STAFF REPORT :::
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and the Spalding County legislative delegation including Sen. Marty Harbin, Rep. David Knight and Rep. Karen Mathiak are calling for the resignation of Spalding County Election Supervisor Marcia Ridley.
The call for Ridley’s resignation follows what Raffensperger’s office calls “serious management issues and poor decision making” during the Nov. 3 general election.
| “County elections officials are responsible for ensuring the voting process is smooth and efficient and must take responsibility when they fail,” Raffensperger said. “Georgians statewide waited on average just 3 minutes on Election Day but poor decision making in Spalding County denied those voters a quick and reliable voting experience. The serious management issues we saw in Spalding County on Election Day demonstrate that new leadership is needed to uphold election integrity there.” Officials say Georgia reported record turnout, record absentee ballot requests and ballots cast and record early in-person voting in the general election. On Election Day, voters cast ballots in an average of three minutes. Authorities calling on Ridley to resign say that was not the experience in Spalding County. According to a press release issued by Raffensperger, Spalding County voters “faced mismanagement and poor decision-making that put the integrity of their votes at risk.” They cited issues early in the morning of Nov. 3 when the county’s voting machines did not function properly. If voting machines are not operating normally, county elections superintendents have been trained to use a number of workarounds to allow voters to cast ballots using the Ballot Marking Devices like all other voters, the press release stated. Raffensperger release went on to state that if that is impossible, which was not the case in Spalding County, Georgia law instructs county elections superintendents to conduct voting in those locations on emergency ballots, which are scanned immediately like other ballots cast in person on Election Day. Authorities allege none of those protocols were followed. “Instead of using one of the many workarounds built into the system or using emergency ballots as required by law when the equipment is not working, Spalding County Election Supervisor Marcia Ridley instructed elections workers to use provisional ballots, which are processed differently than regular ballots. This violated established election process and possibly Georgia law,” Raffensperger’s release stated. “Additionally, when asked about the issues faced in Spalding County on Election Day, Ridley claimed an “update” made to the voting system on the night before Election Day caused problems with the machines. No such update had been made nor had the voting machines been touched for days before the election. By spreading this baseless and thoroughly inaccurate rumor, Ridley greatly harmed election integrity in Georgia and provided talking points for those looking to undermine elections in the Peach State.” Please consider financially supporting The GRIP. The news you find in The GRIP is free for all. You’ll never be hindered by a paywall or limited to only a few articles each month. That’s because knowledge CANNOT be a commodity available only to those with the ability to purchase it. While the news will always be free for all, it is far from free to produce. That’s why The GRIP needs your support. Your support will enable The GRIP to continue to provide relevant news in your community and beyond. It’s quick and painless. Just click this link: https://www.patreon.com/user?u=16902623 All support will be greatly appreciated, whether a small one-time donation or recurring monthly gift. Thank you! |