A Georgia judge has ruled in favour of a motion that would allow absentee ballots from the 2020 election in Fulton County to be unsealed and examined for possible voter fraud.
Judge Brian Amero, of the Henry County Superior Court in Georgia, made the ruling on the Fulton County absentee ballots on Thursday. At a hearing on Monday, Judge Amero had indicated that he was inclined to rule in favour of unsealing the ballots, but requested a detailed plan for any inspection from election integrity advocate Garland Favorito, who filed the suit. “We want to do this in such a way that dispels rumors and disinformation and sheds light,” Amero said during the hearing. “The devil’s in the details.”
The move was welcomed by the Greater Georgia group, an election engagement organisation currently chaired by former Republican Senator Kelly Loeffler. In a statement, Loeffler said that the organisation supports the ruling, and looks forward to the findings of the results of any inspection that comes as a result:
Voter confidence in our election system is the bedrock of our republic. Unfortunately, inconsistencies in Fulton County’s November 2020 absentee ballots cast serious doubt on voters’ faith in our elections. An independent investigation even characterized Fulton County’s absentee ballot handling as ‘generally bad management.
While there is a dire need to investigate a number of other well-documented issues, we must also inspect Fulton County’s absentee ballots to reassure Georgians that their voices are heard and their votes are counted. The integrity of future elections is critical, and Judge Amero’s decision is a helpful step in restoring transparency, accountability, and voter confidence. We look forward to the findings and their role in promoting transparency and rebuilding faith in our elections.
BREAKING: Judge Brian Amero has granted a motion to unseal and inspect Fulton County Absentee Ballots from the 2020 election.
This is a big step toward restoring transparency and confidence in our elections.
Full statement from @GreaterGeorgia below
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— Kelly Loeffler (@KLoeffler) May 21, 2021
National File reported extensively on claims of voter fraud in Georgia during the 2020 presidential election, especially in Fulton County. Ruby Freeman, seen with her daughter Shaye Moss, identified by National File, were caught on audio seemingly discussing potential vote stealing. Freeman and Moss shot to fame when security cam footage went viral that showed them pulling out black cases of ballots and counting them multiple times on the same machines, all after observers were instructed to leave.
In March, a report from The Georgia Star News indicated that state and local officials had still failed to produce the required chain of custody documents for over 404,000 absentee ballot votes that had been put into drop boxes during the election. This was around 67.5% of all the absentee vote by mail ballots. Less than 12,000 votes decided the 2020 election in Georgia – around 3% of the 404,000 votes that do not have a chain of custody.