Brad Raffensperger, the Republican secretary of state in Georgia, earned widespread reward for his staunch protection of the election ends in his s
Brad Raffensperger, the Republican secretary of state in Georgia, earned widespread reward for his staunch protection of the election ends in his state final 12 months within the face of rising threats and strain from former President Donald J. Trump.
As Mr. Trump unfold falsehoods in regards to the election, Mr. Raffensperger vocally debunked them, culminating in a 10-page letter addressed to Congress on Jan. 6, the day of the Capitol riot, during which he refuted, level by level, Mr. Trump’s false claims about election fraud in Georgia.
However after a Georgia decide dominated late final week {that a} group of voters should be allowed to view copies of all 147,000 absentee ballots solid within the state’s largest county, in one more disinformation-driven marketing campaign, Mr. Raffensperger voiced his assist for the trouble, saying that inspecting the ballots would offer “one other layer of transparency and citizen engagement.”
As Mr. Trump’s election falsehoods proceed to carry sway over many lawmakers and voters, with efforts to evaluation ballots nonetheless underway in states throughout the nation, we spoke with Mr. Raffensperger about why he supported the brand new evaluation ordered by the decide and the way he thinks about public belief, or distrust, within the electoral course of. The interview has been evenly edited and condensed.
On the danger of asking you to repeat your self: Was there any widespread fraud in Georgia within the 2020 election?
No, there was no widespread fraud. We had, and we nonetheless do have, a number of hundred investigations that we’ve opened up. Lots of these are procedural, however none can be important sufficient to overturn the election outcomes.
So why assist this most up-to-date order to examine ballots?
So from Day 1, I’ve inspired Georgians who’ve considerations in regards to the elections of their counties to pursue these claims by way of authorized avenues. Frankly, Fulton County has a longstanding historical past of election mismanagement that has weakened voter religion within the system.
And I’m very grateful that S.B. 202 [the state’s new voting law] strengthens the power of the secretary of state’s workplace to carry counties accountable. I believe that’s a superb factor.
However in a letter you wrote to Congress in January, you refuted the false allegations concerning absentee ballots in Fulton County, almost the exact same claims which might be part of this lawsuit that led to the decide’s order. So what has modified?
Sadly, the No. 1 problem that we’re dealing with proper now in elections nationwide is voter confidence. Now, in Georgia, it goes again to the 2018 governor’s race, when Stacey Abrams didn’t concede, after which in 2016, days after President Trump gained, the opposite camp talks about Russian collusion. And so we had these aspersions solid on Trump’s victory.
However what occurs every time is that voter confidence takes a success. So at any time when we are able to restore, or have a course of that may assist restore, voter confidence, I believe that’s a superb factor — if in case you have an open and clear course of during which everybody can objectively agree that that is due course of that they’re doing, that they’re ensuring they’re following the regulation.
On the finish of the day, they’re going to get the identical outcomes we acquired after November. After which we are able to hopefully put this to mattress.
So although you realize that the allegations on this most up-to-date lawsuit aren’t going to come back to fruition, going by way of one other public course of will assist construct confidence?
It’s actually the method of civic engagement. Let the residents have an open, clear course of during which different units of eyeballs can confirm what’s already been verified.
We’ve already finished a 100 p.c hand recount of each single absentee poll, each single early-vote poll and each date-of-election poll. So all three types of voting have been counted in Georgia. Each single a type of paper ballots has been hand-counted.
So I do know the outcomes aren’t going to alter, however it simply helps enhance voter confidence and it helps our complete nation to maneuver off this problem and actually get again to a extra secure society.
Democrats and voting rights teams have mentioned that these repeated recounts and relitigations of the 2020 presidential contest really undermine confidence within the election. So I’m questioning the way you weigh that.
Properly, on the finish of the day, a Superior Court docket decide makes a ruling, and we comply with the regulation in Georgia.
