They are trying everything. I do hope we actually have something. Seems like they are grasping at anything.
On March 6, 2020 the Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, signed off on a secret legal agreement with the Democratic Party of Georgia, the Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee to alter absentee ballot procedures in Georgia.
Blackmail? What do the Democrats have on him?
How do you contend with people who not only fight dirty, but do so with total impunity?
This is going to the SC, we have plenty of time. It took over 30 days for the Bush-Gore issue to be resolved.
As an aside...this Jim Hoft guy is beginning to get on my nerves.
This is just prior to POTUS Trump's 03-13-2020 declaration of a national emergency and WHO's 03-19-2020 declaration of a world emergency.
Appears to be the begining of the Hildabeast's plan for where the USA is now.
Wood is an off the charts great lawyer.
Lin has been stating the evil people will go to jail. Him, Sydney and rest best not just be gaslighting. This election is a very serious thing.
The GA sos did the same thing the PA one did. The SOS has no authority to change election laws and do an end run around GA legislature.
The whole signature thing he agreed to is why he did a RLT instead of a real audit and canvass. It’s probably why they are rushing the recount through and telling counties to be done by 3 today. Maybe rushing them so they won’t notice discrepancies
Here is a direct link to L Lin Wood’s lawsuit: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ta0rze1m3flzk5o/2020-11-13%20Complaint%20-%20L.%20Wood%20v.%20Raffensperger%20et%20al.pdf?dl=0
Here is the “deal” SOS Raffensperger made with the democrats:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/fr5xg2jdyimrqa6/SETTLEMENT—GA.pdf?dl=0
L. Wood v. Raffensperger et al, 2020-11-13 Complaint; paragraphs 20-38.
[All emphasis as in original]
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The Georgia Election Code instructs those who handle absentee ballots to follow a clear procedure:
Upon receipt of each [absentee] ballot, a registrar or clerk shall write the day and hour of the receipt of the ballot on its envelope. The registrar or clerk shall then compare the identifying information on the oath with the information on file in his or her office, shall compare the signature or make on the oath with the signature or mark on the absentee elector’s voter card or the most recent update to such absentee elector’s voter registration card and application for absentee ballot or a facsimile of said signature or maker taken from said card or application, and shall, if the information and signature appear to be valid and other identifying information appears to be correct, so certify by signing or initialing his or her name below the voter’s oath. Each elector’s name so certified shall be listed by the registrar or clerk on the numbered list of absentee voters prepared for his or her precinct.
O.C.G.A. § 2l-2-386(a)(l)(B) (emphasis added).
The Georgia Legislature’s use of the word “shall” on three separate occasions indicates the clear process that must be followed by the County Officials in processing absentee ballots.
Under O.C.G.A. § 21-2-386(a)(1)(C), the Georgia Legislature also established a clear and efficient process to be used by County Officials if they determine that an elector has failed to sign the oath on the outside envelope enclosing the ballot or that the signature does not conform with the signature on file in the registrar’s or clerk’s office (a “defective absentee ballot”).
The Georgia Legislature also provided for the steps to be followed by County Officials with respect to defective absentee ballots:
If the elector has failed to sign the oath, or if the signature does not appear to be valid, or if the elector has failed to furnish required information or information so furnished does not conform with that on file in the registrar’s or clerk’s office, or if the elector is otherwise found disqualified to vote, the registrar or clerk shall write across the face of the envelope “Rejected,” giving the reason therefor. The board of registrars or absentee ballot clerk shall promptly notify the elector of such rejection, a copy of which notification shall be retained in the files of the board of registrars or absentee ballot clerk for at least one year.
O.C.G.A. § 21-2-386(a)(1)(C) (emphasis added).
The Georgia Legislature again used the word “shall” to indicate when a defective absentee ballot shall be “rejected.” The Georgia Legislature also contemplated the use of a written notification to be used by the county registrar or clerk in notifying the elector of the rejection.
III. Defendants’ Unauthorized Actions to Alter the Georgia Election Code and the Processing of Defective Absentee Ballots.
Notwithstanding the clarity of the applicable statutes and the constitutional authority for the Georgia Legislature’s actions, on March 6, 2020, the Secretary of State of the State of Georgia, Secretary Raffensperger, and the State Election Board, who administer the state elections (the “Administrators”) entered into a “Compromise and Settlement Agreement and Release” (the “Litigation Settlement”) with the Democratic Party of Georgia, Inc., the Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (collectively, the “Democrat Party Agencies”), setting forth different standards to be followed by the clerks and registrars in processing absentee ballots in the State of Georgia. A true and correct copy of the Litigation Settlement is attached hereto and incorporated herein as Exhibit A.
