State Senator Jones details his trip to Maricopa County
News, Politics June 10, 2021
ELLIJAY, Ga – Burt Jones (R – Jackson) just returned from a trip to Maricopa County, Arizona to inspect its ballot audit process.
Officials in Maricopa County invited Jones and State Senator Brandon Beach (R – Alpharetta) to visit. They brought along with designated forensic auditors in the Fulton County lawsuit, which seeks to inspect 147,000 ballots. Maricopa County is in the middle of a 2 million ballot audit.
Jones called members of the Pennsylvania delegation who visited Arizona previously and they encouraged him to go and see the operation in person. Jones affirmed that the Arizona auditors were “very professional” and tight-lipped about any potential findings. The Maricopa County audit results will be presented at the end of the process.
The state senator, whom many expect to run for either governor or lt. governor, added that some of Arizona’s issues were “eerily similar to what we say in Fulton.”
The forensic auditors in attendance had an opportunity to ask questions of their Arizona peers and identify the best path forward if the lawsuit continues past June 21. In Georgia, Henry County Superior Court Judge Brian Amero delayed the case after receiving a motion to dismiss.
An audit sanctioned by the General Assembly isn’t likely to manifest with many in the legislature preferring for the courts to sort out the matter.
Georgia’s Secretary of State’s Office conducted three separate recounts that didn’t uncover any significant instances of fraud.
Jones admitted that even after the passage of SB 202 many Georgia Republicans are hesitant to return to the voting booth. He added it’s time to “change the perception.” He introduced two bills last session dealing with the Dominion Voting Machine system, but at this time, it’s unclear if Georgia will change systems before the 2022 election cycle. The state agreed to a $140 million contract over 10 years for the machines.
“Our people aren’t happy,” Jones said of the Republican base and the state shouldn’t “double down on a bad investment.” Additionally, soon counties will start paying for the maintenance of the Dominion machines. The state previously paid for upkeep, and it could cost counties an estimated $50,000.
Jones was stripped of his leadership positions in the Senate for his strong stance on investigating the 2020 election by Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan.
Duncan has since decided to not seek reelection in 2022 while Jones received the new “Warrior Awards” from the State Republican Convention in Jekyll Island last week.
Senator Burt Jones debating which statewide race to enter
Featured News, Featured Stories, News May 27, 2021
ELLIJAY, Ga – Georgia State Senator Burt Jones (R), of Jackson, inferred that he will on the 2022 ballot in a statewide race on Wednesday.
Jones’ name has been connected to the lt. governor and governor’s race. The district 25 senator recently visited former President Donald Trump in Mar A Lago, but Jones hasn’t made an official announcement yet.
He was one of the strongest supporters for investigating the 2020 General Election, asking for a Special Session to investigate the issue in November. The move, presumably, cost Jones his chairmanship of the Insurance and Labor Committee.
“[You] can’t overturn [an election] without evidence, but you can’t have evidence if you don’t investigate,” Jones stated about his efforts regarding a special session.
Jones added he just wanted a proper investigation into the issues surrounding the 2020 election, including a forensic audit.
“People just want to know what the truth is,” he remarked. “If we had a significant third-party forensic audit to validate one way or the other these absentee ballots which came in the tens of thousands – a volume that we’ve never seen before in the state – I think people could live with the results, whether they liked them or not.”
He’s glad the case examining 147,000 ballots in Fulton County is moving forward because Georgia’s had three election cycles with alleged interference of some sort. Democrats and Republicans both reported voter fraud in either 2016, 2018, or 2020.
Last week, incumbent Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan (R) announced he wouldn’t be seeking reelection in 2022, choosing to devote his time toward GOP 2.0. The organization hopes to guide the Republican Party into the post-Trump era.
On Tuesday, Senate President Pro Tempora Butch Miller (R), of Gainesville, announced his intentions to run for lt. governor. Last month, former Representative Vernon Jones, a Democrat turned Republican, declared his candidacy for Governor. Incumbent Governor Brian Kemp (R) will be running for reelection.
