GA Sec of State Says Signature Audit Will Finally Be Conducted in Cobb County

The Georgia Secretary of State's office has announced he's ordering a signature audit for ballots in Cobb County – Georgia's third-most-populous county.

11Alive.com reports the announcement of the audit this week follows an allegation that county election officials did not follow proper procedures dating all the way back to the June primary.

"Right now, we have a specific allegation in Cobb of the process not being followed properly, so under our investigatory powers, that is where we're starting," the secretary's spokesman Gabriel Sterling said during a briefing. 

The audit will include examining a sampling of signatures on ballot envelopes, the television station reported.

"This is about investigating the allegation and while at the same time enhancing people's fundamental belief in the overall system," Sterling said.

In a statement, Cobb County Elections Director Janine Eveler said her office would follow the order for the audit, which will also look at signatures from the Nov. 3 election. 

"Even though the complaint referenced by the Secretary of State's office stemmed from the June Primary, the audit will apparently cover signature verification for the November General Election," Eveler explained.

"I'm confident any audit would find our office followed procedures and only counted ballots that were processed correctly," Eveler added. "Even though our resources are already stretched thin by advance voting and preparations for the January 5 runoff, we will help this process move as expeditiously as possible."

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said the Georgia Bureau of Investigation will also be assisting in the review of the ballots. The results of the investigation are scheduled to be released on Dec. 28. 

In a statement, Gov. Brian Kemp said he was "glad" Raffensperger finally took "the necessary step to begin restoring confidence in our state's election processes." 

"As Georgians head back to the polls for the January 5th runoffs, it is absolutely vital for every vote cast to be legal and for only legal votes to be counted," he said. 

Cobb County is Georgia's third most populous county with its county seat located in its largest city of Marietta, a suburb of Atlanta. 

The Peach State's audit of the county's ballots should help renew confidence in voters' minds that the upcoming US Senate runoff elections will be secure and will ensure accountability in the system. 

As CBN News reported, early in-person voting for the runoff elections began on Monday. Republican incumbents Sen. Kelly Loeffler and Sen. David Perdue are trying to retain their seats against their Democrat challengers Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, respectively. 

So far, there have been more than 1 million absentee ballot requests made, with more than 700,000 ballots already cast, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The stakes couldn't be higher. The outcome of the two Georgia races will determine the control of the US Senate for the next two years, and what legislation Joe Biden and his administration can hope to pass. Whoever controls the Senate also has the power to confirm or reject top-level White House appointments, including judicial nominees and Supreme Court nominees. 

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