OPINION:
A few days ago, Cathy Woolard, former Fulton County Registrations and Elections Board chair, wrote an op-ed indicating that she is suing Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp. The reason?
She’s “outraged” over the recent election integrity measures enacted by the Georgia State Election Board.
In the op-ed, Ms. Woolard wrote that “in America, our elections are based on a series of checks and balances that ensure every vote is counted, and the will of the people is upheld.” I couldn’t agree more with her on this point. That’s why her opposition to the election integrity measures enacted by the Georgia State Election Board makes absolutely no sense.
Let’s look at what the State Election Board actually did. In early August, it voted 3-1 to allow counties that encounter issues during the election to more thoroughly investigate the problem before certifying election results. Just as instant replay allows referees to analyze disputed calls, this rule allows counties to investigate anomalies and errors before certifying the vote count. This protects voters from fraud and allows more transparency and accountability in administering elections.
The State Election Board also voted 3-2 to approve a rule requiring poll workers to hand-count the number of paper ballots after the polls close. While this will increase the responsibilities of election workers, it is more important to get the vote count right than to get it done as soon as possible. Georgia voters deserve to know that the number of ballots cast matches the number of voters who voted.
Ironically, for Ms. Woolard, Fulton County is the perfect example of why this rule is necessary. In 2020, the county scanned thousands of ballots twice and used improper procedures in the recount for that same election. The secretary of state’s office reprimanded the county and assigned a monitor for the 2024 election to keep an eye on things.
These new measures from the State Election Board will ensure that voters in Fulton County are not disenfranchised by poor elections administration and significant vote count discrepancies. If Ms. Woolard truly wants to ensure that every vote is counted and that the will of the people is upheld, she should champion these changes in Fulton County and across the Peach State.
Finally, Ms. Woolard asserts that some of the county election administrators in Georgia are “election deniers,” implying that giving them the power to ensure election accuracy is dangerous. It is interesting that Ms. Woolard herself has lobbied for Fair Fight Action, a leftist group claiming to support greater voting rights.
This group was founded by Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, who has still not conceded the 2018 election, which she lost to Mr. Kemp.
Both major political parties have raised concerns at various times for decades about how elections are conducted. The measures enacted by the Georgia State Election Board simply make it easier to rectify these concerns, no matter who brings them, reducing skepticism in results.
In America, our elections are based on a series of checks and balances to ensure that every legal vote counts and every legal voter is protected. Opponents of the election integrity measures enacted by the State Election Board fail to understand this simple yet fundamental principle.
It is just as important to ensure that no mistakes or fraud occur as it is to count all legal votes. The two are not mutually exclusive, yet opponents of election integrity seem to think so as they demonize the very checks and balances they say exist.
The Georgia State Election Board has done the right thing by enacting measures consistent with our motto: making it easy to vote but hard to cheat.
• Hogan Gidley is vice chair of the Center for Election Integrity at the America First Policy Institute.
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