It’s been nearly a year since Election Day 2020, but there was still a lingering case from a group of Georgians who insisted there’s evidence to support their conspiracy theories about fraudulent ballots. The activists’ lawsuit specifically demanded physical access to thousands of absentee ballots in pursuit of their political goals.
The Republican group did not have a good week. On Tuesday, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office confirmed — again — that investigators could find no evidence of any counterfeit ballots from last year’s elections. The findings were not surprising: There have been multiple ballot counts and several investigations, and they’ve all come to the same conclusion: President Joe Biden narrowly won Georgia last fall.
A day later, as the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, a judge threw out conspiracy theorists’ case on procedural grounds.
A judge dismissed a lawsuit Wednesday by Donald Trump supporters who sought to inspect absentee ballots from last year’s presidential election, a decision that came a day after Georgia investigators told the court they were unable to find any counterfeit ballots. Superior Court Judge Brian Amero’s ruling ended the last remaining major lawsuit over Georgia’s 2020 election and prevented an outside review of Fulton County’s 147,000 original absentee ballots.
The former president did not take the news well. In a written statement, Trump complained, “After a very long wait, a judge in Georgia refuses to let us look at the ballots, which I have little doubt are terrible.” The Republican didn’t say what might make the ballots “terrible,” or why he’s come to this conclusion.
He added, “The people of Georgia deserve to know the truth. So unfair to them and our Country.” Of course, in reality, the people of Georgia have already been told the truth. Trump concluded, “Our Elections are so corrupt and nobody wants to do anything about it!” The Republican’s whining notwithstanding, if there’s evidence of corrupt U.S. elections, it remains well hidden. As for “nobody” wanting to address the nation’s system of elections, Senate Democrats are bringing the Freedom to Vote Act to the floor next week, and if the former president were willing to endorse it, I’m sure the bill’s sponsors would appreciate the support.
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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