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County's audit of votes in Georgia Senate runoff finds 5-vote difference
ATLANTA — One county’s audit of Georgia’s voting system found just a five-vote difference between machine and hand totals in this month’s U.S. Senate runoff election, according to findings released Thursday. The manual review of 43,000 ballots cast in Bartow County should give voters confidence in the outcome of the race between Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican David Perdue, county Elections Supervisor Joseph Kirk said. “We know every voter’s vote was accurately counted in Bartow County because we checked — one ballot at a time,” Kirk wrote in an audit report. “Now that every vote cast in th...
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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U.S. Rep. Meijer calls on Republicans to 'restore the trust of the voting public'
DETROIT — U.S. Rep. Peter Meijer, who was one of 10 House Republicans to vote in favor of impeaching President Donald Trump, is now calling on the GOP to "restore trust." Meijer urged the Republican Party to move away from "deception" politics and to instead put more value on accountability" during an interview broad cast Sunday on ABC's "This Week with George Stephanopoulos". "I'm calling on my party to restore trust, to restore the trust of the voting public and to ensure that we never allow the actions that led up to Jan. 6. ... We never allow that outburst of political violence to occur ...
The Detroit News
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Georgia voter challenges fall short, with few ballots thrown out
ATLANTA — After a vast effort to challenge the eligibility of 360,000 Georgia voters, election officials rejected just a few dozen ballots, undermining suspicions of significant voting fraud. The allegations of ineligible voters came from the Texas-based group True the Vote, which worked with members of the Republican Party in an attempt to disqualify ballots of voters whose names showed up on lists showing they had moved. Bipartisan election boards across the state found few illegitimate voters as they finished certifying results of the U.S. Senate runoffs Friday. In Forsyth County, where mor...
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Judge considers suppression claims in broad Georgia voting rights suit
ATLANTA — So much has changed in Georgia over the past two years, including new voting laws and the election of Democratic U.S. senators, that a federal judge should reject a lawsuit alleging rampant voter suppression, attorneys for the state said Tuesday. The lawyers asked U.S. District Judge Steve Jones to rule in their favor in the case that has been pending since Democrat Stacey Abrams lost the 2018 election for governor to Republican Brian Kemp. But attorneys for Fair Fight Action, the voting rights group founded by Abrams that filed the suit, told Jones that Georgia’s elections continue ...
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp: Photo ID requirements for absentee ballots ‘front and center’ this year
ATLANTA — Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp strongly endorsed adding photo ID requirements for absentee ballots on Monday at the start of a legislative session that’s sure to be shaped by a debate over voting laws after epic turnout helped Democrats flip Georgia in the race for president and sweep the Senate runoffs. In an interview, the Republican said he is “reserving judgment” on a series of proposals that seek to end at-will absentee voting, ban ballot drop boxes and restrict state officials or outside groups from sending out absentee ballot applications. But Kemp said he unequivocally supported mea...
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Weary from a long campaign, Georgians cast their votes - again
ATLANTA — Georgians endured back-to-back-to-back television commercials, mailboxes stuffed with campaign flyers, telephone calls at dinnertime and text messages day and night — all trying to convince them David Perdue is a crook, Jon Ossoff is a tool of Communist China, Kelly Loeffler cares only about Kelly Loeffler, and Raphael Warnock is a radical Marxist who doesn’t really like puppies. And now it’s over. But as voters finally had their say Tuesday in runoffs for Georgia’s two U.S. Senate seats, many seemed less energized than worn down by the monthslong slog that finally concluded the 2020...
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Georgians urged to turn out in US Senate runoffs and dispel fraud fears
ATLANTA — Georgia election officials spent Monday debunking President Donald Trump’s claims about fraud in the last election while urging skeptical voters to participate in Tuesday’s U.S. Senate runoffs. High turnout is expected in the nationally watched election sequel, when control of the Senate hinges on Georgia after Democrat Joe Biden defeated Trump in the state by less than 12,000 votes, said Gabriel Sterling, voting system manager in the secretary of state’s office. Trump overshadowed the runoff by pressuring Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to overturn the presidential ele...
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Federal judge skeptical of legality of Georgia voter challenges
ATLANTA — A federal judge has denied a request to immediately stop challenges to the eligibility of more than 364,000 Georgia voters amid the runoff election, but he said the challenges may be illegal. The Texas-based group True the Vote says the voters appear on a national change-of-address database, indicating they may have moved and may not be eligible to vote. Working with Georgia Republicans, the group has challenged the eligibility of those people to vote in Tuesday’s runoff election, which will determine which political party controls the U.S. Senate. The voting rights group Fair Fight ...
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Early voting ends with record 3M Georgia voters for US Senate runoffs
ATLANTA — A record 3 million Georgia voters cast their ballots before early voting ended for the U.S. Senate runoffs, setting up a showdown that will be decided on election day Tuesday. The high turnout so far reflects the national importance of the dual runoffs, which will determine control of the Senate. Republican U.S. Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue face Democratic challengers Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff. No votes will be counted until polls close at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, but state election data analyzed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution indicate more ballots have been cast so far ...
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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Perdue quarantines after exposure to COVID-19 in final days of tight runoff race
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — U.S. Sen. David Perdue said Thursday he was forced to quarantine after being exposed to the coronavirus, scrambling the final days of a runoff campaign for control of the U.S. Senate. In a statement, the Republican’s campaign said he and his wife, Bonnie, tested negative for COVID-19 on Thursday morning and are isolating as a precaution after learning they had been in close contact with an unidentified member of his staff who contracted the disease. It meant that Perdue had to sit out a joint campaign event scheduled Thursday with fellow Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler,...
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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