President Trump called on Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Saturday to allow verification of voters’ signatures on mail-in ballots, saying it will show “large-scale discrepancies.”
“I will easily & quickly win Georgia if Governor @BrianKempGA or the Secretary of State permit a simple signature verification,” Mr. Trump tweeted. “Has not been done and will show large scale discrepancies. Why are these two ’Republicans’ saying no? If we win Georgia, everything else falls in place!”
His comment came hours before the president holds a rally in Valdosta, Georgia, for Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler. Both are facing runoff elections on Jan. 5 to hold onto their seats and keep the GOP majority in the Senate.
The president’s campaign filed a lawsuit in Georgia on Friday, contesting the victory of presumptive President-elect Joseph R. Biden. The suit alleges tens of thousands of illegal votes and “massive irregularities” in the election.
Georgia has already certified Mr. Biden’s victory in the state.
The president called Mr. Kemp, a Republican, on Saturday and urged him to call a special session of the legislature with the aim of selecting pro-Trump presidential electors, according to media reports. Mr. Kemp refused, and he is not expected to attend the president’s rally on Saturday night.
Mr. Kemp confirmed the phone call on Saturday, saying he told the president that he doesn’t have the sole authority to order verification of voters’ signatures.
“As I told the President this morning, I’ve publicly called for a signature audit three times (11/20, 11/24, 12/3) to restore confidence in our election process and to ensure that only legal votes are counted in Georgia,” the governor tweeted.
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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