State election officials have said there’s no indication of fraud after three ballot counts and multiple investigations. In last year’s presidential election, Democrat Joe Biden defeated Trump in Georgia by about 12,000 votes.

Amero based his decision on the legal principle of standing — he found that the plaintiffs hadn’t suffered a specific injury that would give them a right to sue — but he also reviewed the evidence before making his ruling.

State election investigators couldn’t find any fraudulent or counterfeit ballots within ballot batches cited by four Republican vote-counters who participated in a statewide audit in November, according to a court filing Tuesday on behalf of Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

The lawsuit is based on sworn statements by the four, who alleged they saw suspicious ballots — they described them as “pristine,” with perfectly filled-in ovals and no creases — during a statewide audit that recounted every ballot by hand in November.

Investigators said there were no such ballots, that all of them appeared to be authentic.

One of the Republican auditors, Suzi Voyles, told investigators that she reported suspicious-looking absentee ballots to Fulton election officials, but another auditor contradicted her. Barbara Hartman told investigators that she and Voyles did not report their concerns to officials “out of fear that they would then fold creases in the ballots.”

Garland Favorito of the group VoterGA, the lead plaintiff in the case, said an in-depth inspection of absentee ballots was necessary to search for the counterfeit ballots that state investigators couldn’t find. He plans to appeal Amero’s dismissal.

“All citizens of Georgia have a right to know whether or not counterfeit ballots were injected into the Fulton County election results,” Favorito said. “It is not adequate for any organization to secretly tell us there are no counterfeit ballots and refuse to let the public inspect them.”

Amero’s ruling means that original paper ballots remain confidential government records, but digital images of the absentee ballots have been made public. The images don’t contain the kind of perfectly filled-in ovals and lack of fold marks that the plaintiffs had alleged.

“This litigation really was just a waste of the taxpayers’ money,” said Amanda Clark Palmer, an attorney for the defendants. “And hopefully, this will bring it to a final conclusion.”

Credit: ALYSSA.POINTER@AJC.COM

Credit: ALYSSA.POINTER@AJC.COM

Shredding allegations turn up pressure on Fulton election agency

Investigations and calls for other investigations quickly followed Fulton County’s announcement that it had fired two election workers who it alleged had shredded about 300 voter registration applications.

The county reported the firings to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and asked that his office investigate the allegations of shredding. Raffensperger then publicly called for the U.S. Justice Department to conduct an investigation. In his announcement, Raffensperger also said his agency was looking into the matter.

Fulton Commission Chairman Robb Pitts “immediately reported” the allegations to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for investigation, according to a county press release.

The allegations will also likely figure into a Republican-backed audit of Fulton that could lead to a takeover of the county’s elections under Senate Bill 202, the voting law GOP lawmakers pushed through the General Assembly earlier this year.

Scrutiny of the county’s Department of Registration and Elections intensified after last year’s primary, when some Fulton voters waited hours to cast their ballots.

Raffensperger has called for removal of the agency’s head, Richard Barron, and the county election board tried to dismiss him, an effort thwarted by the County Commission.

The secretary of state stepped up his criticism following news about the shredding allegations.

“Obviously the State Election Board already has Fulton County under review, and I know they’ll consider this as a very serious infraction because it is,” Raffensperger said. “Everyone in Georgia is sick and tired of Fulton County’s lack of management control. This has been going on since 1993, and enough is enough.”

Pitts offered a defense.

“Mr. Barron’s decision to inform the secretary of state’s office, as well as my decision to inform the Fulton County district attorney’s office, about these allegations regarding two now-terminated employees was proactive and transparent,” Pitts said. “Any attempt to portray it otherwise is more spin from desperate politicians seeking to malign Fulton County for political gain.”

Barron said anyone who tries to vote in the Nov. 2 election and is found not to be registered may cast a provisional ballot that will be subject to further review.

Former insurance commissioner sentenced in embezzlement case

Former Georgia Insurance Commissioner Jim Beck was sentenced to seven years and three months in a federal prison after being convicted of swindling his employer out of $2 million.

U.S. District Judge Mark H. Cohen also sentenced Beck, once he leaves prison, to serve three years of supervised release. The judge ordered Beck, a former head of the Georgia Christian Coalition, to pay $2.6 million in restitution.

Prosecutors said Beck lied to close friends he’s known for 25 years and a family member to get them to create companies to send invoices to his then-employer, the Georgia Underwriting Association, the state-created insurer for high-risk customers who’ve had trouble buying coverage. The invoices were often for work that wasn’t actually done, and Beck, the association’s general manager, funneled the money back to himself, according to the initial indictment.

Beck apparently used the stolen money to pay his credit card bills and taxes, while also pumping some of it into his successful 2018 campaign for insurance commissioner.

During the sentencing, Cohen slammed Beck, saying he had betrayed people close to him and then repeatedly lied on the witness stand.

“The testimony was outrageous,” Cohen said. “It was as if he was making it up as he went along.”

On the witness stand, Beck had insisted he’d committed no scam and tried to shift blame to a man named Jerry Jordan, who might not have even existed. No one, including Beck, could find Jordan.

