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An independent audit released in early 2021, along with a January 2023 Performance Review Board analysis requested by state legislators, highlighted significant procedural failures in Fulton County’s ballot management. This scrutiny continues to cast a shadow over the county’s electoral processes.
During the session, Janice Johnston, a board member, queried Charlene McGowan, the Georgia Secretary of State’s general counsel, about the over 3,000 double-scanned ballots. McGowan acknowledged, “We did partially substantiate that we believe there are duplicate ballot images.” However, she noted that it remains unclear whether these duplicates were included in the final vote tally.
John Fervier, the board chairman, highlighted that three counts had occurred in 2020: initial election night tallies, machine recount results, and a subsequent manual recount in November, which showed a slight decrease in Biden’s lead. He pointed out that had the duplicated ballots influenced the results, it would have been evident in the manual recount.
Addressing concerns about the 17,000 unscanned ballots, McGowan reassured, “We have the paper ballots. The paper ballots exist. There’s no 17,000 missing ballots… The discrepancy was due to a scanner programming error that got corrected.”
Despite the reassurances, Johnston voted against the mere reprimand of Fulton County, advocating for stronger actions given over 140 identified violations of election laws and rules. She argued for referring the matter to the Attorney General, stating, “It would be a travesty not to let this ride.”
ALERT! Major Water Restrictions In Effect!
Joe Rossi, a vocal critic of the 2020 election’s administration, expressed satisfaction with the board’s findings, affirming, “It has now been factually proven both the hand audit and the certified machine count have both been found to be in violation of Georgia election law.” He concluded with a single word: “vindicated.”
The independent audit conducted in January 2021 underscored severe chain of custody issues and unsecured transport of ballots to State Farm Arena, raising serious concerns about ballot security and potential irregularities on election night. These findings continue to fuel debates and demand for stringent oversight to uphold election integrity in Georgia.
