Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp has filed a lawsuit seeking to unseal DeKalb County voting records needed to resolve an investigation of alleged election irregularities in November 2015.
Kemp's lawsuit requests vote counts, ballot recap sheets, voting machines and absentee ballots, saying they're critical to the inquiry surrounding the election, which included the LaVista Hills cityhood vote.
DeKalb Superior Court Judge Tangela Barrie last year declined to release the voting materials, saying they can’t be turned over without going through a court process.
Kemp’s lawsuit, filed by Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr on March 13, names Superior Court Clerk Debra DeBerry as the defendant.
"To open sealed documents requires a court order. Filing a case is a first step,” DeBerry said in an emailed statement.
The investigation began when a former county elections employee said voters were turned away from polling places and voting materials weren't properly secured.
State agents confiscated a voting machine from a precinct in Dunwoody where a memory card had jammed on election night. DeKalb Elections Director Maxine Daniels said the card was removed and counted.
It's unclear whether the investigation will focus on the Dunwoody memory card or the LaVista Hills cityhood referendum, which fell short by 139 votes.
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