The Georgia State Election Board determined Tuesday that Fulton County used improper procedures during the 2020 recount of the presidential election.
The investigation that was launched in 2022 found that election officials scanned over 3,000 ballots twice resulting in duplicate images in the county’s recount that occurred in November of 2020.
In a 2-1 vote, the elections board agreed to send a letter reprimanding the county and has ordered a monitor be appointed to oversee this year’s 2024 presidential election.
“The conclusion of this investigation,” Charlene McGowan, general counsel under Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said, “is that Fulton County used improper procedures during the recount of the presidential contest in 2020.”
McGowan noted the ruling does not change the outcome of the election which saw President Joe Biden defeat former President Donald Trump by nearly 12,000 votes in Georgia.
“This investigation confirmed what we already knew,” McGowan said. “There is nothing we have learned that is new from this investigation.”
Fulton County spokesperson Jessica Corbitt defended the county’s election officials.
“Fulton County’s performance during the 2020 elections has been exhaustively scrutinized but the results, confirmed by three different counts, have not changed,” Corbitt said.
“Nor has there been any evidence of fraud or malfeasance. As in previous reviews, most of the claims in this complaint were found to be unsubstantiated, and, again, the results are not in question.
“Since the 2020 election, Fulton County has hired a new director, implemented numerous procedural updates and invested in a new elections headquarters,” Corbitt added. “It has conducted six elections and independent monitors have noted improvement. Fulton County looks forward to putting these cases about 2020 in the past and focusing on the upcoming elections.”
State Election Board member Janice Johnston, a Republican who voted against the motion, said Fulton County elections operations still need further examination.
“With over 140 violations of election laws and rules, it would be a travesty not to refer this to the attorney general and let this ride,” Johnston said.
The election board’s decision comes the same week as Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed legislation defining probable causes for removing voters from the rolls when their eligibility is challenged.
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