today:
127
yesterday:
251
Total:
1,112,061

The Election Day incident in Atlanta’s State Farm Arena that was first reported as a burst pipe was an overflowing urinal, a state investigator said Sunday.

Officials in Fulton County said late Nov. 3 that a pipe burst in the arena around 6:07 a.m., causing a delay of several hours in counting absentee ballots. They also referred to the incident as “a water leak.”

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office opened an investigation into the incident.

Frances Watson, the chief investigator for the office, said in a court filing Sunday that the investigation revealed the water leak “was actually a urinal that had overflowed.”

The overflowing “did not affect the counting of votes by Fulton County later that evening,” she wrote.

Jessica Corbitt, a county spokeswoman, said in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times in November that staff members at State Farm Arena notified Fulton County Registration & Elections “of a water leak affecting the room where absentee ballots were being tabulated.”

“The State Farm Arena team acted swiftly to remediate the issue. Within 2 hours, repairs were complete,” she said. “No ballots were damaged, nor was any equipment affected. There was a brief delay in tabulating absentee ballots while the repairs were being conducted. Ballots were not moved outside of the room during this incident (it occurred on the other side of the room from the area where ballots were located.)”

Asked about the results of the investigation, Corbitt told The Epoch Times via email: “It was the water from the urinal that caused the issue. So our statement stands.”

Dwight Brower, Fulton County’s election chief, told the county’s Board of Commissioners on election night that “there was a pipe that burst in the room where we actually had ballots.”

“Thank goodness that none of those ballots were damaged,” he added.

state farm arena
Filing boxes sit off to the side at an absentee ballot processing room at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ga., on Nov. 2, 2020. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)

Ralph Jones, another county official, told the board, “we had a pipe that was busted.”

“We were down for four hours,” from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., Jones said.

Robb Pitts, the Chairman of Fulton County Board of Commissioners, was asked about the incident by lawmakers during a Georgia Senate Government Oversight Committee on Dec. 3.

“That thing has taken the life of his own. There was a water, actually, there was a leak. The floor above where we were counting ballots at State Farm Arena, according to Steve Koonin, CEO of Atlanta Hawks,” he said.

“And it was repaired within two hours. No ballots were damaged. No equipment was damaged. End of story. So how this has gotten to be what it is, I have no idea.”

An inquiry sent to the Hawks about how Koonin learned of the leak, who was responsible for getting it fixed, and whether he was questioned as part of the investigation wasn’t immediately returned.

Pitts said he wasn’t there at the time so he couldn’t answer when asked if the room had been secured when people were asked to leave.

Jessica Corbitt-Dominguez, the Fulton County’s director of external affairs, also said she wasn’t in the arena at the time, but had spoken to staff members who were.

“My understanding is that the workers who were responsible for those ballots never left the room. They were in the room the entire time. They had to stop working for a period of about two hours and that was the reason it was brought up in the first place, is there was a slight delay of a couple of hours where they couldn’t access the entire room, but they did not leave. And the ballots remained in the custody of the sworn workers,” she said.

No. Subject Date Views
Notice Jon Voight: Pray Donald Trump makes a ‘comeback stronger than ever’ 2022.08.12 1173
Notice America's Anthem 2020.12.27 1191
1056 Arizona Supreme Court Agrees to Hear GOP Election Challenge Lawsuit 2020.12.07 115
1055 Arizona Supreme Court Agrees to Hear GOP Election Challenge Lawsuit 2020.12.07 120
1054 Trump Campaign Asks Michigan Supreme Court to Declare That Election Process Violated State Constitution 2020.12.07 116
1053 Trump Campaign Asks Michigan Supreme Court to Declare That Election Process Violated State Constitution 2020.12.07 129
1052 Protesters Gather Outside Home of Michigan Elections Chief, Chanting ‘Stop the Steal’ 2020.12.07 80
1051 Protesters Gather Outside Home of Michigan Elections Chief, Chanting ‘Stop the Steal’ 2020.12.07 118
» Reported Burst Pipe in Atlanta Ballot Counting Area Was Overflowing Urinal: Investigator 2020.12.07 129
1049 Reported Burst Pipe in Atlanta Ballot Counting Area Was Overflowing Urinal: Investigator 2020.12.07 147
1048 Director of National Intelligence: Election ‘Issues’ Need to Be Resolved Before Winner Declared 2020.12.07 98
1047 Director of National Intelligence: Election ‘Issues’ Need to Be Resolved Before Winner Declared 2020.12.07 81
1046 Trump Proposes ‘Landmark Election Reform’ and Overhaul of Election Security Systems 2020.12.05 114
1045 Trump Proposes ‘Landmark Election Reform’ and Overhaul of Election Security Systems 2020.12.05 107
1044 CYNTHIA JOHNSON CURSING OUT WITNESSES !! 2020.12.05 139
1043 CYNTHIA JOHNSON CURSING OUT WITNESSES !! 2020.12.05 120
1042 Citizen Website Calls for Fair Election 2020.12.05 685
1041 Citizen Website Calls for Fair Election 2020.12.05 878
1040 $400 Million SEC Filing Links Dominion, UBS, and China 2020.12.05 7636
1039 $400 Million SEC Filing Links Dominion, UBS, and China 2020.12.05 9684
1038 OANN reports on election fraud in Nevada 2020.12.04 2632
1037 OANN reports on election fraud in Nevada 2020.12.04 2964
1036 Arizona Legislature Calls for Immediate ‘Forensic Audit’ of Dominion Voting Machines 2020.12.04 126
1035 Arizona Legislature Calls for Immediate ‘Forensic Audit’ of Dominion Voting Machines 2020.12.04 136
1034 Trump: GA. election vid shows cheating, Gov. urges signature audit; Election fraud is treason: Gen. 2020.12.04 131
1033 Trump: GA. election vid shows cheating, Gov. urges signature audit; Election fraud is treason: Gen. 2020.12.04 1924
1032 Michigan Lawsuit Seeks Urgent Election Audit Before Electors Cast Votes 2020.12.04 111
1031 Michigan Lawsuit Seeks Urgent Election Audit Before Electors Cast Votes 2020.12.04 120
1030 Michigan GOP: Secretary of State Trying to Delete Election Data Amid Audit Calls 2020.12.04 2395
1029 Michigan GOP: Secretary of State Trying to Delete Election Data Amid Audit Calls 2020.12.04 2516
1028 Pennsylvania Lawmakers Formally Introduce Resolution to Dispute 2020 Election Results 2020.12.03 108
1027 Pennsylvania Lawmakers Formally Introduce Resolution to Dispute 2020 Election Results 2020.12.03 111