Another judge-sanctioned audit is reportedly about to begin. In a ruling on May 21, a judge in Georgia unsealed approximately 145,000 absentee ballots from the 2020 election.
Henry County Superior Court Judge Brian Amero ordered that the unsealed ballots must stay in the custody of Fulton County election officials during the audit, and also noted that the results of the review cannot impact the outcome of the 2020 election. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit accepted the terms set by the judge, stating that the review is still necessary after the concerning behavior of Fulton County election officials during the election.
“Friday’s decision came in a lawsuit filed by nine plaintiffs, including Garland Favorito, a Fulton county resident and self-styled election watchdog,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. “It’s one of more than 30 Georgia lawsuits stemming from the November presidential election and the January runoff for U.S. Senate. Some of the lawsuits are still winding their way through the courts.”
Former Senator Kelly Loeffler, who lost her runoff election in January and is now the leader of the voter registration group Greater Georgia Action, celebrated the judge’s ruling in a statement:
“Voter confidence in our election system is the bedrock of our republic. Unfortunately, inconsistencies in Fulton County’s November 2020 absentee ballots cast serious doubt on voters’ faith in our elections. An independent investigation even characterized Fulton County’s absentee ballot handling as ‘generally bad management.’ While there is a dire need to investigate a number of other well-documented issues, we must also inspect Fulton County’s absentee ballots to reassure Georgians that their voices are heard and their votes are counted. The integrity of future elections is critical, and Judge Amero’s decision is a helpful step in restoring transparency, accountability, and voter confidence. We look forward to the findings and their role in promoting transparency and rebuilding faith in our elections.”
Fulton County Commission Chairman Robb Pitts, a Democrat, complained about Amero’s decision, claiming that the results of the election in Fulton County have been certified multiple times through recounts. Of course, he completely ignores the fact that these previous recounts weren’t conducted properly.
“It is outrageous that Fulton County continues to be a target of those who cannot accept the results from last year’s election,” Pitts said in a statement to the Journal-Constitution. “The votes have been counted multiple times, including a hand recount, and no evidence of fraud has been found.”
“The fact remains that Fulton County safely and securely carried out an election in the midst of a public health crisis,” he added.
Fulton County was the subject of serious concerns soon after the 2020 election, as videos emerged of county election officials bringing in scores of hidden ballots to count immediately after sending Republican election observers home. State investigators, likely Democrats, tried to explain away the videos by claiming it was just a misunderstanding between election officials and GOP observers. The county also had serious issues with counting errors and equipment crashes.
Fulton County attempted to make up for their mistakes in February when the elections board voted to fire election director Rick Barron, but the board’s decision was denied by the County Board of Commissioners, which allowed Barron to keep his job.
Hopefully, this audit will actually be conducted properly. Then, we’re one step closer to understanding what happened in November.
