Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp said he wants a signature audit from his secretary of state.
The Republican, who has been criticized by President Trump for his handling of the election, told host Laura Ingraham in a Fox News town hall that he was troubled after hearings before Georgia Senate panels on Thursday in which attorneys working with the president's legal team revealed surveillance video they claim shows ballot-counting irregularities at State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
"I called early on for a signature. Obviously the secretary of state, per the laws in the Constitution, would have to order that. He has not done that. I think it should be done," Kemp said of Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
"I think especially what we saw today, it raises more questions. There needs to be transparency on that. I would again call for that. I think in the next 24 hours, hopefully, we will see a lot more from the hearings that the legislature had today, and we will be able to look and see what the next steps are," he added.
Trump and his team quickly seized on the comments, reacting on social media.
"FINALLY Georgia Governor Brian Kemp is calling for a signature audit. What took him so long??? This is BASIC election integrity ignored until now..." White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a tweet.
FINALLY Georgia Governor Brian Kemp is calling for a signature audit.
— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) December 4, 2020
What took him so long???
This is BASIC election integrity ignored until now... pic.twitter.com/xK6fIJY2aj
President-elect Joe Biden defeated Trump in Georgia in the Nov. 3 election, but the president refuses to concede, claiming the contest was rigged despite there being no evidence of widespread cover fraud. The results in Georgia, which had Biden leading by more than 12,000 votes, were certified, but the Trump team requested another recount.
Trump, who needs multiple states to flip if his long-shot bid of overturning the election is to work in his favor, claimed last week that an audit of signatures on absentee ballot envelopes would find tens of thousands of "fraudulent and illegal votes."
Critics have cast doubt on whether such an audit would uncover fraud on the scale Trump and his allies are alleging, particularly after signature matching has already been performed in some cases.
Still, Kemp said he wants to ensure the recount, specifically singling out the one in Fulton County where Atlanta is located, to be done the right way.
Kemp took part in the town hall along with Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, two Republicans who are facing runoff elections in Georgia early next month.
















