Georgia reviewing ballot drop box forms in state’s most populous county

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) says his office is looking into “new revelations” regarding the handling of paperwork for ballot drop boxes in the state’s most populous county during the 2020 election.

“New revelations that Fulton County is unable to produce all ballot drop box transfer documents will be investigated thoroughly, as we have with other counties that failed to follow Georgia rules and regulations regarding drop boxes. This cannot continue,” Raffensperger tweeted Monday.

New revelations that Fulton County is unable to produce all ballot drop box transfer documents will be investigated thoroughly, as we have with other counties that failed to follow Georgia rules and regulations regarding drop boxes. This cannot continue.

— GA Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (@GaSecofState) June 14, 2021

Temporary regulations enacted by the Georgia Election Board last year allowed voters to return their absentee ballots by submitting them in secure drop boxes.

The county was then mandated to collect ballots from each box at least once every 24 hours, with each collection team having to sign a transfer form upon removing the ballots. The form had to include the data, time, location and number of ballots.

A spokesman for the secretary of state’s office told The Associated Press that Raffensperger’s tweet was in response to comments made by Mariska Bodison, a Fulton County elections employee, in a recent report from The Georgia Star News, a conservative website.

Bodison, when discussing the absentee ballot documents, told the outlet last week that “a few forms are missing” and “some procedural paperwork may have been misplaced” when personnel were quarantined because of a positive COVID-19 outbreak at the county elections warehouse.

Fulton County spokeswoman Jessica Corbitt, however, said Tuesday in a statement obtained by The Hill that the county abided by procedures when it came to collecting absentee ballots from the drop boxes.

“We maintain a large quantity of documents and are researching our files from last year,” Corbitt said. “The majority of the ballot transfer forms have already been produced and we are continuing to research a handful.”

She added that the county has been in touch with Raffensperger’s office, and that it will update them on its progress.

Raffensperger tweeted Monday that “restoring confidence in our elections is going to be impossible as long as Fulton County’s elections leadership continues to fail the voters of Fulton County and the voters of Georgia. They need new leadership to step up and take charge.”

Restoring confidence in our elections is going to be impossible as long as Fulton County’s elections leadership continues to fail the voters of Fulton County and the voters of Georgia. They need new leadership to step up and take charge.

— GA Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (@GaSecofState) June 14, 2021

The news of the secretary of state’s office looking at ballot drop boxes in Fulton County comes as former President Trump and a number of his supporters continue to push false claims of widespread election fraud, which they say cost him reelection.

Additionally, the news comes after Georgia Gov. Brain Kemp (R) signed a sweeping elections bill in March, which tightened voting rules in the state by restricting the use of ballot drop boxes and establishing photo ID requirements for absentee voting, among other measures.