COVINGTON, Ga. — A Newton County widow says she may never vote again after receiving national attention following President Donald Trump's election campaign's false claim she used her late husband's identification to vote illegally.
Newton County election officials and the county government reported last week that Agnes Blalock of Covington has been voting legally as Mrs. James Blalock Jr. since at least 1992 — with the latest instance being her absentee vote in the Nov. 3 election which included the race between Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden.
"It's made me feel awful and I'm trying to forget it," Agnes Blalock said today, Nov. 16. "I'm trying to get over it."
She said a Newton elections office worker told her she would receive a card on which she could register again using her first name.
"I may never vote again anyway," Mrs. Blalock said. "I wish I hadn't this time."
Mrs. Blalock, who is reportedly in her 90s, is a 24-year Newton County resident. She said she did not recall why her name was in the database with the "Mrs." attached.
"That's going to be changed or I'm never going to vote again — if I keep living," she said, laughing.
Secretary of State records identified Mrs. Blalock as James Blalock Jr. because it does not include titles — such as Mrs. or Dr. — with names in its database, county election officials said.
However, the database does include the voter's gender that was used to delineate her from her dead husband, officials said.
Trump’s campaign alleged on Nov. 11 that James Blalock Jr. was among four dead Georgians whose names were illegally used to cast ballots in the General Election.
Mr. Blalock died in 2006 and the Trump campaign claimed he was an example of a dead individual whose name was used by "someone" to illegally vote in Georgia, The Hill reported.
A news release identified Mr. Blalock as a Covington resident and included an obituary for the retired postal worker and World War II veteran who died at age 81 in January 2006.
The release was part of the campaign’s effort to show that voter fraud was present in Georgia before the Nov. 3 election in which Trump lost to Joe Biden by 14,000 votes out of 5 million cast in Georgia, campaign officials said.
However, Newton County election officials said the registration of James E. Blalock Jr., was canceled a few months after he died in 2006. Blalock's widow was voting under the name Mrs. James Blalock Jr. — with the "Mrs." left off the name in the Secretary of State's database, officials said.
Newton County elections director Angela Mantle said Blalock’s widow has regularly voted legally under the name Mrs. James E. Blalock Jr. since 1992 — most recently using an absentee ballot in the Nov. 3 election.
The Hill and numerous other local and national news outlets reported that on a Thursday night segment of Fox News' “Tucker Carlson Tonight,” the host claimed that someone had cast a ballot on behalf of Mr. Blalock.
Carlson on Friday, Nov. 13, apologized to viewers after an Atlanta TV news outlet said Carlson made a false claim about Mrs. Blalock illegally voting, The Hill reported.
