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Democrats flip NC House and near Arizona sweep; costs lead their first-move lists On tape: Raphael Warnock tells Jake Tapper on CNN he'll run for "high office" in 2028, but 2026 comes first ICE unlikely to ease crackdown after midterm losses, officials say, citing Stephen Miller On tape: Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey takes a victory lap: Democrats took back the House and Senate, she says Georgia probes missed memory card that flipped a House seat, trimming Democrats' lead On tape: Governor-Elect Amy Acton wins Ohio governor's race: "Kindness isn't weakness" Harwood voters reject data center reviews; 40 of 41 local votes elsewhere back limits Trump's Medicare agency makes permanent the drug price talks no Republican voted for On tape: Scott Colom says he's confident he'll win Mississippi's U.S. Senate race, the morning after election night Democratic governors-elect in Texas, Iowa and Georgia face GOP lawmakers on schools Democrats flip NC House and near Arizona sweep; costs lead their first-move lists On tape: Raphael Warnock tells Jake Tapper on CNN he'll run for "high office" in 2028, but 2026 comes first ICE unlikely to ease crackdown after midterm losses, officials say, citing Stephen Miller On tape: Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey takes a victory lap: Democrats took back the House and Senate, she says Georgia probes missed memory card that flipped a House seat, trimming Democrats' lead On tape: Governor-Elect Amy Acton wins Ohio governor's race: "Kindness isn't weakness" Harwood voters reject data center reviews; 40 of 41 local votes elsewhere back limits Trump's Medicare agency makes permanent the drug price talks no Republican voted for On tape: Scott Colom says he's confident he'll win Mississippi's U.S. Senate race, the morning after election night Democratic governors-elect in Texas, Iowa and Georgia face GOP lawmakers on schools

Voting Rights · Report · File No. 261108-660

Georgia probes missed memory card that flipped a House seat, trimming Democrats' lead

A memory card with 388 uncounted Election Day votes in Seminole County changed the leader in Georgia House District 154. Democrats' new majority could shrink to one seat if the county certifies the result.

By the Campaign Desk · · 2 min read

Every quote in this story (2) was matched word for word against its source. How we work

Brad Raffensperger
Brad Raffensperger. Photo: Mthassinger, CC BY 4.0

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, has opened an investigation into Seminole County after a memory card holding hundreds of uncounted Election Day votes was found. The card had not been uploaded to the county's results system 13. The state announced the probe on Friday, Nov. 6 3.

The late votes changed the leader in House District 154, in southwest Georgia. Democrat Harry James had led by 58 votes. After the card was counted, Republican Rep. Gerald Greene led by 262 votes 12. The count is still unofficial.

How the error surfaced

State officials found the problem during post-election checks. The number of voters recorded as checking in on Election Day was about 388 higher than the number of ballots reported as cast 12. The state alerted the Seminole County Board of Elections, and the county found 388 more votes 13.

County officials have until Monday to certify the results 12. Atlanta News First said no one at the county elections board was available to comment on Friday afternoon 2. The county has given no public explanation so far.

From Channel GOPKeisha Lance Bottoms on making history in GeorgiaKeisha Lance Bottoms · 184 plays · captioned, with the source named
Brad Raffensperger
Georgia's election safeguards are designed to identify discrepancies, and that is exactly what these guardrails did,
Brad Raffensperger, Georgia Secretary of State, R1

Raffensperger's office said it will determine how the memory card was overlooked, whether procedures were followed, and what fixes are needed 12. He also said the failure to upload results "didn't just affect the numbers" but changed who was leading the race 3.

Greene has served in the Georgia House since January 1983. He told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Friday that he was "hopeful" the new lead would hold 1. James had not publicly commented, according to Newsweek 1.

What it means for the majority

Democrats appeared to win control of the 180-seat Georgia House on Tuesday, Nov. 3, for the first time in 22 years. Unofficial results gave them 93 seats 1. If Greene's seat is certified for the Republican, Democrats would have 92. A majority takes 91 1.

House Democratic Leader Carolyn Hugley, seen as a possible speaker if Democrats keep the chamber, said her office is looking into whether further action is needed 1. Another race could also affect the margin. In House District 151, Republican Rep. Mike Cheokas faces Democrat Ethan Wolfe in a Dec. 1 runoff 1.

The episode drew wide criticism and conspiracy theories on social media, Newsweek reported 1. The facts reported so far point to a failure to upload results, not to anything found to be fraud. Officials say the state's own checks caught it 13.

That matters because close elections turn on small numbers, and 388 votes was enough to change a result. It also matters that the check worked. The question for the investigation is why a card holding hundreds of ballots was missed in the first place.

The Record

  1. Georgia holds its midterm election. Unofficial results give Democrats 93 of 180 state House seats 1.
  2. Raffensperger opens an investigation after a Seminole County memory card with 388 uncounted votes is found. Greene's deficit of 58 becomes a 262-vote lead 123.
  3. Runoff scheduled in House District 151 between Rep. Mike Cheokas and Democrat Ethan Wolfe 1.
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Sources

  1. Newsweek, “Georgia House Seat Flips After Votes Found on Memory Card” (2026-11-08). newsweek.com/georgia-missing-votes-memory-card-investigation
  2. Atlanta News First, “Memory card with uncounted ballots found in Seminole County; Georgia SoS launches investigation” (2026-11-06). atlantanewsfirst.com/2026/11/06/memory-card-with-uncounted-b
  3. Democracy Docket, “Georgia election chief probes 'unacceptable' tabulation delay that could flip key state House race” (2026-11-06). democracydocket.com/news-alerts/georgia-election-chief-probe

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