Trust Georgia’s elections, not wacky conspiracy theories

One of the most memorable—and lamentable—outcomes from the November 2020 election was the widespread belief that it had been stolen. Unfounded conspiracy theories spread quicker than COVID-19 at the time, especially in Georgia where the final tally was razor thin.

These theories included rumors that voting machines had somehow changed people’s votes, an insidious cabal of elections workers had rigged the election and political operatives had exploited the absentee voting system to sway the election in Joe Biden’s favor. Despite these wild allegations, Georgians can feel confident in our elections, and the Legislature has been taking steps to further boost our confidence.

After years of audits, investigations and dozens of court cases, no proof has ever emerged that the election was stolen. Now almost four years later, Americans have the privilege or great misfortune—depending on your point of view—of an electoral rematch. While it is still months away, falsehoods about a rigged 2020 election are resurfacing and some officials are refusing to say whether they will accept the coming election’s results, which is ridiculous and irresponsible.

While voter fraud and illegal voting sometimes happens, it is rare, although there was one high-profile case of alleged illegal voting in Georgia recently. “A judge ruled [earlier this year] that the [former] Georgia Republican Party’s first vice chairman, Brian K. Pritchard, violated state election laws when he voted nine times while serving probation for a felony check forgery sentence,” wrote the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Pritchard asserted that this was an innocent mistake. Nevertheless, the judge handed down his punishment, and the GOP subsequently removed Pritchard from office.

The Heritage Foundation has also looked into the matter, and their voter fraud database shows a mere 21 “proven cases of voter fraud” in Georgia since 1997. Further, Heritage only noted 1,513 such cases across the country since the 1980s. All forms of voter fraud and illegal voting ought to be guarded against. Yet this seems to show that Georgia—and the country as a whole—has a solid, secure system and that fraud is so rare in Georgia that it has never swayed a major election in the modern era.

Despite this, the Georgia General Assembly has been at work on the issue. In 2021, lawmakers passed the omnibus election reform bill—SB 202—which sparked considerable outcry, and it was even denounced as “Jim Crow 2.0.” The 98-page bill did many things—including tweaking the dates for early voting, statutorily legalizing and securing absentee ballot drop boxes and instituting voter identification requirements—but it was no Jim Crow 2.0. In fact, it survived all legal challenges and Georgia set a record for the highest midterm election turnout following SB 202’s enactment.

The measure had the support of Gov. Brian Kemp whose mantra on voting has been consistent. He likes to say, “In Georgia, it is easy to vote and hard to cheat – and I’m going to continue working to keep it that way.” He and the General Assembly evidently saw the need for additional reforms.

Earlier this year, the Legislature passed yet another contentious voting bill—SB 189, sponsored by Sen. Max Burns, R-Millen—although this one was only 24 pages long. The ACLU has vowed to sue the state of Georgia in response, and while some of the bill’s provisions have understandably raised some eyebrows, the author’s intent—in large part—seems clear. In a press release, Burns said, “SB 189 is a testament to our commitment to restoring faith in Georgia’s elections. Building upon the solid foundation laid by Senate Bill 202 in 2021, we continue to prioritize integrity and accessibility.”

Among its many provisions, it codifies the secure storage and chain of custody of absentee ballots, reforms voter residency requirements and bans electronic QR codes from ballots, but the latter doesn’t go into effect until 2026. Voters have increasingly been wary of QR codes, and while I don’t have strong feelings about them, this should appease them and increase their trust in elections.

Regardless of which candidate wins in November, I suspect there will be plenty of sour grapes and baseless conspiracy theories. They may be even kookier than those following the 2020 election, but Georgians should feel confident. Our elections were already safe and secure, and with the Legislature’s continued work, it will be even harder to cheat.