Nevada confirms investigation into Georgia House candidate’s dual primary voting

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - The Nevada secretary of state’s office has confirmed it has an open investigation into Georgia House District 161 candidate David Dillie, who is accused of voting in two states’ primaries this year. This comes after an initial announcement by the Georgia secretary of state’s office on Sept. 24.

Georgia opens investigation

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger announced Sept. 24 that his office opened an investigation into reports that a candidate for the Georgia House of Representatives allegedly cast ballots in both the May 19 Georgia Primary and the June 9 Nevada Primary this year.

“Voting in another state’s primary while claiming to be a legal Georgia resident is a very serious allegation,” Raffensperger said. “My office has opened an investigation to gather all the evidence, determine the facts and take appropriate legal action.”

The Secretary of State’s Investigations Division will obtain and review voting records, signatures and other evidence to determine the facts, according to the announcement.

“Candidates are subject to the same laws as every voter in the state,” Raffensperger said. “We will follow the evidence and determine exactly what happened. We will fully enforce Georgia law.”

Georgia confirms investigation remains open

WTOC’s Steven Glover reached out to the Georgia secretary of state’s office Oct. 14, asking whether the candidate under investigation is David Dillie, the Democratic candidate for House District 161, and whether or not the investigation is still open.

The office confirmed via email Oct. 15 that the investigation is “currently open.”

Nevada confirms its own investigation

WTOC also reached out to the Nevada secretary of state’s office Oct. 14, referencing Dillie by name and his candidacy, and asking whether Nevada is also investigating him.

The office responded Oct. 16, saying, “We do have an open investigation into this case.”

Dillie responds

WTOC interviewed Dillie for a candidate profile on Oct. 16. During that interview, Dillie said he is aware of reports that Georgia and Nevada are investigating him. He said he does not know the specifics of either investigation or what the two states plan on doing.

Opponent responds

Bill Hitchens, the seven-term Republican incumbent running against Dillie for House District 161, said he confirmed Georgia’s investigation was still active after filing an open records request and being told the investigation was ongoing. He said that if the investigation had been completed, he would have been able to obtain a copy of it through that request.

“I’m still a little miffed about what exactly transpired,” Hitchens said. “When you look at the official records, it says that he voted here [Georgia] in the primary in-person, and it says in Nevada by absentee ballot. That’s a felony in Georgia, that’s a felony in Nevada, and it’s a federal felony.”

When asked what the two active investigations mean for voters heading to the polls in November, Hitchens said Dillie has denied the allegations.

“Well, he’s denying everything so I’m not sure,” Hitchens said. “He acts as if nothing happened. I’ve seen copies of his signature on both Georgia and there’s [Nevada] and they appear to be identical to me.”