Beck had only been in office for four months when the U.S. attorney’s office in early May 2019 announced a 38-count indictment charging him with fraud and money laundering.

A federal grand jury later added an additional count of mail fraud and four new counts of aiding and assisting in the preparation of false tax returns for the 2014 through 2017 tax years.

Even though he was only in office for a few short months, Beck could leave a lasting impression on government in Georgia. After he was indicted, Beck chose not to resign, instead asking Gov. Brian Kemp to suspend him.

While he was suspended, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in January, the state continued to spend about $200,000 a year on Beck’s salary and benefits. That led lawmakers to approve a proposed constitutional amendment — which will be on the 2022 ballot — to eliminate pay for state officials suspended from office while facing felony indictments.

Walker gets off to fast start collecting campaign cash

Republican Herschel Walker still has that quick first step, raising $3.7 million in the initial five weeks of his campaign for the U.S. Senate.

The former University of Georgia running back received contributions from nearly 50,000 donors, with the money pouring in from all 50 states.

The total marks the biggest fundraising report yet among Republicans seeking to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock.

Reports for the past quarter were not in yet for the other three Republicans in the race: Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, military veteran Kelvin King and former Navy SEAL Latham Saddler.

Until now, Saddler had been the leader in terms of campaign cash, reporting in July that he had raised about $1.4 million. At that time, Black was in second at about $700,000, with King at about $370,000.

Walker has some obvious advantages, including high name recognition and an endorsement from former President Donald Trump.

But there are some challenges for Walker on the other side of the ledger.

His Republican critics say violent behavior in his past, his long-standing residency in Texas and his lack of political experience could all hurt his chances against Warnock.

Like Walker, Warnock won’t have a problem with money.

Warnock’s latest fundraising numbers weren’t available at press time, but in July, he reported having more than $10.5 million in cash on hand. He took in $7.2 million just between April and June.

Walker cancels fundraiser over syringe swastika

Herschel Walker passed up a fundraising opportunity when he canceled an event in Texas after reports surfaced that the host, a conservative film producer, had used a rendering of a swastika as her Twitter profile picture.

The Republican’s U.S. Senate campaign team said in a statement that the event at the home of conservative film producer Bettina Sofia Viviano-Langlais had been “called off,” hours after it had initially made a case that the symbol wasn’t a swastika but “clearly an anti-mandatory vaccination graphic.”

The symbol, syringes arranged to form a swastika, is used by some opponents of COVID-19 vaccine requirements in Texas.

When the campaign canceled the fundraiser, it issued a statement disavowing Viviano-Langlais’ usage of the symbol and said Walker opposed antisemitism and bigotry “in all forms.”

“Despite the fact that the apparent intent behind the graphic was to condemn government vaccine mandates,” the campaign said, “the symbol used is very offensive and does not reflect the values of Herschel Walker or his campaign.”

Jewish groups have condemned the use of the syringe swastika in protests of vaccine requirements.

“A swastika is a swastika,” the Jewish Democratic Women’s Salon said.

Dov Wilker of the Atlanta chapter of the American Jewish Committee said Walker has more to do.

“Walker may have canceled his fundraiser after a sponsor associated with the event displayed the antisemitic symbol proudly,” Wilker said, “but he must condemn Holocaust and COVID health policies comparisons immediately.”

Viviano-Langlais later removed the symbol from her Twitter profile, saying she made the move “because of the left’s need to silence free speech” and that she didn’t intend it to be antisemitic.

She expanded on those points in an interview with the DailyMail.com.

“My biggest disappointment is that yet again another conservative has decided to succumb to the outrage mob, cancel culture, and cancel the event,” she said. “I specifically chose that symbol as an artistic protest against those that seem to think it’s okay to violate human rights.”

Georgia Republicans oppose vaccine mandates in schools, colleges

All eight Georgia Republicans in the U.S. House signed a letter saying they will oppose any attempt by President Joe Biden to mandate COVID-19 vaccines in schools or colleges.

Vaccination is a decision that should be left up to families and their doctors, they said.

The letter to U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona also trumpets the state’s efforts against COVID-19.

“States like Georgia have led the way in protecting lives and livelihoods through a thoughtful, balanced approach,” they wrote. “Since the beginning of the pandemic, Georgia has prioritized a safe reopening of schools while maintaining individual freedom and protecting patient privacy.”

Georgia ranks 42nd among states in vaccination rates.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux opposed the position of her GOP colleagues, and she singled out U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter.

“In case you forgot: K-12 and college students are already required to get other vaccines,” Bourdeaux wrote on Twitter. “Adding one more to the list that saves lives, helps the economy, and gets us out of the pandemic quicker seems like something a pharmacist like you should be all for.”

Candidates, endorsements, etc.:

— Jake Evans, the former head of the state ethics commission and a Republican candidate in the 6th Congressional District, will report raising more than $400,000 from July to September and injecting $500,000 of his own money into his campaign. He’ll end the quarter with $836,000 in cash on hand.

— Former state Rep. Megan Hanson, another Republican running in the 6th Congressional District, said she raised $300,000 in the past quarter.

— Retired Air Force Col. Alan Sims, one of numerous Republicans running in the 10th Congressional District, collected about $310,000 since launching his campaign in July.