Raffensperger: Election board ‘destroying voter confidence’ in Georgia


Georgia’s Republican secretary of state is sounding the alarm that last-minute election rule changes implemented by his state’s election board are creating unnecessary confusion and undermining voter trust in one of the country’s most hotly contested presidential battlegrounds.

Republican Brad Raffensperger famously declined to grant then-President Donald Trump’s demand that he “find 11,780 votes” to reverse his 2020 loss in the state, facing death threats as he refused to succumb to pressure from the president. He’s since backed controversial voting law changes decried by Democrats, defeated a Trump-backed primary challenger in 2022, and criss-crossed the state trying to convince Georgia voters that his state’s elections will be safer and more secure than ever before, while implementing changes he says should ensure a smooth vote count this fall.

But a hard-right majority gained control of Georgia’s State Election Board in May. In recent weeks that board, led by that trio of Republican-appointed officials, has passed a bevy of controversial rule changes. They include rules that would seemingly give local election board members wide leeway to conduct “reasonable inquiry” into any perceived problems with the voting process, and potentially toss out votes. Just days ago, they approved a new rule requiring all ballots be counted by hand to make sure they match machine counts, a time-consuming and error-prone process that could delay the tabulation of votes on election night. Mr. Trump praised the trio in a speech in Georgia last month, calling them “pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency and victory.”



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