Georgia’s election official accuses his party colleagues of exposing him to pressure – VG

After the first vote count in Georgia, Joe Biden leads with around 14,000 votes over Donald Trump. The state has not voted for a Democratic candidate since 1992.

Because the margin is so small, the counting of around five million ballots has been started and is done by hand. The Trump campaign has called for the recount and they have also made allegations of voter fraud in the state.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is responsible for conducting the elections. Several local Republicans have called for his dismissal, but the secretary of state himself has denied the allegations of electoral fraud and has made it clear that he does not believe the outcome will change after the votes are counted again.

VG i Georgia: Trump supporters in armor

2,600 unspoken ballots found

On Monday, however, it was revealed that poll workers in Floyd County had found about 2,600 votes that had not previously been counted. According to Raffensperger’s colleague Gabriel Sterling, the new votes have reduced Biden’s lead by around 800 votes. According to Fox 5 Atlanta, Raffensperger is said to have asked the county chief of staff to resign after the incident.

Earlier this month, Georgia Election General Richard Barron announced that one of his election officials took cover after threats:

In an interview with the Washington Post, Raffensperger talks about the tense situation in the state after the presidential elections. He says he experiences what he describes as pressure from supporters of the president and his allegations of voter fraud.

Did you bring it with you? This is why Georgia is so important to Joe Biden

He claims that both he and his wife have received death threats in recent weeks, and plays one of the text messages that he has received as follows: “You better not be wrong during this count. Your life depends on it.” .

– Besides making me angry, I am also disappointed, especially when it comes to people on my side of the political spectrum. Everyone who works with this must think about how we speak, we must be careful, he tells the Washington Post.

Graham denies the charges

The secretary of state accuses, among other things, Trump’s prominent friend and senator Lindsey Graham of having suggested that he, as secretary of state, could possibly reject legitimate votes.

According to Raffensperger, the two spoke together on Friday and Graham is said to have asked how the state ensures that signatures in state systems match voters’ signatures on envelopes in which votes are mailed.

Voters in Georgia must take the oath in an envelope when voting by mail, writes the AP news agency. This signature must then be checked against the signature on the application they have submitted for the vote by mail to be sent and their signature in the system where they are registered as voters.

According to Raffensperger, Graham asked him if he, as secretary of state, has the power to reject all mail-in ballots in counties where the proportion of mismatched signatures has turned out to be higher than in other counties.

A Secretary of State does not have the opportunity to reject legally cast votes.

“It seemed like he wanted to bet on this,” Raffensperger told the Washington Post, adding that he was shocked by the question.

Donald Trump has claimed that election officials in Georgia have been unable to verify that voters’ signatures match. According to a fact check by the AP news agency, this is not true.

In an interview with CNN, Raffensperger repeats that he had the impression that Graham wanted to reject these ballots.

Graham, who heads the Senate Judiciary Committee, calls the accusations ridiculous, writes the New York Times. He says he only asked Raffensperger for details on how the state is working to verify the signatures.

– I think it was a good conversation. I’m surprised to hear that he characterizes it in this way.

– If you felt threatened by the conversation, you have a problem, continues according to CNN.

In a war of words with a representative of Congress

Georgia Congressman Doug Collins is also mentioned in an interview with the Washington Post. He has repeatedly questioned Raffensperger’s vote handling, and according to the newspaper he has accused him of “capitulating” to Democrats because he does not support the allegations of electoral fraud.

Raffensperger calls the congressman a “liar” and a “charlatan.”

– I’m an engineer, we look at the numbers, we look at the concrete facts. I don’t know anything about a failed candidate like Doug Collins flying around and lying to everyone. He’s a liar, he says.

A spokesperson for Collins points out one Twitter message from the congressman when asked to comment on the matter. He says that Raffensperger’s incompetence is one of the few things that has brought Democrats and Republicans together in the state.