Georgia opens probe after late votes shift House race
GA Rep. Evans on agenda, Chief of Staff, lost memory card
Rep. Stacy Evans joins Red Clay Rundown to lay out the new House Democratic majority's agenda on affordability, Medicaid expansion, and abortion laws. Plus, a missing memory card in Seminole County flips a key House race, and President Trump names Stephen Miller as White House Chief of Staff.
ATLANTA - Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has opened an investigation after officials found a memory card containing hundreds of Election Day votes that were not initially uploaded in Seminole County.
What we know:
The county Board of Elections identified 388 additional votes while checking a discrepancy between the number of voters recorded as checked in and the number of ballots cast. The votes changed the unofficial result in House District 154, putting Republican incumbent Rep. Gerald Greene ahead of Democrat Harry James.
The secretary of state’s office said the discovery changed Greene’s 58-vote deficit into a 262-vote lead. Unofficial results on the state website, last updated Saturday, showed Greene with 10,193 votes and James with 9,932, a 261-vote margin.
What they're saying:
"Georgia’s election safeguards are designed to identify discrepancies, and that is exactly what these guardrails did," Raffensperger said. His investigation will examine how the memory card was overlooked and whether election procedures were followed.
Greene told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he was "in disbelief" but hopeful his lead would hold. County officials must certify results by Monday.
Democrats appeared poised to win 93 seats in the 180-member Georgia House, which would give them a majority for the first time in 22 years. If Greene’s lead is certified, Democrats would hold 92 seats, one more than the 91 needed for a majority. A separate House race in District 151 is headed to a Dec. 1 runoff.
MAP: Democrats appear poised to flip Georgia House after election