As he endorsed the certification of the November 3rd General Election from the Governor’s Ceremonial Office at the Georgia State Capitol, Governor Brian Kemp delivered the following remarks regarding the results of the 2020 election in Georgia on Friday:
“Good afternoon. COVID-19 has introduced numerous challenges to county and state elections officials as they work to keep Georgia elections secure, accessible, and fair. Given the record number of absentee ballots and narrow margin in the November 3rd election for president in Georgia, I joined many in backing a hand recount and urging a thorough investigation into any voting irregularities. The Secretary of State oversaw a complete audit which revealed significant errors made in several counties, including: Floyd, Fayette, Douglas, and Walton.
“It is important for Georgians to know that the vast majority of local election workers did their job well under unprecedented circumstances, and I thank them for their service. However, it’s quite honestly hard to believe that during the audit, thousands of uncounted ballots were found weeks after a razor-thin outcome in a presidential election. This is simply unacceptable. I have heard directly from countless Georgians. They expect better, and they deserve better.
“It’s important to note that this audit only looked at ballots, not the signatures on the absentee applications or the signatures on the ballot envelopes. The Georgians I have heard from are extremely concerned about this, so I encourage Secretary Raffensperger to consider addressing these concerns. It seems simple enough to conduct a sample audit of signatures on the absentee ballot envelopes and compare those to the signatures on applications and on file at the Secretary of State’s Office.
“This morning, the Secretary announced his support of strengthened photo ID requirements for absentee balloting. Voters casting their ballots in person must show photo ID, and we should consider applying that same standard to mail-in balloting. I have heard from many members of the General Assembly, and I appreciate their input and share their concerns. I look forward to working with Lt. Governor Duncan, Speaker Ralston, and members of both bodies to address the issues that have been raised over the last few weeks.
“Earlier today, Secretary Raffensperger presented the certified results of the 2020 general election to my office. Following Judge Grimberg’s ruling yesterday, state law now requires the Governor’s Office to formalize the certification, which paves the way for the Trump campaign to pursue other legal options and a separate recount if they choose. Georgia has runoff elections for two U.S. Senate seats and a Public Service Commissioner scheduled to occur over the next several weeks. We demand complete explanations for all the discrepancies identified so that our citizens will have complete confidence in our elections. In the runoff election, we cannot have lost memory cards or stacks of uncounted ballots. We must have full transparency in all monitoring and counting. Every legal vote must be counted, and the security of the ballot box must be protected.
“As Governor, I have the solemn responsibility to follow the law, and that is what I will continue to do. We must all work together to ensure citizens have confidence in future elections in our state. Thank you, God bless you, and may God continue to bless the Great State of Georgia.”
Gloria Saunders
November 21, 2020 at 12:32 am
You are saying this now but did not see to it that it was fair! Observers were not allowed the entire time of the initial counting. Republican observers were sent home and the count continued. Ballots were brought in after the polls closed and the count continued for days. Trump ballots disappeared into thin air as every dump during the middle of the night increased Biden’s totals! SOS snd Abraham’s changed the rules earlier r in the year with no legal right! I voted for you and expected you to stand up for integrity. SOS should be fired and a special session called to guaranteed an honest election. The climate is many Georgians will not vote for you again if this is swept under the carpet,
NELDA SMITH
November 21, 2020 at 5:37 am
APPARENTLY, KEMP WAS ONE OF THE SHINA FRIENDLY GOVERNORS POMPEO TOLD US ABOUT SEVERAL MONTHS AGO. KEMP COULD HAVE STOPPED RAFFENSPERGER’S CROOKED INSANITY AS WELL AS THE DEALS WITH STACY ABRAMS AND THE PERKINS-COIE LAW FIRM (W/ GAG CHRIS CARR). NOW WE KNOW WHY ABRAMS WAS NOT ARRESTED FOR BLATANT BALLOT HARVESTING & INTERFERENCE IN OUR 2018 ELECTIONS.
