(Reuters) – David Perdue is a Republican candidate to be Georgia’s governor. He called Thursday for the creation of a unit of police officers to investigate voter fraud. This was part of his 2020 campaign strategy that promotes falsehoods regarding wrongdoing.

Former President Donald Trump has endorsed Perdue in his attempt to unseat Republican Brian Kemp. He said that Perdue was proposing an election law enforcement division to enforce and investigate the laws of Georgia.

Transparency and accountability are the key words here. Georgians should have confidence that legal votes will count and that any person attempting to influence our elections will face criminal charges,” Perdue posted on Twitter (NYSE:).

Multiple audits and recounts in Georgia have supported the win of Democratic President Joe Biden against Trump. Additionally, there is no evidence to support widespread fraud in any state. Trump and his Republican Party allies continue to make false allegations about fraud that caused Trump’s 2020 electoral defeat.

Perdue follows the lead of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis by proposing the same. He earlier asked lawmakers to approve nearly $6 million for a dedicated force to investigate voter corruption. DeSantis, too, is a Republican.

Trump has made Kemp a target because of his refusal to overturn Biden’s victory in 2020 in battleground states. A Kemp spokesperson stated that the governor’s Office lacks authority to investigate electoral crimes.

Cody Hall stated in an email statement that Perdue had proposed the unit and finally admitted what the state law of Georgia and Georgia’s constitution made clear. “The Governor does not have any legal authority to oversee, investigate, or administer elections in Georgia.”

Brad Raffensperger’s chief election officer in the state did not respond immediately to our request for comment.

Perdue’s proposal is coming as Republicans around the country pass laws that reverse ballot access. Butch Miller, No. 2 Republican in Georgia’s state senate and a candidate for lieutenant governor in 2022, introduced a bill https://www.reuters.com/world/us/georgia-republican-proposes-eliminating-ballot-drop-boxes-ahead-2022-elections-2021-12-13 to eliminate absentee ballot drop boxes, which say high use in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Perdue is facing Kemp in the Republican primary. This will decide who campaigned against Stacey Abrams who is widely believed to be the Democratic nominee.

Perdue’s request for comments was not answered by the Abrams campaign immediately.

(reporting and editing by Nathan Layne; edited by Jonathan Oatis