{"id":2282387,"date":"2024-06-24T03:24:01","date_gmt":"2024-06-24T07:24:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgia-only-goes-after-elected-republicans-election-fraud\/"},"modified":"2024-06-24T03:30:46","modified_gmt":"2024-06-24T07:30:46","slug":"georgia-only-goes-after-elected-republicans-election-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/georgia-only-goes-after-elected-republicans-election-fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"Georgia Only Goes After Elected Republicans&#8217; Election Fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">16<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgeorgia-only-goes-after-elected-republicans-election-fraud%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2282387&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The summary revolves \u2064around Georgia \u200bSecretary of State Brad Raffensperger&#8217;s actions concerning allegations of voter residency violations. In 2022, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Republican \u200cRepresentative Drew Ferguson, after\u200d moving counties, voted inappropriately from his previous residence in \u200cTroup\u200d County during \u2062three elections. Georgia \u200blaw \u2063mandates \u2062that voters must reregister if \u200bthey move to a\u2063 new \u2063county outside a 30-day window \u2062before an\u2062 election,\u2064 which Ferguson had not done for\u200d two of the votes.<\/p>\n<p>While \u2062initially, no investigation was launched due to absence of a direct complaint, the\u200d State&#8217;s \u200boffice \u200blater started looking into Ferguson&#8217;s\u2063 actions following public scrutiny. Ferguson decided not to run for re-election in 2024. The case is now \u200dpending presentation to the\u2062 State Election Board.<\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, the situation\u200b with Ferguson is\u2062 juxtaposed against the tens of thousands of \u200cother \u2063potential residency violations across \u200dGeorgia that have largely been ignored by the \u200cstate authorities. Despite evidence presented\u2063 over the years, the state has shown reluctance to investigate these\u200c cases thoroughly, focusing more prominently when a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrat-megadonor-sbfs-politically-connected-parents-sued-by-his-defunct-crypto-company\/\" title=\"Democrat Megadonor SBF's Parents, Politically Linked, Sued by His Failed Crypto Firm.\">high-profile \u200dfigure<\/a> like a Congressman\u200b is involved.<\/p>\n<p>This reflects a selective\u200d enforcement scenario \u200dwhere widespread similar \u200bissues among ordinary \u200bvoters remain largely unaddressed. The summary also touches on the political and legal changes and challenges\u200d within the Georgia election framework over the years and ongoing efforts to address these inconsistencies in voter residency compliance.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger appears to have referred a high-profile case of alleged voter residency violations involving a Republican congressman to the Georgia State Election Board \u2014 all while tens of thousands of records suggesting similar residency issues have gone uninvestigated by the state.<\/p>\n<p>In December 2022, the Atlanta Journal and Constitution (AJC) published a story taking issue with three votes cast by Republican Rep. <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Drew_Ferguson_(politician)\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Drew Ferguson<\/a> from Georgia\u2019s 3rd Congressional District in the 2022 election cycle. The AJC <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ajc.com\/politics\/records-show-us-rep-ferguson-moved-away-but-still-voted-at-old-address\/4UWYITT7ARELJIMIPV2RG7225A\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> that, in 2022, Ferguson cast three votes in Troup County, Georgia, where he had lived for years, after moving to his new home in Pike County, Georgia.<\/p>\n<p>Under <a href=\"https:\/\/law.justia.com\/codes\/georgia\/2022\/title-21\/chapter-2\/article-6\/section-21-2-217\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Georgia law<\/a>, as the AJC<strong> <\/strong>correctly noted, a permanent change of address to a new county requires reregistration for a voter to remain qualified. Accordingly, a voter who moves just before an election is not permitted to vote in a previous jurisdiction outside a <a href=\"https:\/\/law.justia.com\/codes\/georgia\/2022\/title-21\/chapter-2\/article-6\/section-21-2-218\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/morgan-stanley-russia-set-for-venezuela-style-default\/\" title=\"Morgan Stanley: Russia Set for Venezuela-Style Default\">30-day grace period<\/a><\/a>. Ferguson sold his Troup County house in April 2022, AJC reports. But considering he reportedly voted \u201cduring early voting for [2022\u2019s] primary, general election and U.S. Senate runoff,\u201d only one of those three votes could have been cast within those 30 days.