One thousand people caught double voting in primary may face charges, says Georgia secretary of state

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The 1,000 residents of Georgia who were caught double voting may face prosecution, according to a top state official.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced on Tuesday that his office and local prosecutions would investigate and, if appropriate, bring charges against those who voted twice during the primary election in June. Those people cast their votes with an absentee ballot and then voted in person on the day of the election.

“A double voter knows exactly what they’re doing, diluting the votes of each and every voter that follows the law,” Raffensperger told reporters during a press conference. “Those that make the choice to game the system are breaking the law. And as secretary of state, I will not tolerate it.”

Raffensperger, a Republican, noted that there were not enough double votes cast to sway any of the state elections. If voters are found guilty of double voting, a felony in the state, they face a fine of up to $100,000 and 10 years in prison.

President Trump and some other Republicans have been sounding the alarm about voter fraud as more people plan to vote by mail in the upcoming elections because of the coronavirus pandemic. While 1,000 people were caught casting two votes in the primary, Scott Hogan, the executive director of the Democratic Party of Georgia, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he believes voter fraud is rare and accused Raffensperger of wasting the taxpayer’s time.

“It is clear that rather than do his job of promoting the safety and security of our voting process, the secretary of state is instead pushing the GOP’s voting conspiracy theories and disinformation,” Hogan said.

Roughly 150,000 voters in Georgia showed up to the polls in person after registering to vote via mail. Most of those who showed up to vote in person had not received their ballots in time to vote absentee.

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