The Litigation Settlement sets forth different standards to be followed by the clerks and registrars in processing absentee ballots in the State of Georgia than those described above.
Although Secretary Raffensperger, as the Secretary of State, is authorized to promulgate rules and regulations that are “conducive to the fair, legal, and orderly conduct of primaries and elections” but all such rules and regulations must be “consistent with law.” O.C.G.A. § 21-2-31(2).
Under the Litigation Settlement, however, the Administrators agreed to change the statutorily-prescribed manner of handling absentee ballots in a manner that was not consistent with the laws promulgated by the Georgia Legislature for elections in this state.
The Litigation Settlement provides that the Secretary of State would issue an “Official Election Bulletin” to county Administrators overriding the statutory procedures prescribed for those officials. That power, however, does not belong to the Secretary of State under the United States Constitution.
The Litigation Settlement procedure, set forth in pertinent part below, is more cumbersome, and makes it much more difficult to follow the statute with respect to defective absentee ballots.
Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the pressures created by a larger number of absentee ballots, County Officials were under great pressure to handle an historical level of absentee voting.
Additionally, the County Officials were required to certify the speed with which they were handling absentee ballots on a daily basis, with the goal of processing absentee ballots faster than they had been processed in the past.
Under the Litigation Settlement, the following language added to the pressures and complexity of processing defective absentee ballots, making it less likely that they would be identified or, if identified, processed for rejection:
County registrars and absentee ballot clerks are required, upon receipt of each mail-in absentee ballot, to compare the signature or make of the elector on the mail-in absentee ballot envelope with the signatures or marks in eNet and on the application for the mail-in absentee ballot. If the signature does not appear to be valid, registrars and clerks are required to follow the procedure set forth in O.C.G.A. § 21- 2-386(a)(1)(C). When reviewing an elector’s signature on the mail-in absentee ballot envelope, the registrar or clerk must compare the signature on the mail-in absentee ballot envelope to each signature contained in such elector’s voter registration record in eNet and the elector’s signature on the application for the mail-in absentee ballot. If the registrar or absentee ballot clerk determines that the voter’s signature on the mail-in absentee ballot envelope does not match any of the voter’s signatures on file in eNet or on the absentee ballot application, the resistrar or absentee ballot clerk must seek review from two other resistrars, deputy resistrars, or absentee ballot clerks. A mail-in absentee ballot shall not be rejected unless a majority of the resistrars, deputy resistrars, or absentee ballot clerks reviewins the sisnature asree that the sisnature does not match any of the voter’s sisnatures on file in eNet or on the absentee ballot application. If a determination is made that the elector’s sisnature on the mail-in absentee ballot envelope does not match any of the voter’s sisnatures on file in eNet or on the absentee ballot application, the resistrar or absentee ballot clerk shall write the names of the three elections officials who conducted the sisnature review across the face of the absentee ballot envelope, which shall be in addition to writins “Rejected” and the reason for the rejection as required under O.C.G.A. § 21-2-386(a)(l)(C). Then, the registrator absentee ballot clerk shall commence the notification procedure set forth in O.C.G.A. § 21-2-386(a)(1)(C) and State Election Board Rule 183-1-14-.13.
(See Ex. A, Litigation Settlement, p. 3-4, 3, “Signature Match” (emphasis added).)
The underlined language above is not consistent with the statute adopted by the Georgia Legislature.
First, the Litigation Settlement overrides the clear statutory authorities granted to County Officials individually and forces them to form a committee of three if any one official believes that an absentee ballot is a defective absentee ballot.
Such a procedure creates a cumbersome bureaucratic procedure to be followed with each defective absentee ballot — and makes it likely that such ballots will simply not be identified by the County Officials.
Second, the Litigation Settlement allows a County Official to compare signatures in ways not permitted by the statutory structure created by the Georgia Legislature.
The Georgia Legislature prescribed procedures to ensure that any request for an absentee ballot must be accompanied by sufficient identification of the elector’s identity. See O.C.G.A. § 21-2-381 (b)(l) (providing, in pertinent part, “In order to be found eligible to vote an absentee ballot in person at the registrar’s office or absentee ballot clerk’s office, such person shall show one of the forms of identification listed in Code Section 21-2-417...”).
bookmark and BUMP
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