NELDA SMITH
November 21, 2020 at 5:39 am
APPARENTLY, KEMP WAS ONE OF THE SHINA FRIENDLY GOVERNORS POMPEO TOLD US ABOUT SEVERAL MONTHS AGO. KEMP COULD HAVE STOPPED RAFFENSPERGER’S CROOKED INSANITY AS WELL AS THE DEALS WITH STACY ABRAMS AND THE PERKINS-COIE LAW FIRM (W/ GAG CHRIS CARR). NOW WE KNOW WHY ABRAMS WAS NOT ARRESTED FOR BLATANT BALLOT HARVESTING & INTERFERENCE IN OUR 2018 ELECTIONS. #RESIGNBRADRAFFENSPERGER , #RESIGNCHRISCARR . #RESIGNBRIANKEMP
NELDA SMITH
November 21, 2020 at 5:48 am
THIS WAS NOT AN AUDIT – SIGNATURES ON BALLOTS WERE NOT CERTIFIED ! THIS BECAUSE SECRETARY OF STATE BRAD RAFFENSPERGER & GA. ATTORNEY GENERAL CHRIS CARR MADE DEALS WITH STACY ABRAMS, GA. DNC & HRC’S LAW FIRM OF CHOICE – PERKINS-COIE ! APPARENTLY, KEMP WAS ONE OF THE SHINA FRIENDLY GOVERNORS POMPEO TOLD US ABOUT SEVERAL MONTHS AGO. KEMP COULD HAVE STOPPED RAFFENSPERGER’S CROOKED INSANITY AS WELL AS THE DEALS WITH STACY ABRAMS AND THE PERKINS-COIE LAW FIRM (W/ GAG CHRIS CARR). NOW WE KNOW WHY ABRAMS WAS NOT ARRESTED FOR BLATANT BALLOT HARVESTING & INTERFERENCE IN OUR 2018 ELECTIONS. #RESIGNBRADRAFFENSPERGER , #RESIGNCHRISCARR . #RESIGNBRIANKEMP
Bill Quattlebaum
November 21, 2020 at 8:07 am
These elected officials need to start taking their jobs seriously, unless they want things to be settled in the streets.
Dale DeFoor
November 21, 2020 at 8:38 am
Too little too late Kemp! I will guarantee you I will not vote for you again! You have disappointed me and you have let Georgia down. At a time you should have stood tall and demanded recount with verified signatures you disappeared not to surface until it was over. That a cowards way.
G. W. Wyler
November 21, 2020 at 9:31 am
I am in full agreement with the comments made earlier by Gloria Saunders. Like her, I voted for you, Governor Kemp, and had high expectations going into this election cycle. Overall, I thought that you handled the COVID issue correctly and am glad to have the freedom of movement that sadly other states do not have. However, it is my opinion that as governor, you could have done more earlier concerning this election. I’m asking that you, Governor Kemp, to move extremely quickly for a total recount of Georgia votes for both the presidential election and the senatorial election. There is apparently fraud at a level that most of us have never seen before and frankly will not tolerate again. If you don’t do something to stop this steal, then don’t count on my vote in the next primary cycle. I will add that if you are nominated again, I will vote for you because I will never ever vote for a Democratic candidate for any position whatsoever.
Denise Bickford
November 21, 2020 at 2:22 pm
I agree with the above. I voted for you in full confidence but if this is swept under the carpet I will never vote for you again.
Dann bynn
November 21, 2020 at 7:09 pm
KEMP could have done something a while back to ensure a trustworthy election, he did not do this. If we lose our Republican senators, it is all on KEMP.
Teresa Johnson
November 21, 2020 at 7:39 pm
Hugely disappointing that the race was certified knowing all the irregularities in the ballots. I am thankful it’s being looked into and hope Lin Woods and President Trump are successful in their lawsuits in GA. The change in the law was not SOS and Election board to make. That’s criminal. And invalid!! GA is at the forefront of every newscast in the US. The Senate race needs to be fair without a lot of illegal ballots being cast. Bring confidence back to GA.
Also, thank you for being a voice of reason with CoVid-19. I appreciate my freedom! Stand with GA against a Democratic strategy to lockdown again or making masks mandatory!!
Tina
November 22, 2020 at 2:13 am
Trump lost. He’s a LOSER. The rest of the world has moved on why can’t you?
Brenda Banks
November 22, 2020 at 11:25 am
My question in all of this is why were these machines used when they come from another country that was shown to have voting fraud who ordered these machines .
NELDA SMITH
November 22, 2020 at 1:58 pm
GEORGIA – Walker, Catoosa, Chattooga, Dade, Gordon, Murray & Whitfield Counties voted 80% Trump to 19% Biden…. Floyd County TRUMP – 28,763, BIDEN – 11,837, JORGENSEN – 512. Floyd County…. where over 30,000 TRUMP supporters attended the rally at Richard Russell Airport with very short notice. How does Biden get a win in this?
Robert Hon
November 23, 2020 at 2:36 am
I do think this election was a fair and honest and millions of President Trump supporters were disenfranchised by this election. Stacy Abrams was allowed to get her way and President Trump paid the price. Stacy Abrams doesn’t run this state or does she’s? Governor Kemp and Secretary of State Raffensperger, both of whom I and my family for, need to ensure the runoff election is run fairly. Signatures on mailin ballots, must be checked against signatures on file. I really have not faith in the election process.