Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger sent out 8,000 letters to people outside of the state that requested mail-in ballots for the 2020 presidential election. In a statement released by Raffensburger, he said “Qualified Georgians and only Georgians are allowed to vote in our elections.”
The people who requested these ballots filed a notice with the U.S. Post Office that they were not currently residing within the state. Raffensperger’s statements about the situation imply that he believes some of these voters may have voted illegally in Georgia’s election.
“I have said many times that I will not tolerate out of state voters attempting to undermine the integrity of the vote in Georgia. Let this be a warning to anyone looking to come to Georgia temporarily to cast a ballot in the runoffs or anyone who has established residence in another state but thinks they can game the system. We will find you and we will prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.”
The letters were sent to inform the recipients that any outside person lacking specific qualification who casts a ballot in Georgia’s election is committing a felony. This charge can carry a sentence of up to 10 years in prison and fines of up to $100,000.
According to Georgia law, there are a few qualifications that allow a voter to cast a ballot from another region. Specifically, members of the military who are stationed elsewhere or Georgia residents who are temporarily outside of the state. However, people who plan to permanently relocate to another state are not allowed to vote in Georgia’s election after moving.
Georgia Officials have said that groups may have attempted to register voters outside of the state to vote in the 2021 Senate runoff election. This caused them to launch a probe, eventually leading to the names they have sent the letters to.
