Absentee ballot audit and Jody Hice

Law enforcement and election investigators working under the direction of Georgia’s Secretary of State did not find a single fraudulent signature on 15,000 Cobb County absentee ballots in the latest audit. Added with the three separate counts of ballots during the presidential election, these four facts will lead any thinking Georgian to accept that our election was fair. Donald Trump is wrong when he cries otherwise. A majority simply chose Joe Biden over him. It is time President Trump stands tall, admits he lost, and leaves gracefully.

It’s also long past time for Representative Jody Hice to stop enabling the President’s foolishness. Mr. Hice can no longer say with a straight face in his newsletters to constituents that he has grave concerns about Georgia’s election. His concerns have been soundly rejected and laid to rest. Our election was honest, legal, and democratic.

Georgia’s election results give us a clear window into the future. Henry and Gwinnett Counties voted Democratic in November, yet Representative Hice continues to turn his back on the Constitution and his constituents in those and other counties. There will be strong gerrymandering attempts this Spring to ensure he and other Republicans keep their seats in Congress. Efforts will be made to backtrack on recent election progress in Georgia. Powerful forces will work hard to further suppress our voices and our votes by changing laws and rules. How much longer will we citizens let powerful Republicans in the legislature get away with such chicanery?

Regina A. Smith

Athens