Call with Georgia's top election official about absentee ballots, 2020
Graham drew criticism after Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said that in a November 2020 call during the recount, the senator asked about matching absentee ballots to voters and implied that ballots from counties with high signature-error rates could be thrown out. Graham denied it. A Fulton County special grand jury later heard him and recommended charges, but he was not charged.
Editorial timeline of public reporting, not a legal finding.
- Raffensperger says Graham implied tossing some ballots - CNN reported that Raffensperger, a Republican, said on Nov. 16, 2020, after telling The Washington Post, that in a call the previous Friday Graham asked whether absentee ballots could be matched back to voters, which he took as an implication to look at counties with the highest signature-error rates and "see how many ballots you could throw out." Georgia was then hand-recounting votes after Joe Biden's narrow win. Raffensperger repeated the account to CBS News the next day. Georgia secretary of state says Lindsey Graham implied he should try to throw away ballots
- Graham denies it as a Georgia official on the call weighs in - NBC News reported that Graham denied making such a suggestion, calling the claim "ridiculous" and saying he was trying to find out how signature verification worked. Gabriel Sterling, a Georgia elections official who said he was on the call, told reporters on Nov. 17, 2020, that he heard a discussion of whether a court could be asked to throw out ballots if signatures did not match, and that he could see how Graham and Raffensperger viewed it differently. Georgia officials spar with Sen. Lindsey Graham over alleged ballot tossing comments
- Subpoenaed by the Fulton County special grand jury - The Guardian and NBC News reported that the Fulton County special grand jury investigating efforts to overturn Georgia's 2020 result subpoenaed Graham along with Trump lawyers including Rudy Giuliani. NBC said the subpoena alleged Graham made at least two calls to Raffensperger and his staff about reexamining certain absentee ballots "in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump." Graham has denied wrongdoing. Georgia grand jury subpoenas Trump lawyers over effort to overturn election
- Supreme Court declines to block the subpoena - The U.S. Supreme Court docket shows that on Nov. 1, 2022, the court denied Graham's application to put the subpoena on hold while he appealed, noting that lower courts had already barred questions about his protected legislative fact-finding. NBC News reported that Graham had argued the Constitution's speech or debate clause shielded him from testifying about the calls. Docket 22A337: Lindsey Graham, United States Senator, Applicant v. Fulton County Special Purpose Grand Jury
- Testifies before the special grand jury - NBC News reported that Graham testified before the Fulton County special grand jury on Nov. 22, 2022. His office said he testified for just over two hours, answered the grand jury's questions, felt he was treated with respect, and would not comment on the substance of the questions. Lindsey Graham testifies before Georgia grand jury in Trump election probe
- Grand jury report shows it recommended charges; he was not indicted - PBS reported that the special grand jury's report, released Sept. 8, 2023, showed 13 jurors voted to recommend charging Graham, seven voted against and one abstained. CNN and NBC News reported that District Attorney Fani Willis did not charge him in the August 2023 indictment of @realDonaldTrump and 18 others. Graham told reporters he never asked Raffensperger to set aside ballots, CNN reported. Read the full Georgia grand jury report that recommended more indictments in the 2020 election case