Secretary of State’s office investigating primary, runoff elections in McIntosh Co.

MCINTOSH COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - The Georgia Secretary of State’s office has confirmed to WTOC they’re investigating the May primary and June runoff elections in McIntosh County.

Tim Gardner, a former candidate for McIntosh County Commission, filed this complaint himself, which includes information compiled by the McIntosh County Republican Party. The complaint lists discrepancies noticed by poll watchers at different precincts throughout the county.

“People were concerned about inadequacies and discrepancies done throughout the elections process they felt could’ve been a hinderance,” said Tim Gardner.

The information Gardner submitted in his complaint includes poll watchers being asked to leave before the tallying of votes, people dropping large amounts of absentee ballots into the drop box at once, and the voting scanners being down at multiple locations resulting in ballots being stored until they could be scanned – to name a few.

“This is not about me winning or losing. Half the people in the country lose baseball games every night. This is about the integrity, so people in McIntosh County have confidence in their election, so when they vote, they’re voting for their person and it gets counted right.”

Gardner filed his complaint immediately following each election – and this week, he received confirmation from the Secretary of State’s office about the investigation being opened.

The Georgia Secretary of State’s Office confirmed the open investigation, and that not all complaints filed with the office result in an investigation.

McIntosh County Election Supervisor Elenore Gale says her office has no comment at this time.

It’s important to note the opening of an investigation doesn’t indicate wrongdoing.

Gardner says he was informed the investigation could take several months.

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