Georgia gubernatorial challenger David Perdue is calling for a new law enforcement organization dedicated exclusively to investigating election law violations. Perdue, who is challenging sitting Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, said Thursday he would create the new division to protect election laws however a number of Georgia divisions are already responsible for carrying out these duties.
The Hill reports:
Perdue is running against Gov. Brian Kemp (R), a former ally who acknowledged the fact that both Perdue and former President Trump lost their election bids in Georgia in 2020. In a statement Thursday, Perdue referenced a 2018 consent decree that governed how absentee ballots are counted in the event that a voter’s date of birth is incorrect or missing.
“What happened in 2020 should never happen again,” Perdue said. “Brian Kemp caved to Stacey Abrams before the November election and weakened our elections standards. Then, when Georgians had legitimate questions about the November election, Kemp refused to investigate or fix problems before the January runoff.”
Perdue said the purpose of the new law enforcement unit “is to give Georgians confidence that only legal votes will be counted, and that anyone who tries to interfere with our elections will be arrested and prosecuted.”
Perdue also said election results should be “independently audited” to “safeguard our election integrity and ensure transparency and accountability in our system.”
Perdue’s push for an agency dedicated to enforcing election laws comes days after Gov. Kemp accused his campaign of violating campaign rules.
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