(The Center Square) – Seminole County election officials failed to upload a memory card to the county’s election management system, and 388 uncounted votes changed the outcome of a state House election, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said.
Incumbent state House Rep. Gerald Greene, a Republican, was declared the loser in his 154th District House race to Democrat Harry James. The discovery of the votes during a routine post-election check gives Greene a 262-vote lead, according to Raffensperger.
“Georgia’s election safeguards are designed to identify discrepancies, and that is exactly what these guardrails did,” Raffensperger said in a statement. “Our office identified a significant discrepancy, alerted county officials, and uncovered a failure to properly upload election results. This oversight didn’t just affect the numbers – it changed who was leading an election. That is unacceptable, and we intend to find out exactly how it happened.”
The investigation will center on why the memory card was missed and if Seminole County election officials followed procedures, according to Raffensperger’s office.
Democrats appear to have gained a majority in the 180-member House of Representatives for the first time since 2004. While the official election results have not been certified, Democrats held 93 seats before Greene’s race flipped.
One race appears headed for a runoff. Republican incumbent Republican Rep. Mike Cheokas, R-Americus, received 47.88% of the vote in his House District 151 contest. Democrat Ethan Wolfe received 40.85% and independent candidate Travis Lockhart received 11.26%. Georgia law requires candidates to receive more than 50% of the vote to avoid a runoff.
Counties are required by Georgia law to certify their election results by Monday. The secretary of state has until Nov. 20 to certify them, making them official.