inquire as to why he had changed his mind about the investigation of alleged fraud.
Carr’s department spokesperson stated to The Federalist that” the SEB attempted to clear the Attorney General’s Office to evaluate the things that had already been investigated and decided.” The SEB does not resume an inspection that has already been decided in accordance with our Constitution and laws. The issue raised by the SEB has already been looked into and resolved.
The attorney general’s news that he would not check Fulton County was met with criticism from vote dignity activists and regional Republicans, including the president of the DeKalb County Republican Party, Marci McCarthy, who called Carr’s place “disingenuous” in a speech to The Federalist.
“AG Chris Carr’s position is disingenuous, particularly given his recent announcement on August 1, 2024, expressing a willingness to investigate specific claims of voter fraud”, McCarthy said. His refusal to act is disappointing in light of new information about how Fulton County handled the 2020 presidential election, which also undermines Georgians ‘ confidence in the electoral process.
” Consistent accountability is essential, and this selective inaction does a disservice to the pursuit of justice”, McCarthy continued.
What the Complaint Says
Moncla and Rossi filed their complaint in 2022, alleging the presence of 3, 125 duplicate ballots as well as” 17, 852 votes… for which no physical ballot was in evidence”. As previously noted, the SEB panel passed a motion confirming that the county double-scanned 3, 075 ballots.
Additionally, according to the complaint, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger “ordained the supervisor of elections of Fulton County to reconcile their totals because, based on the count of physical ballots, Fulton County had submitted vote totals ( 511, 543 ) lower than those of the original count from Election Night ( 528, 777 ).
The complaint continues, noting that” these results were 172 below the vote counts reported on Election Night,” which is central to the investigation. ” By the time of the certification on December 4, 2020, Fulton County claimed to have found 16, 382 votes — nearly all of the shortfall”.
The SEB recommended that there be reconciliation, where the number of ballots cast must match the number of voters ( reconciliation ).
Fulton County Violated Election Law, according to SEB rules
In May, the SEB decided 2-1 that Fulton County must have an independent watchdog over its elections because it did so during the 2020 election. The attorney general was the subject of the board’s decision to take the case for further investigation at the time.
During the 2020 presidential election, when former President Donald Trump lost Georgia by just 11, 779 votes, Fulton County double-scanned more than 3, 000 ballots, the SEB found. Moncla tells The Federalist that he believes the double-scanned ballots were counted twice because he claims they appeared in the cast vote record, even though the Georgia secretary of state’s office was unable to confirm how many, if any, of the ballots were cast twice.
There are also 380, 761 ballot images from the Election Day machine count that are” not available,” according to SEB member Janice Johnston during the SEB’s May meeting.
The motion that the board passed “allows the county to avoid paying a fine or having the attorney general investigate the double-counting of 3, 075 ballots and other allegations of irregularities during the 2020 presidential recount,” according to the Georgia Recorder.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution reported in 2023 that the SEB “ordered Fulton County to “cease and desist” from violations in upcoming audits, implement new audit procedures, and adequately train election staff.” There were” several cases” where election workers “mistyped vote totals or allocated votes to the wrong candidate” during the 2020 presidential election audit.
In spite of the county’s acknowledgment of grave wrongdoing, the SEB also voted unanimously in 2023 to not interfere with the county’s elections.
In July, the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections approved a plan to control the county’s elections. Earlier this month, the SEB heard suggestions for monitors. One proposal includes individuals who were involved in overseeing Georgia’s 2020 election cycle, such as Ryan Germany, who served as the general counsel to Raffensperger’s office during the 2020 election.
Marilyn Marks, the executive director of the Coalition for Good Governance, criticized the proposal as “questionable.”
” Appointing people in leadership and decision-making positions in Fulton’s 2020 problems seems to be a generous reward for permitting and concealing the deficiencies rather than an effective punitive deterrent to protect 2024,” according to the statement.
Moncla also criticized the envisioned monitoring team.
” The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again, expecting different results”, Moncla said.
The Federalist’s Brianna Lyman is a correspondent for elections. With a degree in international political economy, Brianna received her degree from Fordham University. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2
