A notorious Fayette voting tally breakdown in the November General Election is part of 35 statewide cases being referred by the State Elections Board to the state Attorney General or local district attorneys for criminal prosecution.
The Fayette County case involved “misplaced ballots” amounting to 2,760 votes in the Nov. 3 General Election, an incident that was mentioned in a Wall Street Journal editorial and on multiple TV newscasts.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said the Fayette case was among the “most noteworthy” among the 35 cases. “Among the cases bound over for prosecution Wednesday were four incidents of felons voting or registering to vote, four cases of non-citizens voting or registering to vote and one case of misplaced ballots during the 2020 general election, which didn’t change the outcome but did affect the total. Also bound over for prosecution were canvassers for two organizations trying to register people to vote, including one who allegedly submitted registration applications they knew were false.”
The Fayette complaint also involved the Fayette County Board of Elections, Raffensperger said. The referral was for “Floyd Jones and the Fayette County Board of Elections and Voter Registration where he was director at the time for alleged improper handling of four memory cards registering 2,760 votes in the Nov. 3, 2020 general election.” Jones has since resigned.
The problem occurred when election workers overlooked the memory cards during the initial tally, “which didn’t change the outcome but did affect the total,” Raffensperger said.
The other referral to the Attorney General was for a May 25, 2018 case in which the local board rejected a woman’s ballot after her 16-year-old son voted in her name prior to her attempt to vote later.
“Additionally, it’s important to note that the State Board of Elections ruling concerning not accepting the mother’s provisional ballot being bounded over to the Attorney General’s office for review. That decision involved [local Board of Election members] Aaron Wright and Addison Lester — Darryl Hicks was not present and didn’t vote in that decision,” Fayette County Administrator Steve Rapson said in an email to the County Commission Feb. 11.
The news release from Raffensperger detailed some of the major cases:
“Among the cases bound over for prosecution Wednesday were four incidents of felons voting or registering to vote, four cases of non-citizens voting or registering to vote and one case of misplaced ballots during the 2020 general election, which didn’t change the outcome but did affect the total. Also bound over for prosecution were canvassers for two organizations trying to register people to vote, including one who allegedly submitted registration applications they knew were false.
Of those bound over for prosecution Wednesday for alleged violations of Georgia election law, the most noteworthy are:
• The New Georgia Project which allegedly submitted 1,268 voter registration applications after the 10-day deadline, causing voters to be disenfranchised in the March 19, 2019 special election
• Samunta Shomine Pittman of Atlanta for allegedly submitting 70 false voter registration applications while canvassing for the Coalition for the People’s Agenda
• Floyd Jones and the Fayette County Board of Elections and Voter Registration where he was director at the time for alleged improper handling of four memory cards registering 2,760 votes in the Nov. 3, 2020 general election
• Joseph Lee Blackmon of Atlanta for allegedly registering to vote while serving a felony sentence
• Hassan Dawud Musaddiq of Decatur for allegedly voting while serving a felony sentence
• Michael M. Ware of Columbus for allegedly voting while serving a felony sentence
• Brian Keith Pritchard of Cherry Log for allegedly voting while serving a felony sentence
• Talibah Fagueera Fatimah Bint Abdul Hamid Bratton of Lilburn for allegedly submitting a false voter registration application
• Sharmaine Swift of Lithonia for allegedly submitting a false voter registration application
• Sophia Sharpe of Valdosta for allegedly voting in another person’s name
• Albert Niks of Winder for allegedly voting as a non-citizen
• Sean Watson of Covington for allegedly voting as a non-citizen
• Clifton Seymour Salmon of Fairburn for allegedly registering to vote as a non-citizen
• Hurlstone Hendy of Locust Grove for allegedly voting as a non-citizen”
