Raffensperger says Georgia turnout disproves Stacey Abrams suppression claims – Washington Examiner
The ongoing debate over voter suppression in Georgia has gained renewed attention, particularly regarding the claims made by Stacey Abrams and the state government’s response to them. In light of record-high early voting turnout, Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger declared that the participation of over 4 million early voters contradicts Abrams’ narrative that the state’s electoral practices suppress votes. He emphasized that the lines at polling places are generally short and that the state’s elections are secure, thereby discrediting Abrams’ claims about voting difficulties.
Stacey Abrams, a prominent Democratic figure and advocate for voting rights through her organization Fair Fight Action, argues that recent state reforms since 2020 have imposed challenges, particularly affecting black voters. She maintains that while the turnout is encouraging, it does not negate the existence of voter suppression activities. In a recent interview, she pointed to long waiting times during early voting as evidence of these suppression tactics, despite state officials asserting that most wait times are under thirty minutes.
The discussion is set against a backdrop of Georgia’s status as a key battleground in national elections, with implications stemming from prior allegations surrounding the integrity of its electoral processes, particularly in relation to Fulton County. As the election approaches, both sides continue to advocate their positions firmly, highlighting the polarized views surrounding voting rights in the state.
Georgia election chief says record turnout disproves Stacey Abrams suppression claims
ATLANTA — Georgia’s top elections official said the record-high turnout leading up to Election Day has proven Democrat Stacey Abrams wrong in her claim that the state was suppressing votes.
“If you’re the 4 million voters who have voted early, congratulations, you have made history,” Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Monday morning during a press conference at the state Capitol.
“You’ve also dispelled Stacey Abrams’s false narrative that it’s hard to vote here in Georgia,” Raffensperger said. “That’s 4 million votes, 4 million voters. This is what we have known this entire time: Georgia has short lines, secure elections — 4 million voters voted without issue.”
Abrams founded Fair Fight Action, an organization that opposes voting restrictions, following her unsuccessful bids for governor in 2018 and 2022. She said last Friday that state voting reforms since 2020 have made it more difficult for people to vote, particularly black voters, and previously refused to concede that she lost to Gov. Brian Kemp (R-GA) in 2018.
“While we are excited about who is showing up, we have to understand that turnout does not mean there is not voter suppression activity,” Abrams said in an interview with CNN’s Kate Bolduan last week.
Abrams insisted that long early voting lines since Oct. 15 were due to the state doing away with vote-by-mail. However, Raffensperger and other state elections officials have maintained that lines generally require less than 30 minutes of waiting.
Georgia is one of seven battleground states that could go either direction in the presidential election.
Atlanta’s Fulton County is especially under the microscope following former President Donald Trump’s 2020 claims that Democrats rigged the state’s elections by dumping votes into Fulton County. Neither he nor Abrams provided proof that the elections had been stolen from them.
Abrams’s organizing efforts have been credited with President Joe Biden’s slim win by less than 12,000 votes across the state in 2020, and she was considered a top contender for Biden’s vice presidential nominee in the lead-up to that race.
Raffensperger said Georgians should expect more complaints from activists this week, though he did not name Abrams specifically.
“In the next few days, you may see some extra drama from fringe activists. They are certainly dramatic, aren’t they?” said Raffensperger. “Gov. Kemp, myself, our General Assembly, and tens of thousands of election workers have worked every day to defend every legal vote.”
Early voting in Georgia ended over the weekend, and voters who wish to cast their ballot Tuesday must have registered already.
A RealClearPolitics average of Georgia polls published between Oct. 11 and Nov. 3 showed Trump with 49.4% of the vote, compared to Vice President Kamala Harris’s 47.5%.
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