In a late-night social media post on Saturday, November 11, former President Donald Trump ignited a new controversy by claiming that Fulton County, Georgia, had acknowledged the duplication of 3,600 individual ballots in a major Consent Decree.
Trump’s bold assertion of widespread election irregularities marked a continuation of his efforts to challenge the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election.
Trump’s post declared, “Fulton County, Georgia, acknowledges, in a major Consent Decree, that 3,600 individual ballots were DUPLICATED (36 Batches).
“THAT’S A LOT OF CRIME. When are the rest of the facts coming out? We are all waiting. This is just the beginning. UNBELIEVABLE!”
However, a fact-check by USA Today in August 2023 contradicted Trump’s claim. The fact-check addressed an Instagram post that falsely asserted a lawsuit had revealed thousands of duplicate ballots in Fulton County.
The post was liked several times and shared more than 16,000 times then, was deemed false by Georgia election officials.
Mike Hassinger, a spokesman for the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, dismissed the claim as “absolute steaming garbage made by grifters to prey on the gullible.”
The fact-check emphasized that the alleged duplicate ballots found in 2021 had no impact on the official election results and that there were no credible news reports supporting the claim.
The fact-check referred to a November 2020 discovery when Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office ordered a risk-limiting audit.
This audit revealed nearly 200 absentee ballots had been initially scanned twice, but the issue did not affect the election outcome.
The audit results confirmed that then-candidate Joe Biden did not receive additional votes from the double counts.
Trump’s resurfaced claims add fuel to the ongoing debate surrounding the integrity of the 2020 election.
As the controversy reignites, political observers anticipate further scrutiny of election processes and increased polarization on the validity of the results.
The former president’s persistent assertions of election improprieties contribute to a broader narrative shaping public perceptions and influencing the discourse around the democratic process in the United States.
