Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has signed a bill that will allow the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) to investigate voter fraud and election crimes.
This power was previously held by only the Secretary of State, until Kemp signed SB 441 on Wednesday.
Kemp has been under fire, especially from Donald Trump, since he certified the state’s election results without first investigating multiple fraud claims.
“Building on the strong, commonsense measures in our Election Integrity Act of 2021, this new law will allow us to engage highly-qualified personnel from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to assist in ensuring our elections are secure and fair,” Kemp said in a statement. “In addition to signing this bill into law, I also allocated $504,116 in Fiscal Year 2023 funds for these positions.”
According to a report from The Hill, the bill passed along party lines, 98-69 in the House and 33-22 in the Senate.
“The new law is similar to one passed in Florida last month, which creates a 25-member committee called the Office of Election Crimes and Security, which falls under the authority of its Secretary of State,” the report added.
Kemp is currently facing a primary challenge from David Perdue, who has been endorsed by Trump.
“Kemp allowed himself to be bullied into a disastrous consent decree that effectively abolished signature verification and allowed massive voter fraud to occur throughout the state of Georgia,” Trump said in his endorsement.
Earlier this week, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis established an election police force to specialize in investigating election fraud.