<\/p>\n<p>The original AJC story also noted that, at the time, the Georgia secretary of state\u2019s office had not opened a case to investigate the issue of Ferguson\u2019s residency because they had not received a complaint. However, a January 2023 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ajc.com\/politics\/state-election-officials-probe-whether-ferguson-voted-illegally\/HSTOKHNQP5AA3MCZGE5VV2UKKQ\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">follow-up article<\/a> reported that the secretary of state\u2019s office had opened an investigation into the matter. <\/p>\n<p>Another follow-up in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ajc.com\/politics\/rep-drew-ferguson-announces-he-will-not-seek-re-election-in-2024\/PP6LTUM5NRFDVEVXB3KO2V2IOM\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">December 2023<\/a> announced Ferguson\u2019s decision not to seek reelection in 2024. <\/p>\n<p>In response to an open records request asking for information on the status of their investigation into Ferguson, the secretary of state\u2019s office said the case is \u201ccurrently pending presentation to the State Election Board.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>I attempted to reach Ferguson but was told he is currently out of the country.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>The Data Speaks for Itself<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>Raffensperger will no doubt receive glowing praise from his adoring fans for having the \u201ccourage\u201d to bring a case against a fellow Republican. He will likely humbly accept this praise, while <em>knowing<\/em> that if the allegations against Ferguson are accurate, he is only <em>one<\/em> of <em>tens of thousands<\/em> of Georgia voters who may have violated residency laws in general elections over recent years.<\/p>\n<p>In a Feb. 15 meeting of the Georgia Senate Ethics Committee, Georgia Secretary of State Chief Operating Officer Gabe Sterling and I both offered <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/02\/23\/raffensperger-claims-georgias-voter-rolls-are-cleanest-in-the-country-heres-why-thats-bunk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">testimony<\/a> about the state of Georgia\u2019s voter rolls.  <\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe probably have thousands of people over the last few years voting in not necessarily 100 percent the right place,\u201d Sterling <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/live\/oo69sXMOZxA?t=2990s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">admitted<\/a>. But it has been quite a journey for the secretary of state\u2019s office to finally get to that point, after <em>years<\/em> of denial, obfuscation, and blame-shifting.  <\/p>\n<p>In May of 2021, I gave the secretary of state\u2019s office records to investigate based on an analysis that indicated nearly <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/07\/16\/georgia-secretary-of-state-explains-why-hes-just-now-discovering-more-than-10000-illegal-votes-cast-in-2020\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">35,000<\/a> voters cast votes from counties of previous residence in the 2020 general election. (I had also given attorneys for President Donald Trump a copy of <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/01\/16\/lawsuit-uncovers-how-raffensperger-tried-to-memory-hole-the-election-law-trumps-georgia-call-was-about\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">that data<\/a>, which was a subject of that now-infamous January 2021 phone call between President Trump and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.)<\/p>\n<p>Not long after they agreed to open it, it became clear the secretary of state was taking <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2024\/02\/11\/data-specialist-presses-georgia-look-voters-cast-ballots-wrong-jurisdictions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">no substantial action<\/a> in pursuing the investigation. Their office <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2021\/07\/19\/georgia-voting-official-makes-excuses-for-residents-who-illegally-voted-in-2020\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dismissed<\/a> the evidence as votes merely cast by Georgians \u201cjust trying to exercise their right to vote.\u201d      <\/p>\n<p>Follow-up attempts to contact the secretary of state\u2019s office and the election board yielded no formal response, although certain <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ohio-school-board-association-blasts-national-group-for-labeling-parents-as-domestic-terrorists-pulls-membership\/\" title=\"Ohio School Board Association Blasts National Group For Labeling \u2018Parents As Domestic Terrorists,\u2019 Pulls Membership\">individual board members<\/a> have shown concern over the issues. <\/p>\n<p>In other words, the secretary of state has been willing to excuse thousands of potential violations but now also claims Ferguson\u2019s particular actions were possibly illegal and should be adjudicated by the State Election Board. Apparently, potential residency violations are only a legitimate issue if they involve a member of Congress, not thousands of ordinary voters.<\/p>\n<p>I conducted the same residency <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/02\/23\/raffensperger-claims-georgias-voter-rolls-are-cleanest-in-the-country-heres-why-thats-bunk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">analysis<\/a> for the 2022 general election as I did for the general election in 2020. It revealed similar but fewer results, indicating more than 25,000 votes cast with residency issues.