GA Secretary of State Rejects Calls for His Resignation over Election Management: ‘Not Going to Happen’

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaks with a reporter at a conference of lo
AP Photo/Russ Bynum
Hannah Knudsen

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) is rejecting high profile calls for his resignation over his handling of the presidential election in his state, emphasizing in a statement released on Monday that he will not step down.

“Earlier today Senators Loeffler and Perdue called for my resignation. Let me start by saying that is not going to happen. The voters of Georgia hired me, and the voters will be the one to fire me,” Raffensperger said in a Monday statement, vowing to ensure that “every legal vote counts, and that illegal votes don’t count.”

The Republican official defended his management of the election, describing Election Day as a “resounding success” from an administration perspective, boasting of a short average wait time and a record turnout.

“The process of reporting results has been orderly and followed the law. Where there have been specific allegations of illegal voting, my office has dispatched investigators,” he said. “We have put a monitor in at Fulton County….one of our longtime problem Democrat-run cities.”

“The investigation of potential double voters was the first of its kind done in the history of the Secretary of State’s office, and we will investigate any of those instances from the general election as well,” he continued, emphasizing his devotion to counting legal votes weeding out illegal votes.

He also defended his office’s transparency, stating that they were “literally putting releases of results up at a minimum hourly” and noting his office’s daily press briefings.

“So that particular charge is laughable,” he said:

He also echoed the remarks of Georgia election official Gabriel Sterling acknowledging the existence of illegal voting, but doubting the scale.

“Does it rise to the numbers or margin necessary to change the outcome to where President Trump is given Georgia’s electoral votes? That is unlikely,” he said:

My job is to follow Georgia law and see to it that all legal votes, and no illegal votes, are counted properly and accurately. As Secretary of State, that is my duty, and I will continue to do my duty. As a Republican, I am concerned about Republicans keeping the U.S. Senate. I recommend Senators Loeffler and Perdue start focusing on that.

His response followed demands from Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), both of whom face runoffs, for Raffensperger to resign.

“The management of Georgia elections has become an embarrassment for our state. Georgians are outraged, and rightly so,” they said in a statement, demanding “transparency and uniformity in the counting process.”

“This isn’t hard. This isn’t partisan. This is American. We believe when there are failures, they need to be called out — even when it’s in your own party,” they continued, concluding that Raffensperger has “failed to deliver honest and transparent elections” and should therefore resign.

Former Vice President Joe Biden led President Trump in Georgia by 12,290 as of Tuesday morning.

Georgia Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) is leading the Trump campaign’s recount team in the Peach State and released a statement on Tuesday requesting the secretary of state to announce a “full hand-count of every ballot cast in each and every county due to widespread allegations of voter irregularities, issues with voting machines, and poll watcher access”:

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