A Georgia judge had ruled on Friday that election absentee ballots for 2020 in Fulton, the state's most populous county, could be unsealed and evaluated by a group of voters claiming that fraudulent ballots were included in the counting.
According to Superior Court Judge Brian Amero, petitioners would only be allowed to inspect and scan the said ballots following practices and protocols set forth by further order of the Court.
Unsealing of Georgia Ballots
Fulton County was ordered to allow a voting group to inspect and scan absentee ballots cast last year in the presidential election. Judge Amero wrote that Fulton County election officials need to let the plaintiffs assess the ballots.
The opening of the ballots is part of an evaluation of the 2020 election. One of the plaintiffs appealing for an audit of Fulton County's results is Garland Favorito. He is the co-founder of a group named Voters Organized for Trusted Election Results in Georgia, reported Insider.
The ruling is rooted in a lawsuit against the county that claimed improper counting and fraudulent ballots. According to the judge, he will order county officials to scan and procure high-resolution photos, reported The Star.
The review of Fulton County's absentee ballots is not slated to commence until the judge evaluates the terms of the audit. The order comes as conservatives have clamored for election audits in some states in the wake of former President Donald Trump's loss in the presidential election. The allegation that there was prevalent fraud has persisted among several Republicans, reported CNN.
Read Also: Atlanta Spa Shootings Suspect Gets Arraigned for Hate Crime Charges, Possibly Gets Death Penalty
The plaintiffs are looking to use the photos to determine whether the ballots were completed by machine or hand to determine their legitimacy. The plaintiffs are nine Georgia voters who will pay for the auditing.
Favorito is the co-founder of the group Voters Organized for Trusted Election Results in Georgia and is now soliciting donations via social media to fund the effort.
Judge Amero is looking to issue an order soon to move forward protocols governing a fresh scanning of the ballots. County workers will do it while experts and petitioners observe. One group of voters filed a petition in 2020 appealing for a forensic inspection of mail-in ballots that were sent in for the November presidential election last year.
The group is not looking for a particular election result but instead wants to guarantee the open and honest truth regarding what transpired in Fulton County on the evening of the election, as indicated in court documents. The group claimed in court documents, as stated in affidavits from four election auditors, that there were "counterfeit ballots" in Fulton County.
The judge indicated that the time and place of the assessment would be determined later. According to Fulton County, it would adhere to the order.
