Atlanta, GA – The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has released a poll that includes ALL candidates on the ballot for Lt. Governor and the results show strong support for the Libertarian candidate, Ryan Graham. In recent history, Libertarians have gotten a little over 2% of the vote in three-way General Elections. Graham is polling at 7%.

“We’re leading among voters that consider themselves Independent, a group that has been growing steadily year over year,” said Graham. “What that tells me is there is a large voting block that feels under-represented by the two old parties and they’re looking for more choices on their ballot.”

Georgians are sick and tired of the hyper-partisanship coming out of the Republican and Democratic parties. Graham offers an alternative and a focus on issues instead of politics. “I will continue focusing my message on educational freedom, criminal justice reform, and election reform, issues that matter to Georgians. I will continue pressing my opponents to answer important policy questions instead of offering evermore empty campaign rhetoric.”

Find out more about the campaign at Graham4GA.com. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!

ATLANTA, GA –  For the past few months, Ryan Graham has been focused on his campaign for Lieutenant Governor. Meanwhile, Angela Pence was looking to take on controversial Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene in the 14th Congressional District.

Unfortunately, only one of these names will appear on Georgia ballots this November. Pence will not be on the ballot for Northwest Georgians in the 14th District this fall thanks to a state ballot access law dating back to 1943. Georgia has the most arduous ballot access laws in the country with the original intent of the law being to keep Communist Party members off of the ballot. The law dictates a third-party or independent candidate wanting to be on the General Election ballot would need to acquire petition signatures from 5% of their district—in some places, you are looking at over 20,000 signatures. “It’s unbelievably frustrating that I get to be on the ballot and Angela does not,” says Graham. “Angela worked tirelessly since January when petitioning legally began, traveling, meeting people, paying her $5,220 filing fee just to be denied. The system is rigged.” 

Graham also admires Pence’s hard work and dedication in trying to gain ballot access as she is a mother to eight children with another on the way. “I give Angela and the other nominated candidates who went out there and gave it their all my respect and admiration for seeing it through,” says Graham. “To deny these people of character and determination the opportunity to have their names appear on the ballot is heartbreaking, but to also deny Georgia voters the opportunity to cast their ballot for these remarkable people is voter disenfranchisement to the core. ”To learn more about Ryan Graham and his campaign for Lieutenant Governor, please visit Graham4GA.com. Inquiries can be sent directly to Mr. Graham by email.

(ATLANTA, GA.) – Ryan Graham, candidate for Lieutenant Governor and Chair of the Libertarian Party of Georgia is calling on the Georgia State Election Board to authorize the use of emergency paper ballot procedures in the 2022 election. Recent revelations that Georgia’s digital voting machine software has been compromised make Graham’s call to action urgent for all in-person voters.

Graham, along with other Libertarian, Republican, and Democratic candidates and officials, has signed a letter to the Board calling for voters to receive hand-marked ballots for 2022 – ballots that would leave a paper trail and enable transparent auditing, which Georgia’s computerized ballot marking devices conceal. “Empowering the public’s votes and ensuring votes are accurately counted is a fundamental pillar of good governance, and of my campaign.”

Georgia’s voting relies on electronic touchscreen software owned by Dominion Voting System. Libertarians and other transparency activists raised massive concerns before a Republican-controlled assembly adopted the machines, but in the intervening years, the stakes have shifted.  

First, reports of the Georgia Dominion software being susceptible to hacking cast doubt on the election process. Similar reports of “unauthorized access” to vote-counting software have been raised in Michigan and Colorado. 

Second, the ballot marking device (BMD) ballots are not verified nor able to be audited. The federal Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is reviewing vulnerabilities with the BMD devices. Election security experts point to potentially undetectable manipulations and miscounting, using the BMD systems.

“The process has been made opaque and complicated on purpose,” Graham said, “to make it more difficult for voters to be heard.” Graham’s fellow candidates have raised similar concerns in the past two election cycles. “Hand-marked ballots are an accurate and secure way for people to vote. We have transparent methods where the voters’ intent is easy to determine – please pay attention to who wants the process to be  more vulnerable and less secure.”

Graham is working with a multi-partisan group of candidates to investigate and advocate the Election Board use hand-marked ballots (which are far less susceptible to manipulation, and can be cross-checked later), to increase voter confidence.

Electronically recorded, barcode-only voting also raises concerns about potential foreign – particularly Russian – meddling or hacking that might disrupt November’s elections or tallying. Federal government officials have called on states to defend their cyber-security: Georgia, according to Graham and other experts, has failed to do so.

In his time as Chair of LP Georgia, Graham has consistently called for handmarked, auditable paper ballots, as well as a ranked-choice voting system and ballot reform that would give Georgians more choices on every ballot. If transparency doesn’t improve, Graham argues, Georgians might never actually have a choice at all. 

Everyone is encouraged to visit Graham4GA.com, or connect on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram, to learn more about issues, volunteer, donate, or connect to the campaign.