Georgia Democrat David Dillie is facing an election investigation after voting records showed ballots cast in his name in two states during this year’s primaries. The state House candidate is accused of participating in Georgia’s primary and a subsequent Nevada primary. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office has opened an inquiry into the allegations. Dillie denies casting the Nevada ballot.
Dillie, 24, is the Democratic nominee for House District 161, which includes communities northwest of Savannah. He is challenging seven-term Republican incumbent Bill Hitchens in the November 3rd general election. The race has attracted attention amid opposition to a planned $20 billion OpenAI data center. Democrats have viewed the dispute as an opening to compete for the seat.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution obtained Nevada voting records through a public records request. Those records indicate that Dillie voted absentee in Nevada’s June 9th Republican primary, three weeks after participating in Georgia’s May 19th primary. Dillie confirmed that the Las Vegas address on the record was his former residence. The property belongs to his godfather.
Raffensperger announced the investigation on September 24th, saying his office had received reports of a Georgia House candidate voting in both elections. “Voting in another state’s primary while claiming to be a legal Georgia resident is a very serious allegation,” he said in the announcement. He said the inquiry would gather evidence, establish what happened and determine the appropriate legal response.
The Secretary of State’s Investigations Division will obtain and examine the voting records, signature and other evidence. Raffensperger said candidates must follow the same voting laws as everyone else. He pledged that his office would follow the evidence and fully enforce Georgia law.
In an interview with The Current, Dillie attributed his continued Nevada registration to a misunderstanding about what happens when a voter moves. After years working in construction around Las Vegas, he said he returned to Georgia in September 2024 and registered there. He acknowledged leaving his Nevada registration active. “I thought when you moved, your stuff gets canceled. That is not what happens,” he said. “I’m young and, frankly, wasn’t knowledgeable,” he added.
Dillie pointed to Nevada’s practice of sending mail ballots to registered voters as his explanation for why one bearing his name would have reached his old address. The Current reported that documents it obtained showed a ballot in his name was returned and apparently counted in the Republican primary. Dillie said he neither completed that ballot nor knew who submitted it.
"*" indicates required fields
Hitchens told the AJC that voting in two states would be a disqualifying offense and a breach of public trust. “Preserving free, fair and transparent elections has to be a priority of any candidate,” he said. A Democratic Party of Georgia spokesperson also addressed the reports. The spokesperson described the records as troubling and called for a full investigation.
The Current reported that double-voting is a felony under Georgia law, punishable by imprisonment, a fine, or both. Dillie said he welcomed the investigation and wished the issue had surfaced earlier. He expressed confidence that he would be cleared of wrongdoing. He told the outlet he would remain in the race and wanted voters to decide the election.