Henry County Superior Court Chief Judge Brian Amero allowed the unsealing of the 147,000 absentee ballots at the conclusion of a hearing last week. | Stock Photo
Henry County Superior Court Chief Judge Brian Amero allowed the unsealing of the 147,000 absentee ballots at the conclusion of a hearing last week. | Stock Photo
A judge has put off an examination of absentee ballots cast in Fulton County in the November 2020 General Elections that was scheduled for Friday morning.
Henry County Superior Court Chief Judge Brian Amero, who on May 21 ordered the ballots unsealed after a hearing testimony from forensics and materials experts, cited recently filed motions asking the court to dismiss the lawsuits that led to the ruling to unseal. In an email, the judge told the parties involved in the case that he plans to hold a hearing on the motions on June 21.
On May 21, the judge allowed the unsealing of the 147,000 ballots at the conclusion of a hearing where forensics expert David Sawyer testified that the batches of ballots in a risk-limiting audit earlier performed by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office had a 21% error rate.
Judge Brian Amero
| co.henry.ga.us
Sawyer also testified that he believed some of the ballots “were counted at least twice.”
Later in the hearing, Georgia Tech materials expert Lisa Detter-Hoskin, Ph.D., testified that she could determine if the ovals in the ballots were filled in by machine or by hand, but would need to scan the ballots at a resolution of 600 dots per inch or higher.
She also testified that by analyzing the paper the ballots were printed on, and the envelopes they were sent in, she could determine where the paper was manufactured, in the U.S. or another country.
Amero said that he was “not comfortable have a third party scan the ballots,” and that any scanning or other inspection of the ballots would have to be overseen by county officials. The judge also said he would not allow an audit that would reveal any personal information of the voters.
Last Friday’s hearing was the result of an action filed in December by Garland Favorito, co-founder of a group called Voters Organized for Trusted Election Results in Georgia, and several supporters, against officials in Fulton County, which covers most of Atlanta.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs agreed that they would cover the cost of any audit.
The civil action can’t reverse the results of the presidential election; Democrat Joe Biden has been certified as the winner.
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