Elections

Election 2020: GA Sec. of State announces recount by hand

On Wednesday, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced at a press conference that there will be a recount of ballots by hand in the swing state.

Published

3 years ago

November 11, 2020

Staff Writer

On Wednesday, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced at a press conference that there will be a recount of ballots by hand in the swing state.

This comes as former Vice President Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump in the Peach State by about 14,000 votes with 99% of expected ballots counted, according to the Associated Press.

Furthermore, this follows all the major news outlets on Saturday calling the presidential election for Biden after increasing his victory margin in Pennsylvania and other swing states, as well as world leaders, all living former U.S. presidents, and other high-profile figures congratulating Biden. Trump, refusing to concede the election, has continued to file lawsuits in multiple states on the grounds of alleged voter fraud.

“With the margin being so close, it will require a full, by-hand recount in each county,” the state’s chief election official told reporters. “This will help build confidence. It will be an audit, a recount and a recanvass all at once. It will be a heavy lift, but we will work with the counties to get this done in time for our state certification.”

On Friday, Raffensperger said that the state was headed toward a recount, saying that the race, whose margin was just under 2,000 votes at that time, was “too close to call”.

When Monday came around, however, both of the state’s incumbent Republican U.S. senators in an unprecedented move called for Raffensperger, also a Republican, to resign because of his alleged “mismanagement” and “lack of transparency” in running the election. Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Purdue will face side-by-side runoff elections in January as they try to maintain control of their seats, which could determine if the GOP still holds a Senate majority during the 117th Congress.

Raffensperger, refusing to step down, shot back at Loeffler and Perdue in a statement on Monday.

“Earlier today Senators Loeffler and Perdue called for my resignation. Let me start by saying that is not going to happen,” he said. “The voters of Georgia hired me, and the voters will be the one to fire me.”

Historically, recounts have rarely changed the outcome of elections in states. In 2016, for example, then-candidate Donald Trump requested a recount in Wisconsin, where he beat Sec. Hillary Clinton by over 20,000 votes. After recounting the state’s millions of ballots, the new results gave him only 131 additional votes.

You can follow Douglas Braff on Twitter @Douglas_P_Braff.

Elections

Videotapes from Jan. 6 Committee Witness Interviews Vanish

Published

2 hours ago

December 4, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

Screen Shot 2021 01 06 at 10.13.23 AM scaled

Videotapes containing witness interviews conducted by the Democrat-led January 6 congressional committee have disappeared. The chairman of the House Administration oversight subcommittee, Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), expressed his apprehension on the “Just the News, No Noise” television show.

According to Loudermilk, all videotapes of depositions have vanished, raising questions about the preservation of crucial evidence. He argued that, under House rules, these tapes qualified as congressional evidence, especially since some clips were aired during hearings. Loudermilk contended that the tapes should have been preserved by the now-defunct Jan. 6 committee and its chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.).

Loudermilk’s revelation has broader implications, potentially impacting criminal trials in both state court in Georgia and federal court in Washington, where individuals, including former President Donald Trump, face charges related to the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Notably, Trump’s legal team had recently requested evidence from the Jan. 6 committee but was denied by a judge.

The situation takes a further twist as Loudermilk disclosed that the J6 committee had sent certain evidence, such as transcripts, to the Biden White House and the Homeland Security Department. Shockingly, these transcripts have now been returned to Loudermilk’s GOP-led subcommittee almost entirely redacted, preventing the disclosure of their contents.

The lack of records regarding witnesses, their statements, and the extensive redactions have raised concerns among House Republicans. Loudermilk emphasized that these documents belong to the House and should not have been sent in such a heavily redacted form. The chairman questioned the motives behind the redactions, asking why a Democrat-run House was allowed to have unredacted documents while a Republican committee’s efforts were obstructed. This development adds another layer of complexity to the ongoing investigations into the events surrounding January 6, 2021.