On Friday, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals sided for a second time with Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger’s legal arguments in the long-running Curling v Raffensperger lawsuit, finding once again that adoption of the plaintiffs’ position in the case was “clear error.”

The bench trial, starting on Tuesday, will undoubtedly feature the usual overblown rhetoric and conspiracy theories from activist plaintiffs on the both the left and the right. More importantly, there will be NO evidence that Georgia’s elections have ever been hacked or compromised, or that any Georgian has been denied the right to vote or have that voted counted accurately. In fact, all the plaintiffs agree that Georgia had secure and accurate elections in 2020 and 2022.

Raffensperger received notice from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals that his testimony will not be used to further false conspiracies and election denials in the upcoming trial. Plaintiffs in the case had ignored the long-established principle of the apex doctrine and demanded Raffensperger’s personal testimony in spite of already having senior officials and expert witnesses with knowledge and experience already available.

“Georgia’s election security practices are top-tier. Casting doubt on Georgia’s elections, which these plaintiffs and deniers are doing, is really trying to cast doubt on all elections. That is dangerous and wrong,” said Press Secretary Mike Hassinger.

“Our office continues to beat election deniers in court, in elections, and will ultimately win this case in the end as well,” said Hassinger. “The allegations that plaintiffs made, which have already been parroted by well-known election deniers such as the Gateway Pundit, follow typical election denier tactics— misstate, obfuscate, and sensationalize because there is no evidence of any Georgia voter ever having an issue voting or having their vote accurately counted on our current system. Georgia’s system is widely trusted by voters because it lets them easily cast and verify their votes.”

The long-running Curling lawsuit has sought to replace Georgia’s secure and proven election procedures and provided fuel for election deniers and conspiracy theorists who continue to dispute the results of the 2020 election, despite the two counts and an audit of those results.

“We will continue to fight election deniers in all forms they may take,” said Hassinger. “Georgia’s system is widely trusted by voters because it lets them easily cast and verify their votes, and its accuracy has been continuously proven through recounts and audits. The University of Georgia recently found that 99% of voters had zero issues casting their ballots. The plaintiffs in this case concede as much by the fact that they don’t challenge the accuracy of the results of the 2020 or 2022 elections conducted on this system. The voters in Georgia trust this system and we believe we will ultimately prevail in this case.”