ATLANTA — Georgia’s two Republican senators called for Georgia’s Secretary of State to resign over election management, but have no evidence to support their claims of an inaccurate count.

U.S. Sen. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler released a joint statement Monday calling for Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “step down” as votes in the 2020 general election continue to be tallied. Both are in the early days of preparing for two January runoffs against competitive democratic challengers.

“There have been too many failures in Georgia elections this year and the most recent election has shined a national light on the problems. While blame certainly lies elsewhere as well, the buck ultimately stops with the Secretary of State,” the two wrote. “The mismanagement and lack of transparency from the Secretary of State is unacceptable. Honest elections are paramount to the foundation of our democracy. The Secretary of State has failed to deliver honest and transparent elections. He has failed the people of Georgia, and he should step down immediately.”

Raffensperger responded to the call for his resignation, calling the accusations coming from the two senators “laughable” and noted that Perdue is likely “irritated” he is in a runoff and both the Republicans, as well as himself, are upset with the outcome of the presidential election.

He will not be resigning, he stated.

“The voters of Georgia hired me, and the voters will be the one to fire me,” Raffensperger wrote. “As Secretary of State, I’ll continue to fight every day to ensure fair elections in Georgia, that every legal vote counts, and that illegal votes don’t count.”

The Republican called the general election “a success” and pointed to the fact that the average wait time across the state was three minutes and voters turned out in record numbers. President Donald Trump received more votes of any president in the state’s history and Perdue had even more ballots cast for him.

“I care about counting each and every legal vote…and assuring that illegal votes aren’t counted,” he said. “…Was there illegal voting? I am sure there was. And my office is investigating all of it. Does it rise to the numbers or margin necessary to change the outcome to where President Trump is given Georgia’s electoral votes? That is unlikely.”

Gov. Brian Kemp, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and House Speaker David Ralston released a joint statement on Friday supporting Georgia’s secretary of state and assured that any allegations of voter fraud or violations would be investigated.

“We trust that our Secretary of State will ensure that the law is followed as written and that Georgia’s election result includes all legally-cast ballots — and only legally-cast ballots. We will continue to follow this situation to ensure a fair and transparent process,” the trio said.

But despite state officials backing Raffensperger, Georgia’s congressional Republicans have lashed out against the election process, echoing baseless claims spouted by Trump himself that the results are inaccurate.

Fresh off his unsuccessful Senate bid, Congressman Doug Collins is also joining the calls for a recount of the election. The Trump campaign announced Sunday he would lead the campaign’s recount efforts in the state.

The Secretary of State’s office has already made it clear: there will likely be a recount in Georgia after the margin of votes operating Joe Biden and Trump remain below .5% of the total number of votes cast.

On Monday, Gabriel Sterling, statewide voting implementation manager in the secretary of state’s office, painstakingly cleared up misinformation circulating social media about Georgia’s election count including the myths that started from Trump that military ballots had gone missing.

“The facts are the facts, regardless of outcomes,” Sterling said. “That’s one of the things we’re focusing on here, is getting our count accurate and right.”

Raffensperger added that the control of the U.S. Senate has come down to both Georgia senator’s runoffs in January which should be their priority. 

“As a Republican, I am concerned about Republicans keeping the U.S. Senate,” he said. “I recommend that Senators Loeffler and Perdue start focusing on that.”