In the hotly contested race for State House District 154 in Seminole County, Georgia, a memory card with crucial Election Day votes was not uploaded during the November 3 midterm elections. This oversight dramatically shifted the election outcome between Republican incumbent Rep. Gerald Greene and Democratic challenger Harry James.
Initially, unofficial results indicated that James had a narrow lead of 58 votes over Greene. However, a subsequent check by the Georgia Secretary of State’s office revealed discrepancies, showing 388 more voters who had checked in at polling places than the number of ballots counted.
Upon alerting county officials, the Board of Elections discovered the unuploaded memory card, updating the figures to show Greene ahead by 262 votes. The final unofficial count placed Greene at 10,193 votes and James at 9,932, resulting in a margin of just 261 votes.
Having represented the district since January 1983, Greene appeared to be losing on election night. The newly counted ballots shifted his position dramatically, with certification of the result now pending until Monday.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has launched an investigation into this oversight, probing whether proper election protocols were followed and how such an error could be prevented in the future. Raffensperger emphasized the importance of election integrity, noting how critical discrepancies were investigated.
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BREAKING: A missing memory card discovered in southwest Georgia could cost Democrats a seat in the state House and narrow their newly won majority before they even take power.
Once the votes were uploaded, Republican state Rep. Gerald Greene went from trailing Democrat Harry…
— Atlanta Journal-Constitution (@ajc) November 6, 2026
He added that the repercussions of such an oversight could be far-reaching, as even a few uncounted votes can determine the outcome in tightly contested races.
This incident could greatly affect control over Georgia’s 180-member House, where Democrats appeared poised to gain a majority for the first time in two decades. Projections suggested they could secure 93 seats before the corrections, while a confirmed victory for Greene would lower their count to 92.
Another contested House race, District 151, is headed to a runoff, possibly impacting the chamber’s overall balance.
County election officials revealed that the election management system failed to fully process the last precinct’s memory card, leading to an incomplete summary. The ongoing investigation will also explore whether similar errors occurred in other areas.
Certification remains pending until the Monday deadline, and updated totals will only be confirmed barring any additional legal challenges.
