Until he was elected governor in 2018, Brian Kemp ran Georgia’s elections, and his office investigated few cases of voter fraud in the state.
On Friday, he responded to President Donald Trump’s accusations of widespread fraud in the tightly contested states that were still counting presidential election ballots by saying Georgia’s totals would only include legal votes.
Trump raised the issue only hours before the vote count put former Vice President Joe Biden ahead in Georgia.
“Any allegations of intentional fraud or violations of election law must be taken seriously and investigated,” a statement from Kemp, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, said.
"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.”
Gabriel Sterling, the state’s voting system manager, told reporters Friday, "We’re not seeing any widespread irregularities.”
Kemp, like his successor as secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, is a Republican who supported Trump.
Kemp’s re-election campaign sent out a release Friday afternoon saying, "Election Day has passed but the fight is far from over.
“There are ballots left to be counted and we must protect the integrity of Georgia elections.”
He said the state Republican Party was sending lawyers to eight counties — including Clayton, which put Biden in the lead — to “ensure that the process is fair and transparent.”
Some Georgia GOP congressmen and candidates sided with Trump’s assessment.
“GA’s handling of this election is embarrassing,” U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, R-Monroe, tweeted. “Two days are gone and we still don’t know the results .... are you kidding? Worse yet, partisan ballots keep appearing. A fair vote & Trump wins, end of story! Stop the fraud!”
Election officials across the country had warned that it could take several days to count the record turnout in the presidential election, particularly since far more people than usual voted with absentee ballots because many Americans wanted to avoid polling places due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was also widely predicted by Democrats and pundits that Trump would blame “widespread fraud” if he lost. In 2016, he lost the popular vote but made the unproven claim that millions of illegal votes were cast for his opponent, Democrat Hillary Clinton.
“Any of the claims he has made publicly have been without foundation or facts,” said Georgia Senate Democratic Leader Steve Henson. “I find it very disturbing that he’s undermining the democratic process. And it’s very clear that he’s being unfair and untruthful.”
Hice wasn’t the only Georgia GOP congressman to raise the issue.
“Democrats are trying to steal the election,” said U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, R-Gainesville, who lost a bid for the U.S. Senate in Tuesday’s election and is a close Trump ally.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, who just won a northwest Georgia congressional seat, tweeted: “Every LEGAL vote must be counted. Every ILLEGAL vote must be thrown out and prosecuted. STOP THE STEAL!”
Georgia’s Republican U.S. Sens. David Perdue and Kelley Loeffler were more nuanced, tweeting only that every “lawful” or “legal” vote should be counted. “If that happens, Donald Trump will be re-elected,” Perdue tweeted.
The Rev. Raphael Warnock, the Democrat who will be facing Loeffler in one of two U.S. Senate runoffs, asked for patience. “We got the time,” he tweeted. “Count every single ballot.”
