Georgia's secretary of state announced an audit of signature matching for ballots in Cobb County after claims of voter fraud.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said in a media briefing Monday that he ordered the audit in order to restore Georgians' faith in the election.
"As a conservative Constitutional Republican, I believe the best place to land is when judgements are made based on the Constitution. My goal is to make our elections accurate and secure, and believed by the voters," Raffensperger said.
He added that his office has alerted counties since January that the election processes have been open to public review, but that neither the Democrats nor the Republicans "availed themselves of this legal viewing of our election processes."
Raffensperger said that there had been no evidence of fraud in the signature matching system.
"And now that the signature matching has been attacked again and again, with no evidence, I feel we need to take steps to restore confidence in our elections," he continued.
He went on to say that he would be working on a "third party signature match statewide audit study" developed with a credited university.
He also tweeted about the decision from his official social media account.
Our office will be partnering with @GBI_GA to conduct a signature match audit in Cobb County following specific rep… https://t.co/nAZ5ieAYYR— GA Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (@GA Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger)1607983181.0
"Our office will be partnering with [the Georgia Bureau of Investigation] to conduct a signature match audit in Cobb County following specific reports that the county failed to adequately conduct signature matching. This audit will take around two weeks but will not change the outcome of the November elections," he tweeted.
"We will also be working with an accredited university on a third-party signature match statewide audit study. Together, we will restore faith." he added in a second tweet.
New: Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says the state will conduct a limited signature match audit in Cobb Coun… https://t.co/D7FzcuF0Vn— Greg Bluestein (@Greg Bluestein)1607973831.0
In November, Raffensperger said that he had been calling out officials who were making false accusations of voter fraud, and he specifically explained how he had strengthened signature match for the election.
"On signature match, we've actually strengthened signature match. Many people don't realize that it requires you to do your signature twice, once for the application, we signature match then, and a second time when your ballot comes back in, then we'll signature match that," he said during an interview on MSNBC.
Electors of the Electoral College voted to confirm Joe Biden's presidential victory on Monday, but President Donald Trump was still challenging those results through legal action.
Georgia secretary of state announces Cobb County signature auditwww.youtube.com
Several Georgia precincts saw long lines Monday, as voters reportedly turned out in record numbers to head to the polls on the first day of early voting in the state.
The Associated Press reported that some locations were overwhelmed by the number of voters who turned out make their voices heard in the general election, with many people waiting several hours as poll workers battled technical difficulties and overall lack of space. Some critics declared the situation was evidence of voter suppression.
"Eager voters endured waits of six hours or more in Cobb County, which was once solidly Republican but has voted for Democrats in recent elections, and joined lines that wrapped around polling places in solidly Democratic DeKalb County," the outlet reported. "They also turned out in big numbers in north Georgia's Floyd County, where support for President Donald Trump is strong."
According to The Hill, technical issues with pollbooks (used to check in voters) caused major delays at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, but the situation was resolved after an hour or so.
NBC News published the experience of Cobb County voter Everlean Rutherford, who tweeted out a video of a long line in the morning hours at her polling place, writing, "I LOVE this. Early voting started today in Georgia. This is the voting line in Cobb County. You see this."
I LOVE this. Early voting started today in Georgia. This is the voting line in Cobb County. You see this… https://t.co/tF5SbMLew6— Everlean R (@Everlean R)1602512290.0
Rutherford sent out a number of updates throughout the day before finally tweeting, "Just finished voting. I started at 10:04 and just finished at 7:43pm."
Just finished voting. I started at 10:04 and just finished at 7:43pm. #earlyvoting #GA #CobbCounty #Vote https://t.co/U5RkhCBWWJ— Everlean R (@Everlean R)1602546355.0
Former Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill tweeted out a separate video from Georgia, alleging, "This is a picture of voter suppression. Why do Americans have to wait in lines this long? This is the line in Suwannee Georgia today to vote."
This is a picture of voter suppression. Why do Americans have to wait in lines this long? This is the line in Suwan… https://t.co/61GPjJ9d1I— Claire McCaskill (@Claire McCaskill)1602520372.0
McCaskill received pushback from some people over the allegation of voter suppression. Jay Caruso, managing editor of The Washington Examiner, argued in an extensive thread that after living in Georgia for five years, he could attest that "it is one of the easiest states to both register and vote."
Others responded in agreement with the former Missouri senator, with one person arguing, "It's voter suppression because not everyone can stand in line for EIGHT FREAKING HOURS in the heat to vote! People have passed out, some have had to leave to go to work or pick up kids. This is a district that went for Hillary [Clinton] so the GOP wants to make it hard for them to vote!"
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