# Secretary of State — Brad Raffensperger — The GA Files > Brad Raffensperger, Georgia Secretary of State — campaign finance (live from GA Ethics), where they stand, and any scandals. *Source: https://thegafiles.com/officeholders/secretary-of-state.html · The GA Files (thegafiles.com)* --- [← Statewide Officeholders](https://thegafiles.com/officeholders.html) # Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger Republican Secretary of State since 2019 (re-elected 2022). Ran for governor in 2026 but did not advance past the Republican primary; his term as secretary of state runs through January 2027. Brad Raffensperger, a civil engineer and former Johns Creek councilman and state representative, was elected secretary of state in 2018. He gained national attention for rejecting President Trump’s January 2021 demand to “find 11,780 votes” to overturn Georgia’s result, and has since defended both the state’s elections and the 2021 SB 202 overhaul against critics on both sides. #### Office & background - Secretary of State of Georgia (2019–present) - Georgia House of Representatives, District 50 (2015–2019) - Johns Creek City Council (2012–2014) #### Campaign finance — who funds them **$3,137,922** raised · **$10,897** cash on hand (FRIENDS OF BRAD RAFFENSPERGER, INC) No itemized contributions reported in the current filings yet. Finance as of **Feb 2, 2026** — latest GA Ethics filing (2026 Jan 31 CCDR). Source: [Georgia Government Transparency & Campaign Finance Commission (PeachFile)](https://peachfile.ethics.ga.gov) #### Where they stand Voter access & turnout Touts record turnout under his tenure — more than 4 million early ballots in 2024 with sub-minute check-ins — while voting-rights groups argue the SB 202 measures he defends curtailed access even as raw turnout rose. Source: [11Alive — record early voting](https://www.11alive.com/article/news/politics/elections/secretary-state-update-georgias-record-early-voting-numbers-brad-raffensperger/85-62d10d73-89e4-44f5-b2a5-d73af5c35664) Mail-in & absentee voting Defends SB 202 (2021), which replaced absentee signature-matching with photo-ID verification but also limited ballot drop boxes to inside early-voting sites during business hours; he has at times moved to reopen drop-box grants. Source: [Wikipedia — Election Integrity Act of 2021](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Election_Integrity_Act_of_2021) · [sos.ga.gov — reopens drop-box grants](https://sos.ga.gov/news/secretary-state-raffensperger-reopens-grants-absentee-ballot-drop-boxes) Voter ID A strong proponent of photo ID, championing SB 202’s shift to requiring a license or state-ID number for absentee ballots in place of “subjective” signature matching, and urging Congress to adopt similar requirements. Source: [WSB-TV — defends ID / signature match](https://www.wsbtv.com/news/politics/raffensperger-stands-by-georgias-signature-match-program/DUXPCBDJ3BAP3I7ZYNVXDGY7T4/) Voter rolls & purges Has aggressively pursued list maintenance and citizenship audits; a 2024 audit he ordered found only about 20 noncitizens among 8 million-plus registered voters, all canceled and referred to authorities. Source: [ABC News — citizenship audit finds 20](https://abcnews.go.com/US/georgia-voter-roll-audit-finds-20-noncitizens-8/story?id=115072461) Election security & equipment Defends Georgia’s Dominion ballot-marking devices and QR-code counting, releasing audits he says show 100% accuracy; after lawmakers banned QR-code tabulation effective July 2026, the state faced a scramble to modify its system. Source: [sos.ga.gov — QR-code accuracy audit](https://sos.ga.gov/news/raffensperger-announces-results-ballot-image-audit-confirms-100-accuracy-qr-code) · [Votebeat — QR-code deadline crunch](https://www.votebeat.org/national/2026/04/27/georgia-voting-machine-deadline-election-counties-qr-codes-dominion/) Certifying elections Certified Georgia’s 2020 result for Joe Biden after recounts and an audit, refusing Trump’s pressure to overturn it, and again certified the 2024 result after audits — positioning himself as defending the duty to certify accurate results. Source: [sos.ga.gov — certifies 2024 after audits](https://sos.ga.gov/news/raffensperger-certifies-presidential-election-following-comprehensive-audits) Voter data & privacy Refused Trump-administration DOJ demands for unredacted voter data, arguing Georgia law bars disclosing Social Security numbers, birth dates, and license numbers; in January 2026 a federal judge dismissed the DOJ’s suit seeking that data. Source: [Georgia Recorder — rebuffs voter-data pressure](https://georgiarecorder.com/2026/01/23/raffensperger-rebuffs-pressure-campaign-to-hand-over-sensitive-voter-data-to-feds/) Business & licensing His office also handles corporate filings and ~500 professional license types covering roughly 570,000 Georgians; to cut application delays he launched the GA Works Licensing Commission (2023) and an online licensing system. Source: [GPB — professional licensing reform](https://www.gpb.org/news/2023/05/17/raffensperger-launches-professional-licensing-reform-effort) #### More - [Office of the Secretary of State](https://sos.ga.gov/) [⬇ Share image](https://thegafiles.com/share/officeholders/secretary-of-state.png) Finance figures are pulled live from the Georgia Government Transparency & Campaign Finance Commission (PeachFile) and are current to each officeholder's most recent filed disclosure report. Policy summaries reflect stated positions and signed records, with sources; scandals are labeled by disposition. Last updated 2026-06-28.