Georgia secretary of state announces results of election signature match audit

Georgia's secretary of state announced the results of the signature match audit of ballots in Cobb County in order to quell fears of election fraud in the 2020 presidential election.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger had been excoriated by many in the media and on social media for dismissing claims of voter fraud. On Dec. 14, he announced a signature match audit in order to reestablish Georgians' faith in the state's balloting system.

Two weeks later, that audit in Cobb County was completed.

Raffensperger said only two mismatched signatures were found among the more than 15,000 signatures audited. He said the inaccuracy came from a wife who signed the ballots for herself and her husband.

"It really shows you and should give voters confidence that there's accuracy and integrity, and security, in the absentee ballot process so we're really grateful for GBI's support," Raffensperger said to WSB-TV.

The signature match audit was the first of its kind in Georgia.

The audit involved state election investigators examining thousands of ballot envelopes and matching the signatures with those in public state records.

While Raffensperger defended the state's ability to conduct the 2020 election in a fair and secure manner, he has advocated against Georgia's no excuse absentee voting and wants restrictions on who can vote by absentee ballot.

"It's a huge burden for the counties. In effect, what we are asking the counties to do is run three elections, one with absentee voting early voting and then Election Day," Raffensperger explained.

In November, he defended the signature match system during an interview on MSNBC.

"Many people don't realize that it requires you to do your signature twice, once for the application, we signature match then, and a second time when your ballot comes back in, then we'll signature match that," he explained.

President-elect Joe Biden won Georgia by roughly 12,000 votes.

President Donald Trump and his legal team continue to challenge the election results in court, with the latest one challenging the Wisconsin Supreme Court decision.

Here's more about the audit in Georgia:

Georgia Secretary of State wants to get rid of no-excuse absentee votingwww.youtube.com