Raffensperger is Fighting to Keep Weak Signature Match Rules for Georgia Runoff Elections

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is asking a judge to reject a GOP lawsuit seeking to improve the accuracy of signature matching on mail-in ballots cast in the state.

Georgia state Republican GOP members have filed a lawsuit demanding that the state enforce stricter signature matching protocols to fight a growing concern of voter fraud. Control of the U.S. Senate will be determined by the results of a January 5 runoff election in Georgia.

In a motion to dismiss the case, Raffensperger said, “The relief sought in the Dec. 10 suit by the Georgia Republican Party would upend a crucial election that is already well underway, with more than 300,000 mail-in ballots having already been received.”

Raffensperger believes that it is too late to address the motion asserting that it should have been filed long before the election.

“Any theoretical fear of injury that plaintiffs might have pales in comparison to the potential chaos and disruption that would result from the grant of the requested relief and the potential harm not only to county officials operating under limited resources, but also to voters who run the risk of having their ballots rejected due to last-minute changes in procedures,” Raffensperger said.

Parties to the lawsuit responded they have filed the suit “at the earliest possible time,” following observations and analysis of voter data from the November elections. They are claiming that Georgia did not conduct thorough signature matching for mail-in ballots and had applied the rules “haphazardly and inconsistently” throughout the state.

Raffensperger claims that the signature rejection rate for the 2020 elections “was essentially the same” as it was in the state’s 2018 elections.

U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross in Atlanta scheduled a hearing for Thursday. The GOP led group will seek a temporary restraining order against the state at the hearing.

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