Absentee ballots reviewed in Georgia
ATLANTA — As the candidates in the disputed race for Georgia governor retreated further into their corners, counties across the state on Thursday began a court-ordered process of reviewing absentee ballots and counting those previously rejected for missing or incorrect dates of birth.
Georgia Secretary of State Robyn Crittenden ordered the review, with a deadline of 5 p.m. today.
The campaign of Democrat Stacey Abrams has ratcheted up its attacks on Republican Brian Kemp, while Kemp continues to claim that results certified by county election officials confirm he has an “insurmountable lead.”
At a news conference Wednesday, Georgia Democrats cast doubt on the legitimacy of any election count that ends with former secretary of state Kemp being certified as the winner against Abrams.
“We believe that Brian Kemp mismanaged this election to sway it in his favor,” said Abrams’ campaign manager, Lauren Groh-Wargo, surrounded by Democratic lawmakers at the Georgia Capitol.
Democrats beyond Georgia have started to echo the notion that a Kemp victory would be illegitimate. Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown said Wednesday that if Abrams loses it’s because Republicans stole the election, without presenting any evidence.
Kemp’s campaign, which has repeatedly called on Abrams to concede, repeated that call Wednesday, saying Abrams and her supporters have used “fake vote totals,” ”desperate press conferences” and “dangerous lawsuits” to try to steal the election.
“After all of the theatrics, the math remains the same,” Kemp campaign spokesman Cody Hall said in an email. “Abrams lost and Brian Kemp won. This election is over.”
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Steve Jones ruled that the secretary of state must not certify the state election results without confirming that each county’s vote tally includes absentee ballots on which the voter’s date of birth is missing or incorrect.
The order stems from a request in a lawsuit filed Sunday by the Abrams campaign. But Jones also rejected the campaign’s other requests.