Jones admitted that running for statewide office is a “serious undertaking” and required a lot of “soul searching” before making a final decision.
Favorito addresses the hurdles leading up to the ballot audit
News, Politics May 24, 2021
ELLIJAY, Ga – November 2020 election integrity lawsuit plaintiff Garland Favorito labeled the obstacles facing the ballot audit a “battle between establishment and grassroots” Republicans.
On Friday, Henry County Superior Court Judge Brian Amero granted the motion to unseal ballots in Fulton County.
The ballots will be scanned to produce 600 dpi dots per inch) high-resolution images for a forensic audit. However, only the court and Fulton County employees will be allowed to handle the ballots.
Henry County Superior Court on Friday, May 21, 2020.
Petitioners and Respondents council along with the court will convene on Friday at the ballot’s location to discuss further protocols.
Following the order, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger released a statement:
“From day one I have encouraged Georgians with concerns about the election in their counties to pursue those claims through legal avenues. Fulton County has a long standing history of election mismanagement that has understandably weakened voters’ faith in its system. Allowing this audit provides another layer of transparency and citizen engagement.”
Favorito remarked the statement was “carefully crafted as not to lie” when read the statement. He asked if Raffensperger was in favor of election transparency then why did his office file an amicus brief against their lawsuit through the Attorney General.
He added that the Secretary of State has issued more “roadblocks” than Fulton County itself. He stated that Raffensperger is “adamantly opposed to election transparency in the state.”
The Secretary of State’s Office has conducted three recounts of the November Election, including a hand recount.
All three came back confirming the election results. During the almost daily press briefings following the November election, Gabriel Sterling, Secretary of State Election Official, tried to quell claims of widespread voter fraud and asked individual voters to report and suspected issues to their office.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger
Earlier in the year, the state board of election aced on more than 300 cases of voter fraud, several were referred to the Attorney General for prosecution.
Raffensperger’s also voiced support of Georgia voter reform efforts, claiming it would not result in voter suppression. He added on Twitter that he’s always encouraged voters to use legal channels when pursuing election disputes in their counties.
Georgia’s ballot audit case looks to move forward on Friday
Featured News, Featured Stories, News May 19, 2021
ELLIJAY, Ga – Garland Favorito outlined the progress of VoterGa’s legal case to uncover potential voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Favorito’s a co-plaintiff in the VoterGa lawsuit to examine147,000 ballots from the November election. In March, Henry County Chief Justice Brian Amaro granted the organization access to digital ballot images.
Favorito and company have stated the low resolution, 200 dpi (dots per inch) images aren’t of a high enough quality for experts to properly examine. Images need 600 dpi and color images to fully determine discrepancies in ballots.
On Friday, the plaintiffs will be asking for physical access to the Fulton County ballots. Also on Friday, the findings from the 200 dpi images will be released.
If granted access a team of forensic experts, senior poll managers, and others will inspect the ballots. They’re still finalizing the exact process, but the ballots will be scanned again. Other methods being discussed are ultraviolet lights, digital photography, and electronic image analysis. They will also check for paper folds, depressions, and if a machine or human completed the ballot.
The physical ballots would be inspected while in Fulton County’s custody. VoterGa won’t take the ballots off-site. Favorito appeared confident they could identify any fraudulent votes if capable of conducting a physical ballot audit.
Secretary of State’s Office filed an amicus brief asking the judge to allow only a review of the ballot images, not a physical inspection. It cited a change to Georgia’s Open Records Act prohibiting a tangible ballot audit and voter confidentiality.
Favorito accused Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger of “covering up” discrepancies in Georgia’s hand count audit in November. The plaintiff’s completely against the Dominion voting system, even advocating against the system years ago. He believes Raffensperger should have ordered an audit of the machines after people continued to come forward with voting issues in the 2020 election.
Many Americans want to know if the right person one and can regain trust in the election system. They want assurance of “honest elections in America” explained Favorito who stated he didn’t vote for President Donald Trump. He voted for a third-party write-in.
Anyone interested in watching the hearing on Friday can on VoterGa.org starting at 9 a.m.