The Hill: Georgia’s Kemp signs bill creating new voter fraud probe powers

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed a bill on Wednesday empowering the state’s investigations agency to probe accusations of voter fraud, a power previously held only by the secretary of state.

Kemp said the measure would help ensure secure and fair elections in the state; however, critics say it was an unnecessary expense that served only to undermine voter confidence amid former President Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was stolen. …

In a statement, the watchdog group Common Cause in Georgia criticized the new law, saying the state will fork up more than half a million dollars on an unnecessary election police force.

“If the Bureau is now entrusted with investigating anything that could create doubt about our elections — we suggest they start, first, by investigating those who have been profiting by creating such doubt,” the group’s spokeswoman, Aunna Dennis, said in a statement.

“So many different groups and partisan extremists have been working to undermine confidence in Georgia’s elections,” she added.