A judge in Georgia might unseal absentee ballots in the state’s Fulton County so a government watchdog can investigate voter fraud allegations.
Henry County Superior Court Judge Brian Amero said he is inclined to order the ballots unsealed and reviewed by experts hired by Garland Favorito, an advocate of voting integrity, according to a report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Amero, during a Monday court hearing, said that if the ballots are unsealed, there needs to be a plan in order to make sure they’re kept in secret and kept secure.
“We want to do this in such a way that dispels rumors and disinformation and sheds light,” Amero said. “The devil’s in the details.”
He made the comment after a lawsuit filed in a Fulton County Superior Court contended that fraudulent ballots were cast during the Nov. 3, 2020, election amid other alleged irregularities as workers counted votes at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena on Election Night.
The Georgia Secretary of State’s office dismissed such allegations months ago. The Epoch Times reached out to the secretary of state’s office for comment.
The judge discussed an order that would prohibit Favorito’s group from disclosing their work without permission from the court, adding that he might appoint an official to oversee the analysis. The review of the ballots, according to Amero, could start in April, as reported by the AJC.
“I can’t sign an order until such time as I’m satisfied that the manner and method (of review) proposed by the petitioners is reasonable,” the judge said.
Favorito, co-founder of the Voters Organized for Trusted Election Results in Georgia, a conservative group founded in 2006, has blamed both Democrats and Republicans leveraging “election integrity for their own benefit.”
“In H.R. 1, the Democrats are trying to take control of the country with a bunch of unconstitutional provisions,” Favorito said, according to Politico. “In Georgia, the Republicans are trying to solidify their power with certain election provisions in the omnibus bills, which don’t benefit President Trump, and they don’t benefit the people of Georgia, for the most part.”
In recent weeks, Republicans at the state and federal level have called for a variety of election reforms while calling on lawmakers to reject Democrats’ proposals.
Former Vice President Mike Pence targeted Democrats’ H.R. 1 in a Daily Signal op-ed this month saying that it “would increase opportunities for election fraud, trample the First Amendment, further erode confidence in our elections, and forever dilute the votes of legally qualified eligible voters.”
From The Epoch Times
