Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Monday called upon members of the U.S. Justice Department to investigate Fulton County elections.
This, following recent allegations that Fulton County shredded 300 municipal election-related applications in violation of state law. The Georgia Secretary of State’s office has already launched an investigation into the allegations, according to a press release.
“After 20 years of documented failure in Fulton County elections, Georgians are tired of waiting to see what the next embarrassing revelation will be,” Raffensperger said in the press release.
“The Department of Justice needs to take a long look at what Fulton County is doing and how their leadership disenfranchises Fulton voters through incompetence and malfeasance. The voters of Georgia are sick of Fulton County’s failures.”
Fulton County officials allegedly shredded 300 applications related to Georgia’s municipal elections. State law requires that election officials preserve election documents related to primary or general elections for 24 months after the election. Raffensperger’s office is investigating the allegations, the press release said.
“After repeatedly calling for new leadership in Fulton’s elections, Raffensperger is also participating in a review under Georgia’s new election law that could lead to a replacement of the leadership of Fulton County’s elections,” according to the press release.
Raffensperger announced last month that he filed a Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA) with the U.S. Department of Justice to release any records of contact with Stacey Abrams. Raffensperger said he also wants records of contact with Abrams’ Fair Fight Action and 60 other liberal activist organizations.
Officials with the U.S. Department of Justice recently filed a lawsuit against Georgia’s election laws.
U.S. Justice Department officials announced on their website in June that they filed a lawsuit against the state of Georgia, the Georgia secretary of state, and the Georgia State Election Board over SB 202, a new voter integrity law that Governor Brian Kemp signed into law in March. The United States’ complaint challenges provisions of SB 202 under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
