Rep. Doug Collins Demands Georgia Secretary of State Announce a ‘Full Hand-Count of Every Ballot Cast’

ATLANTA, GA - NOVEMBER 02: An election worker processes absentee ballots at State Farm Are
Megan Varner/Getty Images
Hannah Knudsen

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

In a Tuesday statement released by the Trump campaign, Collins formally requested “three things” from Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) as officials move into the recount process in the Peach State.

“First, there must be a full comparison of absentee ballots cast and in-person and provisional ballots cast throughout the state. Second, there must be a check for felons and other ineligible persons who may have cast a ballot,” Collins said.

“Third, and most importantly, the Secretary of State should 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,” he continued.

“We can — and we will — petition for this in court after statewide certification is completed if the Secretary of State fails to act, but we are hopeful he will preemptively take this action today to ensure every Georgian has confidence in our electoral process,” he added:

Over the weekend, the Trump campaign announced Collins, an ally of the president, as the leader of the Trump campaign’s recount team in Georgia.

“Republicans stand by the ideal that every eligible voter should be able to vote legally and have it be counted,” Collins said in a statement, adding that they are “confident we will find evidence of improperly harvested ballots and other irregularities that will prove that President Trump won Georgia fairly again on his way to re-election as President” as a result of the recount.

“Georgians deserve a free and open process, and they will get one,” he vowed.

Collins’ latest call follows Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) calling on Raffensperger to resign over his management of the state’s presidential election, calling it an “embarrassment for our state.”

“The Secretary of State has failed to deliver honest and transparent elections. He has failed the people of Georgia, and he should step down immediately,” they wrote in a letter.

The secretary of state responded in a lengthy statement, explaining that a resignation is “not going to happen”:

On Monday, Georgia election official Gabriel Sterling dismissed reports of widespread voter fraud in the state, though he told reporters that they “are going to find that people did illegally vote” as they move forward and investigate:

He said in part:

Now. Let me be perfectly clear on another point. We are going to find that people did illegally vote. That’s going to happen. There are going to be double voters. There are going to be people who shouldn’t — did not have the qualifications of a registered voter to vote in this state. That will be found.

“Is it 10,353? Unlikely. But every election, as I’ve said I think every day at this podium, is imperfect. The issue now is … when the margins are this tight, every little thing matters,” he stated. “So this office will thoroughly investigate.”

Biden’s lead in Georgia stood at fewer than 12,300 votes as of Tuesday morning.

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