Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said in an address Friday afternoon he will certify the state’s election results as required by law, but cast doubt on Georgia’s absentee ballot procedures.
Prior to being governor, Kemp was secretary of state and supported the same procedures he criticized in his statement.
“”It’s important to note that this audit only looked at ballots, not the signatures on the absentee applications or the signatures on the ballot envelopes. The Georgians I have heard from are extremely concerned about this, so I encourage Secretary Raffensperger to consider addressing these concerns. It seems simple enough to conduct a sample audit of signatures on the absentee ballot envelopes and compare those to the signatures on applications and on file at the Secretary of State’s Office,” Kemp said.
Kemp also called on lawmakers to pass laws requiring photo IDs for absentee balloting, a measure Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said he also supports.
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Kemp said his certification of the results would allow the Trump campaign to ask for a recount of ballots.
“Following Judge Grimberg’s ruling yesterday, state law now requires the Governor’s Office to formalize the certification, which paves the way for the Trump campaign to pursue other legal options and a separate recount if they choose.”
The final certified vote count in Georgia showed Joe Biden had won the state by 12,670, becoming the first democrat to win the state in a presidential election since Bill Clinton in 1992.