Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) called on Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to resign Monday over his handling of the state’s 2020 presidential election.
“The management of Georgia elections has become an embarrassment for our state. Georgians are outraged, and rightly so,” the statement via Perdue and Loeffler reads. “We have been clear from the beginning: every legal vote cast should be counted. Any illegal vote must not. And there must be transparency and uniformity in the counting process. This isn’t hard. This isn’t partisan. This is American. We believe when there are failures, they need to be called out — even when it’s in your own party.”
“There have been too many failures in Georgia elections this year and the most recent election has shined a national light on the problems. While blame certainly lies elsewhere as well, the buck ultimately stops with the Secretary of State,” the statement continues. “The mismanagement and lack of transparency from the Secretary of State is unacceptable. Honest elections are paramount to the foundation of our democracy.”
The statement concludes, “The Secretary of State has failed to deliver honest and transparent elections. He has failed the people of Georgia, and he should step down immediately.”
The development came after Gabriel Sterling, Georgia’s voting system implementation manager, announced that 47 counties have reported their certified results. Presently, former Vice President Joe Biden leads President Donald Trump in the state by 10,621 votes.
On Sunday, the Trump campaign tapped Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA) to lead a recount effort for the campaign in Georgia.
“In order for Americans to have full faith and confidence in our elections, every legal vote must be counted and every illegal or fraudulent vote must be excluded,” Collins said in a statement.
“We look forward to guaranteeing that our elections are safe and secure, just as we look forward to President Trump winning Georgia,” the lawmaker added.