Georgia Secretary of State Lashes Out at ‘Failed Candidate,’ ‘Liar’ Doug Collins for Recount Criticism

The tension between the Trump campaign and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) is increasing in the days following his announcement of a “full, by hand” recount, as President Trump and his allies contend that the effort is not sufficient, missing key procedures such as verifying signature matches on absentee ballots.

“In a year of political division in Georgia, few things have unified Republicans and Democrats — one of them is Brad Raffensperger’s incompetence as Secretary of State,” Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), who is leading the Trump campaign’s recount effort in the Peach State, said on Monday:

In a year of political division in Georgia, few things have unified Republicans and Democrats — one of them is Brad Raffensperger’s incompetence as Secretary of State.

— Rep. Doug Collins (@RepDougCollins) November 16, 2020

Last week, David Shafer of the Georgia Republican Party, as well as Collins, sent a letter to the secretary of state listing several issues with the recount effort, which included concerns over the lack of matching signatures on absentee ballot applications and ballot envelopes.

Raffensperger has gone on defense following criticism from the commander-in-chief and his team, defending his work as secretary of state and their recount process moving forward.

“The State of Georgia strengthened signature match this year. Elections officials received GBI signature match training, requiring a confirmed match **twice** before a ballot is cast,” he said.

“Second, we created an online portal for absentee ballots, which checked/confirmed the voters driver’s license,” he continued, adding that they will “continue to protect the integrity of the vote”:

Raffensperger also addressed the Lin Wood lawsuit, which was originally announced on Friday and — once again — addressed concerns over signature matching, taking a dig at Collins directly.

“We strengthened signature match. We helped train election officials on GBI signature match—which is confirmed twice before a ballot is ever cast. Failed candidate Doug Collins is a liar— but what’s new?” he remarked:

Trump continued to bring attention to Georgia on Monday, referring to the state’s recount effort as “fake”:

The Fake recount going on in Georgia means nothing because they are not allowing signatures to be looked at and verified. Break the unconstitutional Consent Decree!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 16, 2020

“Without that the recount is MEANINGLESS. Open up unconstitutional Consent Decree, NOW!” he said in another tweet, tagging Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R):

Georgia won’t let us look at the all important signature match. Without that the recount is MEANINGLESS. Open up unconstitutional Consent Decree, NOW! @BrianKempGA

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 16, 2020

Joe Biden leads Trump in Georgia by just over 14,100 votes.