As the final states have been called and President-elect Joe Biden has been declared the winner in Georgia, two of the four voters President Donald Trump claimed were "dead" to support his baseless bid to overturn the results of the election, are actually alive.
On Wednesday, the Trump campaign claimed that they had identified four dead people who were used to cast votes in favor of Biden in Georgia. The campaign tweeted out the names of the four deceased former residents of Georgia, claiming that a ballot was fraudulently cast in each one's name in the election.
The campaign also shared a news article with the same allegations, which were publicized on national television later that evening by Fox News host Tucker Carlson.
James Blalock of Covington
One of the names mentioned by Trump's team was James Blalock of Covington, who allegedly voted in the election despite passing away in 2006. "The only problem? He passed away 14 years ago. Sadly, Mr. Blalock is a victim of voter fraud," the tweet read.
"Mr. Blalock was a mailman for 33 years until he passed away in 2006. Fourteen years later, according to state records, he was still mailing things. James Blalock cast a ballot in last week's election," Tucker Carlson said on Fox News.
However, 11Alive – an NBC-affiliated local news station found that it was not James Blalock who voted in last week's election but his wife, Agnes Blalock, who cast the voted as Mrs James Blalock.
"He's not voting. He didn't vote," Agnes Blalock told 11Alive. "It was me."
Newton County officials also confirmed that Agnes voted using her married name. "Her voter registration was signed as Mrs. James E. Blalock, Jr. and that is exactly how she signed her name when she voted in the Nov. 3 general election," officials said.
They also posted a statement online saying James Blalock's widow has always voted under that name:
Linda Kesler of Nicholson
Another person accused of voting while being deceased in Georgia was Linda Kesler. "Mrs. Linda Kesler of Nicholson, Georgia voted in the election," a tweet from Trump campaign said. "The only problem," she passed away 17 years ago, in 2003."
It was later confirmed that the allegations levelled against Kesler were also false. The Jackson County Board of Elections said she did not vote in the 2020 election.
"Linda Kesler of Nicholson was marked deceased in 2003 and did not vote. Lynda Kesler who has a different address, birthday, and zip who is entitled to vote—did vote," the board of elections said.
The Secretary of State's office is also investigating two other alleged dead Georgians who voted, but half of those named by the campaign were found to have voted legally.
