Georgia tries navigating 2024 election while investigating unresolved disputes of 2020 election

As Georgia prepares for the 2024 presidential election with implementing new rules and procedures, some unresolved 2020 election disputes remain, with the State Election Board opening an investigation into an issue it previously closed.

Heading into this year's presidential election cycle, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is implementing election security measures as the Georgia State Election Board is enacting new rules that could impact the November election and investigating 2020 presidential election issues.

On Wednesday, the SEB voted to request that state GOP Attorney General Chris Carr reopen an investigation into Fulton County's counting of the results of the 2020 election.

The request comes after the board closed the matter in May, but voted to install an independent election monitor for the 2024 election, after an independent investigation found that the county likely scanned thousands of ballots twice in a recount of the 2020 election.

The election board approved the new resolution in a 3-2 vote. The resolution states that if Carr does not conduct an investigation, the board will try to find an outside lawyer to conduct the inquiry.

“We take election integrity very seriously, and we will apply the constitution, the law and the facts as we have always done,” Carr's spokesperson, Kara Murray, told the Associated Press. “If supported by evidence, we will not hesitate to prosecute voter fraud.”

The new request is expected to be met with legal action by Fulton County after its election board said in May that its ruling was final and that it could not reopen any other cases related to the 2020 election. Carr has also reportedly warned that reopening the matter would be illegal.

The SEB also approved a new rule Tuesday that allows county election boards to make a “reasonable inquiry” before certifying election results.

The rule states that certification occurs “after reasonable inquiry that the tabulation and canvassing of the election are complete and accurate and that the results are a true and accurate accounting of all votes cast in that election.”

Michael Heekin, a member of the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections, presented the proposed rule to the SEB on Tuesday, arguing the importance of election officials ensuring that results are not affected by irregularities before asserting their accuracy, the Georgia Recorder reported.

“You have to look at how the election was run," Heekin said. "Were there problems? Was it a carefree election, or was it a snake bit? ... You would quantify what you need to know in discussions with the professional staff that run the elections.”

In May, Heekin’s fellow board member Julie Adams filed a lawsuit against the county, board and election director, in which she claimed county Elections Director Nadine Williams prevented her from accessing information and performing her duties.

The lawsuit was filed before Adams abstained from certifying the May 21 primary election in the county on May 28.

Her lawsuit argues the Democratic Party of Georgia sent a letter to the election board members “asserting that certification is a ministerial duty, and the failure to vote in favor of certification is subject to potential legal action, including but not limited to possible criminal sanctions.”

Following the SEB meeting, Raffensperger, a Republican, posted on his X account Wednesday morning: “Georgia's Election Integrity Act requires counties to certify the election results by November 12th and we fully anticipate that counties will follow the law.”

Raffensperger told Just the News on Thursday, "As Secretary of State, I have taken unprecedented steps to continue to secure Georgia's elections. I am the first Secretary of State to have photo ID for all forms of voting and the first to conduct a citizenship check audit of its voter rolls. Georgia got it right when we passed the Georgia Election Integrity Act, known as SB 202, and it appears that this board seeks to undermine the General Assembly and its legislation."

Meanwhile, the Secretary of State’s Office has announced several election security measures over the last month.

On Monday, Raffensperger announced the Ballot Scout tool from Enhanced Voting, which allows voters to track their absentee ballots from the time they are issued to when county elections offices receive them from voters.

Late last month, the launch of a new web portal was announced by the Secretary of State’s Office, on which voters can cancel their voter registration online.

“This is a convenient tool for any voter who wants to secure their voter registration by cancelling their old one when they move out of state,” Raffensperger said in a statement. “It will also help keep Georgia’s voter registration database up-to-date without having to rely on postcards being sent and returned by an increasingly inefficient postal system.”

Voters must provide their driver’s license, state ID, or Social Security number to cancel their registration.

In early July, Raffensperger’s office announced that it was in the process of auditing voter rolls through the Department of Homeland Security’s Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database to ensure that only U.S. citizens are registered to vote.

Non-citizens who attempt to register to vote in Georgia may face a felony charge with a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $100,000.