Fulton County, Georgia, has a major problem on its hands. Over 315,000 ballots from the 2020 election have been admitted to be missing required signatures on their poll tapes. That’s not a small mistake. That’s a serious violation of Georgia election law. And for those of us who served our country, fought for freedom, and swore an oath to defend the Constitution, this kind of sloppiness — or worse — is unacceptable.
Here’s what’s going on. In Georgia, after ballots are counted, the voting machines are supposed to print out what’s called a “poll tape.” Think of it like a receipt. It shows how many votes each candidate got on that machine. State law says these tapes must be signed by three witnesses, or at least have a note saying why they weren’t signed. That way, there’s a clear trail of accountability.
But in Fulton County, over 315,000 ballots were tied to poll tapes that had no signatures at all. None. That’s not just a paperwork issue. That’s a breakdown in the chain of custody. It means there’s no way to verify who handled those ballots or whether the vote totals were accurate. And it doesn’t stop there.
Turns out, most of those poll tapes weren’t even printed from the machines that originally counted the votes. Instead of using the 148 tabulators from the precincts where people actually voted early, Fulton County used just 16 machines in a warehouse to close out the election. That’s completely against Georgia’s rules. Each tabulator that counts votes is supposed to print its own poll tape. That ensures transparency and helps catch any problems.
Worse still, some of those warehouse machines printed poll tapes for 15 or 16 different precincts — even though they never left the warehouse. That’s like using one cash register to print receipts for 15 different stores. It makes no sense and it raises big red flags.
The county’s excuse? They say the rules didn’t require signatures at the time. But that’s false. The rule requiring signatures was passed in March 2020 — well before the November election. They also claimed the original tapes faded over time and couldn’t be read. But if that’s true, why were they trying to charge $10,000 to provide copies? And why didn’t they have the originals, which by law are supposed to be stored at the Superior Court?
This isn’t just about missing paperwork. It’s about trust. Every veteran, every law-abiding American, expects our elections to be run with the same discipline and integrity we lived by in uniform. When rules are ignored, when procedures are bypassed, and when the people in charge make excuses instead of fixing the problem, it erodes the very foundation of our republic.
Let’s be clear — this isn’t a partisan issue. It’s a matter of law and order. It’s about whether or not we can trust the process that picks our leaders. Fulton County’s actions — or lack of action — are a slap in the face to every Georgian who stood in line to vote, and every servicemember who fought to defend that right.
We don’t need more excuses. We need answers. We need accountability. And we need leadership that treats our elections with the seriousness they deserve. Fulton County’s admission is just the beginning. The real question is: what will Georgia officials do about it now?
Because if this kind of mess can happen in one of the largest counties in a key swing state, what does that say about the rest of the system? Our elections should be secure, accurate, and above all, honest. Anything less is a betrayal of everything we served to protect.
