GA Election Chief Refuses Senators' Call To Resign; Kemp Comments

Updated at 6 p.m. Monday

GEORGIA — As the Peach State continued to count ballots Monday afternoon, two Georgia senators said they want the state's top election official — a fellow Republican — to step down because he "failed to deliver honest and transparent elections." Their target, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, refused and said he will fight to make sure every legal vote counts.

And Gov. Brian Kemp had his press secretary issue a statement that the handling of the close presidential and Senate races is a "wake-up call" to the Secretary of State's Office.

Georgia continued to count its outstanding ballots Monday after various news organizations declared Saturday that Democrat Joe Biden had reached the number of Electoral College votes required to become the president-elect. Many of President Donald Trump's supporters declared voter fraud, but Georgia officials have said there has been no evidence of the sort.

A joint statement from Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler called the management of elections in Georgia an "embarrassment" that left Georgians "outraged." Both Perdue and Loeffler faced strong challenges and are headed to Jan. 5 runoff elections.

"We have been clear from the beginning: Every legal vote cast should be counted," the statement read. "Any illegal vote must not. And there must be transparency and uniformity in the counting process."

The senators urged Raffensperger to resign over supposed mismanagement and a lack of transparency in his office. He flatly said, "that is not going to happen."

"The voters of Georgia hired me, and the voters of Georgia will be the one to fire me," Raffensperger said in a statement.

The Republican in charge of overseeing the state's elections said that he understands Perdue and Loeffler are likely irritated because they both seem headed for Jan. 5 runoff elections after failing to get over 50 percent in their respective races.

Raffensperger added that, as a member of the GOP, he is "unhappy with the potential outcome for our president."

No proof of election fraud or tampering has been submitted by the Trump campaign even as the president has filed lawsuits tied to voting in several states. A Georgia suit was thrown out last week by a judge.

Trump tweeted on Monday that, "Georgia will be a big presidential win, as it was the night of the Election!"

Biden will become the 46th U.S. president after unofficial election results in Pennsylvania, with its 20 electoral votes, put him over the 270 electoral votes required to win the presidency, the Associated Press and other news organizations projected. Georgia has not yet been called, although Biden leads in the state.

Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, a Republican, spoke to CNN on Monday morning, and said "there is no evidence of voter fraud or irregularities in the state," WSB-TV reported.

Biden increased his lead over Trump this past weekend. As of Monday morning, Biden has 10,353 more votes than Trump, according to the Secretary of State's Office. Trump had 49.28 percent of the vote, with 2.455 million votes, to Biden's 49.48 percent and 2.465 million votes.

It is unclear how many ballots were left to be counted in Georgia as of Monday morning.

While Georgia inched closer to tipping for Biden, many political activists and pundits credited former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams for sparking voter registration efforts that brought disenfranchised residents to the polls.

After narrowly losing the 2018 governor's race to Republican Brian Kemp, Abrams founded Fair Count to advocate for electoral reform and educate voters nationwide.

"Stacey absolutely deserves her accolades," said Nikema Williams, the chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia and the U.S. Representative-elect for the state's 5th District seat that was left vacant by the death of John Lewis.

"Stacey was out there talking to people all across the state," Williams told Bloomberg News. "She gave us the hope to believe that we have power in our voices."

With how few votes separate Trump and Biden, a recount in Georgia seems likely, Raffensperger said in a brief media appearance Friday afternoon.

"Right now, Georgia remains too close to call; out of the approximately 5 million votes cast, we'll have a margin of a few thousand," Raffensperger said.

The focus for election workers remains to "make sure every legal vote is counted and recorded," he added. "With a margin that small, there will likely be a recount in Georgia."

Return to Patch for the latest vote tally. Subscribe to free News Alerts for election results.

Gabriel Sterling, voting implementation manager in the secretary of state's office, said Friday normally 5 percent of votes (in Georgia) are absentee ballots; this election saw one-third of votes come in as absentee.

Sterling likened the margin in Georgia to the size of "less than a large high school"; therefore, he anticipates that whoever loses the election will ask for a recount. However, Sterling said the election may not be decided for another two weeks, and a recount cannot happen until the election is certified, and could take five days.

Kemp on Friday urged state election officials to be transparent as the vote count continued, and to investigate any allegations of election fraud. He urged transparency as Trump and his supporters try to sow doubt about election results in multiple states, including Georgia, although the campaign has produced no proof of widespread fraud.

Kemp issued a statement about the election, along with Duncan and Speaker David Ralston.

"Free and fair elections are the foundation of our American government," the trio said. "Any allegations of intentional fraud or violations of election law must be taken seriously and investigated. We trust that our Secretary of State will ensure that the law is followed as written and that Georgia's election result includes all legally cast ballots — and only legally cast ballots. We will continue to follow this situation to ensure a fair and transparent process."