Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is investigating a Florida lawyer who was caught on tape planning to – and encouraging others to – move to Georgia before the January 5 Senate runoff elections to vote. Only legally qualified Georgia residents can register to vote and cast a ballot in state elections.
“Make no mistake, individuals who attempt to undermine the integrity of Georgia’s elections will be investigated and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law,” said Secretary Raffensperger. “Those who move to Georgia just to vote in the Senate runoffs with no intention of staying are committing a felony that is punishable with jail time and hefty fines. They will be found, they will be investigated, and they will be punished.”
During a November 7 speech to the Bay County Florida Republican Party shared on Facebook Live, Florida Attorney Bill Price said he was moving to Georgia and moving in with his brother to register to vote and cast a ballot in the January 5 Senate runoff elections. He encouraged those in attendance to be “his roommate in Georgia” and also register to vote fraudulently in the state.
“We have to win that election in Georgia, and so I’m moving to my brother’s house in Hiram, Georgia, and I’m registering to vote,” WSB-TV quotes Price as saying in the since-deleted video.
Price repeats and spells his brother’s name and address as members of the group jot it down. “We can truly register at that address?” one woman asks. “Sure,” Price answers, adding they have to plan to show a move, suggesting they have mail sent there.
“And can it be anywhere in the state of Georgia you can register?” another woman asks. “So if you’ve got cousins, dogs, cats that live somewhere else, it doesn’t need to be one particular county?”
“Yep,” Price answers.
According to WSB, Price then tells the crowd he’s voting for Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue and offers advice on registering online.
“It can be done online, or you can request your ballot at your new address in Georgia by mail,” he said. “You just go to the secretary of state’s website for the state of Georgia and register to vote there.”
“If they need a driver’s license, I’m going to get a driver’s license,” Price said. “If they need mail, I’m going to have mail there.”
Failed attempt could lead to felony charge
The Secretary of State’s Office says Price attempted to register to vote fraudulently in Paulding County, but his registration is still pending. Paulding’s election supervisor told reporters the elections board will hold a special-called meeting next week to ensure his registration does not become active.
Secretary Raffensperger has issued repeated warnings against individuals looking to move to Georgia solely to cast ballots in the Senate runoffs. Raffensperger recently announced investigations into third-party organizations soliciting registrations from dead or out-of-state voters. He has also warned that groups looking to help others move to Georgia to vote fraudulently could possibly be prosecuted as well.
State law requires voters must be “a resident of this state and of the county or municipality in which he or she seeks to vote.” The law also stipulates that “the residence of any person shall be held to be in that place in which such person’s habitation is fixed, without any present intention of removing therefrom.” This includes individuals who move to Georgia solely for the sake of casting a ballot in an election with no intention of remaining in the state.
False registration by someone who knows they don’t meet those qualifications is a felony and can be punished by between one and ten years in prison, and/or up to a $100,000 fine.
Any individual or group who organizes or finances efforts to bring individuals to Georgia to register falsely as electors may also potentially be charged with felony racketeering. That charge is punishable by between 5 and 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $25,000 per count.
