Former Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s (R-GA) voter integrity group issued a statement Tuesday in support of a judge’s decision to conditionally allow for the unsealing and review of absentee ballots in Fulton County, Georgia.
Superior Court Judge Brian Amero indicated Monday he would allow for the review after a lawsuit charged that fraud occurred as ballots were being counted at State Farm Arena on November 3, according to a report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Surveillance footage from State Farm Arena that circulated in the weeks after election night triggered a rumor about ballots in suitcases, which the state later confirmed were ballot containers. As local outlet 11Alive noted, the state investigated the incident and found the ballot processing shown in the footage to be normal. Despite the finding, the outlet also reported that no notice was given to the media or poll watchers indicating ballot counting would continue late into the night.
The lawsuit filed by voter integrity advocate Garland Favorito seeks to review the absentee ballots from November 3 that are currently sealed at the Fulton County Superior Court Clerk’s Office. Amero said he would grant the review so long as it is conducted securely. “We want to do this in such a way that dispels rumors and disinformation and sheds light,” Amero said at the hearing, according to the AJC.
In a statement Tuesday, Loeffler’s group, Greater Georgia, which the former senator launched in February, backed Amero’s decision:
Georgia voters deserve to have confidence that their voice – and their vote – is heard. Unfortunately, the many irregularities we saw in the 2020 elections have eroded trust in our electoral process. We fully support the move to unseal and investigate absentee ballot process in Fulton County. Transparency is the first step toward restoring integrity and accountability in our elections, and we look forward to the investigations’ findings.
Loeffler invested seven figures into starting the group in part to “rebuild trust in the election process” in her first major public move after losing her Senate runoff election in January. Her runoff campaign, along with former Sen. David Perdue’s (R-GA), were dominated by conversations about election integrity that had been sparked by a wave of concerns following the November 3 general election.
Lawsuits occurred in several battleground states — including Georgia — after the election, and polling indicated voter trust in the election process had deteriorated, a sentiment former President Donald Trump continuously reinforced by claiming fraud was rampant in the election.
On Monday, the former president said in a statement following the Georgia hearing, “I would further appreciate a strong investigation into Fulton County, Georgia, and the Stacey Abrams political machine which, I believe, would totally change the course of the presidential election in Georgia.”
Write to Ashley Oliver at [email protected].