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>No One Is Above the Law <\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>I first presented these kinds of residency issues to the State Election Board in 2002, chaired at that time by Democrat Secretary of State Cathy Cox, and they took interest. We worked together with our legislature to change <a href=\"https:\/\/law.justia.com\/codes\/georgia\/2022\/title-21\/chapter-2\/article-6\/section-21-2-233\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">OCGA 21-2-233<\/a> to run National Change of Address processing more frequently. <\/p>\n<p>But the board, and Georgia politics in general, have changed much since those days.<\/p>\n<p>To my knowledge, only two previous cases of this nature have been referred to the State Election Board in the past 10 years. In 2015, then-Secretary of State Brian Kemp and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/democrat-senator-raphael-warnock-under-investigation-for-voter-registration-misconduct-reports\/\" title=\"Democrat Senator Raphael Warnock Under Investigation For Voter Registration Misconduct: Reports\">board voted unanimously<\/a> to refer case number 2014-86 (<a href=\"https:\/\/sos.ga.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/2022-02\/2015_seb.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">page 243<\/a>) to the attorney general\u2019s office for a single felony violation of OCGA 21-2-562, which prohibits voters from providing false statements on a voter certificate.<\/p>\n<p>The second case was reported in AJC\u2019s original December 2022 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ajc.com\/politics\/records-show-us-rep-ferguson-moved-away-but-still-voted-at-old-address\/4UWYITT7ARELJIMIPV2RG7225A\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">story<\/a> on Rep. Ferguson, which noted that the board had \u201cissued a public reprimand and a cease-and-desist order in September to a voter who lived in Baldwin County but voted in Hancock County.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The secretary of state\u2019s office has chosen to refer Ferguson\u2019s issues to the State Election Board, after previously bending over backward to dismiss nearly 35,000 of the same residency issues from the 2020 general election. And they have more than 25,000 more coming from 2022. <\/p>\n<p>The phrase \u201cno one is above the law\u201d is tossed around quite frequently these days. But no one should be singled out for disparate treatment under the law either.<\/p>\n<p>Should the State Election Board determine that the case against Ferguson does have merit, the board should take more observable interest in the topic of residency issues in general and in the recent evidence regarding its scale. <\/p>\n<p>To further combat these residency issues, I have previously advocated for our adoption of Virginia\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/title46.2\/chapter3\/section46.2-324\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statute<\/a> requiring address updates for driver\u2019s license holders who have moved; there is linkage between driver services data and voter registration data that helps keep the latter current. <\/p>\n<p>This Virginia statute serves as a model for the entire nation. Georgia should adopt similar language because <a href=\"https:\/\/law.justia.com\/codes\/georgia\/2022\/title-40\/chapter-5\/article-2\/section-40-5-33\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">our law<\/a> on the subject pales in comparison.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Mark Davis is president of Data Productions, Inc., and has been working with voter data since 1986. He has been qualified and admitted to testify as an expert witness on voter data analytics and residency issues in court cases involving disputed elections five times over the last 20 years.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger referred a case involving alleged voter residency violations by a Republican congressman to the Georgia State Election Board. Meanwhile, the state has not investigated tens of thousands of similar cases. In December 2022, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on these issues<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2711,"featured_media":2282388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[32361,32360,4977,3976,3756],"class_list":["post-2282387","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-elected-officials","tag-election-fraud","tag-georgia","tag-investigation","tag-republicans"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/element5-digital-ThjUa4yYeX8-unsplash-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2282387","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2711"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2282387"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2282387\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2282388"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2282387"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2282387"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2282387"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}