Georgia State Election Committee investigation clears Fulton County of 2020 election wrongdoing

Chris Aluka Berry/Reuters

People cast their ballots during snap voting for the upcoming presidential election at the Atlanta Hawks’ State Farm Arena in Atlanta on October 12, 2020.

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The Georgia State Election Board dismissed a year-long investigation into alleged misconduct by Fulton County poll workers during the 2020 election, saying it found no evidence of a conspiracy.

“During the course of the investigation, it was confirmed that numerous allegations against the Fulton County Department of Registration and Elections, and particularly against two election officials, were false and unfounded,” said a press release from Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office.

Former President Donald Trump and his campaign had targeted Fulton County poll workers at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena by making unfounded claims that they were counting fake mail-in ballots in the 2020 election.

The investigation – conducted by investigators from the Georgian Foreign Ministry along with special agents from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation – concluded that “there was no evidence of any type of fraud as alleged”.

The lawyer representing former poll worker Wandrea “Shaye” Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman said his clients caused “collateral damage” to undermine the presidential election.

“This serves as further evidence that Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss — while doing their patriotic duty and serving their community — were mere collateral damage in a coordinated action to undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election.” “Lies about Ms. Freeman and Ms Moss have been proven wrong time and time again, and those who spread them should be held accountable,” said attorney Von DuBose.

A team representing Trump presented Georgia lawmakers at a Senate hearing in December 2020 with heavily edited video that court records said allegedly showed poll workers producing “suitcases” of illegal ballots. This claim was investigated by state election officials and was quickly proven false.

Tuesday’s announcement confirms that Fulton County election officials have committed no wrongdoing.

According to the Georgia State Department, “Three law enforcement agencies reviewed all raw video footage of the events in question in the area.” [the two election workers] at State Farm Arena” and that “all allegations against [the two election workers] were unfounded and found unfounded.”

“We remain diligent and committed to investigating genuine allegations of voter fraud,” Raffensperger said. “We are glad that the state electoral committee finally solved this problem. False claims and knowingly false allegations against these poll workers have done tremendous harm. Poll workers deserve our praise for being on the front lines.”

Citing significant improvements in Fulton County’s elections, the state election board also voted unanimously Tuesday to end the state’s attempted takeover of the county’s electoral body. This review was conducted after lawmakers requested it under the 2021 Electoral Law of Georgia.

This story has been updated with additional details.