Last Updated on September 8, 2020
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger confirmed that at least 1,000 Georgians voted twice in the state’s June 9 primary, having used absentee ballots to vote remotely and then voted again in person on election day. Raffensperger promises tough consequences for those caught violating federal law.
Citing a massive surge in absentee ballot requests due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Raffensperger explained that his office has noted at least 1,000 possible fraudulent votes cast by individuals who first sent their absentee ballot and then attempted to vote in person on election day.
Raffensperger explained that their usually a small risk of fraud, but it skyrocketed this year due to the pandemic creating the perfect opportunity for the system to be abused. It is unclear if the fraudulent votes were able to sway any of the states contests at this time.
“A double voter knows exactly what they’re doing, diluting the votes of each and every voter that follows the law,” Raffensperger said during a press conference. “Those that make the choice to game the system are breaking the law. And as secretary of state, I will not tolerate it.”
Raffensperger noted that parts of Georgia received a massive increase in absentee ballot requests. Typical Georgia elections receive about 5% of their votes from mail in ballots, while the June primary saw about 50% of votes returned via mail.
Around 900,000 people have requested absentee ballots for the November 3 general election. Double voting is a felony in Georgia and is punishable by a $100,000 fine and up to 10 years in prison.
