Voter fraud probe launched in Ga. House race

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger opened an investigation Thursday into accusations of voter fraud in a state House election where several people voted even though they didn’t live in the district.

A judge already threw out the election for the northeast Georgia House seat last week because four who cast ballots were ineligible to vote in the race.

Now Raffensperger’s office will conduct its own investigation into voters who allegedly cast ballots even though they had moved from House District 28 more than 30 days before the election.

“Eliminating voter fraud is essential to strengthening the integrity of Georgia’s elections, which is why I am committed to fighting against crimes that undermine our most fundamental instructions and sow doubt in our communities,” Raffensperger said. “Voter fraud has no place in Georgia’s elections, and my office will exhaust every avenue to investigate instances of abuse and prevent further injustice.”

Voters will return to the polls for a third time to decide whether Chris Erwin or Dan Gasaway should represent them.

A judge invalidated the first election, the Republican primary in May, because dozens of Habersham County voters were incorrectly assigned to the wrong House district. House District 28 covers about half of Habersham County, as well as Banks and Stephens counties.

Then in the second election in December, a judge found that because four voters had moved beforehand, the results of the election were in doubt. Erwin had appeared to win by two votes.

The date of the third election hasn’t been set. There’s no Democratic Party candidate in the race. So Gasaway, the incumbent, or Erwin would fill the seat.