Many Republican voters, and particularly former President Donald Trump, have continued to reject the a number of audits and recounts already carried out in Georgia and demand new investigations. What makes you suppose this Fulton County inspection will fulfill those that declare that there was widespread fraud?
Properly, let’s comply with this rabbit path, and get the solutions, after which we’ll get solutions that shall be similar to what we had again when this election was carried out and we did the audit course of. And we are able to put this to relaxation and we are able to transfer ahead.
Georgia’s new voting regulation provides extra energy over elections to state lawmakers. Do you’ve gotten any worries that this new inspection of ballots might immediate the Legislature to exert much more management over election administration?
All Georgians ought to take nice consolation on the finish of the day that we’ve got a good election course of. We have now 159 counties which might be operating these elections, we’ve got 159 county election administrators who’ve private integrity. Individuals want to grasp that the people who find themselves operating these elections on the precinct degree — these are your mates, these are your neighbors, these are your mates at church, these are your mates from Pilates, Rotary. Your youngsters might be on the identical youth league baseball or soccer workforce.
The glue that holds the method collectively is the person private integrity of native Georgians, plus our workplace, and what I’ll stand for is truthful and trustworthy elections.
I needed to ask you a little bit bit about your re-election bid subsequent 12 months. You’re operating in opposition to Consultant Jody Hice, a Republican congressman whom Mr. Trump has endorsed. Are you anxious about Donald Trump attacking you and actively working to make sure your defeat?
No. We’re going to run our marketing campaign on points. On the finish of the day, we consider that integrity counts. And we’ve finished an terrible lot to enhance the election course of in Georgia.
The very first thing we did was move Home Invoice 316, which allowed us to acquire new voting machines that use verifiable paper ballots. For 18 years, individuals had been speaking about needing a system with paper ballots; I achieved that.
Additionally, we made progress towards becoming a member of the Digital Registration Info Heart [a nonpartisan, nonprofit multistate voter roll database]. In order we up to date our voter rolls, we might do it objectively. We additionally outlawed poll harvesting. So we’ve been engaged on election integrity for a very long time.
Congressman Hice, although, he’s been up in D.C. for over six years, and he has by no means launched a single piece of electoral reform laws. He’s by no means finished something on election integrity, ever. And now he thinks it’s someway an attention-grabbing problem for him to run on? That’s the problem typically with congressmen. A few of them don’t do a lot once they stand up there.
One of many issues Mr. Hice did do was vote in Congress to overturn the election outcomes. Do you’ve gotten any concern that somebody who had beforehand taken steps to overturn a free and truthful election might at some point run elections in Georgia?
Properly, for those who’re trustworthy with your self, he’s a double-minded individual. In Georgia, he accepted the outcomes for his race, however he didn’t settle for the outcomes for President Trump’s race. How are you going to maintain two opposing views at one time? So he’s going to should reside along with his vote on Jan. 6.
Echoing Mr. Trump’s election lies has nearly turn out to be a litmus check in Republican primaries. How do you run on this surroundings?
I’m going to run on integrity, and I’m going to run on the reality.
When was the final time you spoke with Mr. Trump? Was it the decision in January during which he urged you to “discover” him votes that grew to become public quickly afterward?
Sure.
Have any of his allies contacted you or different Republicans in Georgia in the previous few months to induce you to conduct a recount or evaluation alongside the traces of Arizona’s?
Not that I’m conscious of.
OK. Final query. We spent a number of time earlier speaking about how religion in elections is broken. How do you suppose we restore bipartisan, nationwide religion in elections?
I believe maybe we have to have a nationwide dialogue, or a bipartisan assembly of the minds. As a result of S. 1 and H.R. 1
We actually want to take a look at what can we accomplish that makes positive that we restore the belief of all voters from either side of the aisle, ensure that we’ve got trustworthy and truthful elections, that outcomes are correct.
Candidates want to grasp their job is to prove voters, and in the event that they don’t prove sufficient voters, they’ll lose the election, they usually have to just accept the desire of the individuals.