New emails heighten mystery around presidential vote count in Georgia's largest county

Media were told ballot-counting had stopped; sworn testimony says counters were dismissed.

Internal emails from Fulton County election workers obtained by Just the News are heightening the mystery surrounding ballot-processing in Georgia's largest county during last November's presidential contest.

Uncertainty arose regarding the ballot processing operation at Fulton County's State Farm Arena on and after Election Night, when ballot-scanning apparently continued even after most election workers had reportedly been sent home.

Two separate sworn affidavits from Election Night poll workers claimed that, at roughly 10:30 p.m. on Nov. 3, an official directed workers to stop working and to return the next day at 8:30 a.m.

Nearly half a dozen local and national media outlets, meanwhile, reported being told that absentee ballot-counting had ceased at around 10:30 p.m. and would resume the next day. Several reports cited county spokeswoman Regina Waller for that information.

Counting at the State Farm Arena, however, continued past 10:30 p.m. after most staffers had left. In December, Waller told Just the News that, contrary to the numerous media reports, she had "stated to all media … that although several workers were released to go home, a small team remained behind to assist with scanning ballots."

It is unclear why no media outlets appear to have mentioned that fact.

In the emails obtained this weekend by Just the News through an open records request, Waller appears to indicate that the ballot-counting team had dispersed by around 10:30 p.m.

In the email, timestamped at 10:22 p.m. on Nov. 3 and addressed to several county officials as well as State Farm Arena spokesman Garin Narain, Waller wrote: "The workers in the Absentee Ballot Processing area will get started again at 8 am tomorrow." Waller goes on to request arrangements for news crews hoping to get live shots of the counting the following day.

Reached for comment via email, Waller said the email "was in response to a question received asking when all workers would return." She did not respond to a request to see the original email to which she was responding.

Another email obtained by Just the News, meanwhile, also points to more uncertainty regarding the timetable of ballot-counting on Election Night.

https://justthenews.com/politics-policy/elections/county-emails-georgia-fulton-state-farm%2C

'Dominoes are falling:' Religious liberty advocates hail end to Minnesota church restrictions

Capacity limits lifted on Minnesota places of worship, but social distancing still required. Thomas More Society wants more states to follow suit.

Minnesota's decision to lift capacity restrictions on church services, while maintaining social distancing, is emboldening religious liberty advocates, who want more states to follow suit.

"The dominoes are falling in favor of abolishing the states’ limitations on church attendance," Thomas More Society Special Counsel Erick Kaardal said in a statement. "Minnesota has abolished its church attendance limitations. Next, our plan is to similarly abolish all the other states’ remaining limitations on church attendance, which have been occurring nationwide."

In a nation that has religious liberty as a cornerstone principle embedded within its Constitution, government-issued restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic have proven controversial and faced legal challenges that have reached all the way to the Supreme Court.

The Thomas More Society was involved in a lawsuit that challenged coronavirus-related restrictions on religious services in Minnesota. The state relented last week, ending capacity restrictions while maintaining social distancing requirements.

The issue of religious liberty has drawn significant attention in the state Minnesota's Democratic Gov. Tim Walz was targeted with three recall efforts last year that were all ultimately dismissed.

Kaardal said that "one of things we will remember about the Minnesota governor’s response to fear of COVID is the unconstitutional, discriminatory treatment of churches and synagogues."

"State-imposed limits on church attendance are never constitutionally okay," he added. "Governor Walz’s requirements on churches even included criminal penalties for noncompliance with his dictates. What? Were Minnesota courts going to put all the pastors in jail for church attendance during a pandemic? From the very beginning, this governor, and those in other states, should have recognized that houses of worship fit within the definition of ‘essential.’ You can’t get much more essential than church, faith, and someone’s relationship with God."

An announcement earlier this month about the plans to relax coronavirus-related restrictions last Monday also said bars and restaurants would shift from an allowable occupancy of 50% to 75%.

https://justthenews.com/nation/religion/minnesota-capacity-restriction-churches-has-been-eliminated-social-distancing-still