Georgia voters: Require absentee signature verification

FPI / December 7, 2020

A new poll found a majority of Georgia voters believe Gov. Brian Kemp should call a special session of the legislature to ensure that signature verification on absentee ballots is required for the two U.S. Senate runoff elections next month.

A McLaughlin & Associates survey released Saturday showed that 58 percent of likely voters contacted in late November want Georgia’s legislature to “require signature verification for every mail-in ballot for the Jan. 5 runoff elections for the U.S. Senate,” versus 38 percent who disagreed.

The runoffs will determine control of the Senate. If Democrats win both races it will mean a 50-50 split with the vice president then being the deciding vote.

“The voter sentiment now for Governor Kemp to call a special session of the state legislature to require signature verification for all mail-in ballots for the Senate runoff is strong and broad with a three-to-two statewide majority,” pollster John McLaughlin told The Georgia Star News.

He said that the majority support was “broad with approval from every key voter group in the state.”

“The people in Georgia clearly want an honest and secure election,” McLaughlin said. “They certainly view requiring signature verification of mail-in ballots as an important element of election integrity and fraud prevention. The governor should call on the legislature to act immediately.”

President Donald Trump is calling on Kemp and Georgia officials carry out the same signature verification on ballots cast in the Nov. 3 presidential election.

Trump tweeted Saturday: “I will easily & quickly win Georgia if Governor [Kemp] or the Secretary of State permit a simple signature verification.”

“Has not been done and will show large scale discrepancies,” Trump added. “Why are these two ‘Republicans’ saying no? If we win Georgia, everything else falls in place!”

Kemp responded: “As I told the President this morning, I’ve publicly called for a signature audit three times (11/20, 11/24, 12/3) to restore confidence in our election process and to ensure that only legal votes are counted in Georgia."

Trump fired back: "But you never got the signature verification! Your people are refusing to do what you ask. What are they hiding? At least immediately ask for a Special Session of the Legislature. That you can easily, and immediately, do."

Friday, the Trump campaign filed a lawsuit in Georgia requesting the state courts “order a new election to be conducted in the presidential race,” alleging “tens of thousands of illegal votes.”

Meanwhile, leftist media characterized Trump's rally in Georgia on Saturday as being more about overturning the state's presidential results than boosting Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue in next month's runoffs.

The Associated Press blared: "President Donald Trump fruitlessly pressed Georgia's governor on Saturday to call a special legislative session aimed at overturning the presidential election results in that state as Trump’s fixation with his defeat overshadowed his party's campaign to save its majority in the Senate."

Radio and TV host Mark Levin noted in a Facebook post: "AP should be ashamed of its complete lack of professional reporters, but it won't be. Read the first paragraph of this propaganda. The president is not asking GA to overturn the election; he wants the ballots scrutinized given that changes were made that undermine voter security. And he is not 'obsessed' with losing. He is very concerned about what has happened to our voting systems throughout our states. It's a travesty."

Free Press International