Trump loyalists give GA election workers a 'looming sense of dread' over presidential race
Four years after the 2020 election, former President Donald Trump has yet to acknowledge that now-President Joe Biden legitimately won Georgia. Trump and many of his MAGA allies have claimed, without proof, that the Peach State was stolen from him through widespread voter fraud, but two of Georgia's most prominent Republicans — Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger — have repeatedly rejected that false claim.
In an article published on September 16, The Atlantic's Elaine Godfrey details fears that Georgia, because of MAGA election deniers, could play a role in a constitutional crisis.
Godfrey notes the presence of Trump loyalists on the Georgia State Elections Board, where a "new far-right majority is changing the rules mere weeks before a national election that might hinge on Georgia."
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"Even amid all that pressure and tumult," the reporter explains, "most state and local elections officials in 2020's electoral battlegrounds refused to go along with Trump's bogus claims of fraud. This time around, though, Trump's allies have a more coherent strategy. In the run-up to November 2024, they've sought to take control of state and local boards, and, in Georgia, are establishing the fundamentals to bring about even more election chaos."
Godfrey cites Anne Dover, elections director for Cherokee County, Georgia, as someone who has a "looming sense of dread" about the 2024 election.
"If he doesn't win Georgia," Dover told Godfrey, "I am very fearful."
Godfrey warns that if Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris wins the Peach State, the MAGA Republicans on the Georgia State Elections Board may try to hold up certification.
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"This summer," Godfrey reports, "the board’s Republicans — opposed by the panel's chairman and the lone Democrat — passed changes to Georgia's election-certification process, including one rule that allows local board members to conduct a 'reasonable inquiry' into results before certifying them. A similar new rule gives board members powers to 'examine all election-related documentation' beforehand…. Public comments have overwhelmingly opposed the rule changes: 11 state legislators and nine nongovernmental organizations submitted protests to the board, according to the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington."
Godfrey adds, "Even if partisan local officials can't throw out vote counts, election experts fear that the new rules could be used by rogue board members as an excuse to delay certification — and for unhappy voters to pressure the officials who won’t play along."
Read Elaine Godfrey's full article for The Atlantic at this link (subscription required).
