Kemp claims ‘insurmountable lead’
Democrats doubtful
ATLANTA — As Democrats ratcheted up their attacks on Georgia Republican Brian Kemp, he claimed Wednesday that results certified by county election officials confirm he has an “insurmountable lead” in the governor’s race.
At a news conference, Georgia Democrats cast doubt on the legitimacy of any election count that ends with the former secretary of state being certified as the winner of a fiercely fought election against Stacey Abrams, who’s seeking to become the first black woman elected governor in the U.S.
“We believe that Brian Kemp mismanaged this election to sway it in his favor,” said Abrams’ campaign manager Lauren Groh-Wargo, surrounded by Democratic lawmakers at the Georgia Capitol.
Democrats beyond Georgia have started to echo the notion that a Kemp victory would be illegitimate. Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown said Wednesday that if Abrams loses it’s because Republicans stole the election.
“If Stacey Abrams doesn’t win in Georgia, they stole it. I say that publicly, it’s clear,” Brown, speaking at a briefing for the National Action Network.
Kemp’s campaign, which has repeatedly called on Abrams to concede, repeated that call Wednesday, saying Abrams and her supporters have used “fake vote totals,” ”desperate press conferences” and “dangerous lawsuits” to try to steal the election.
“After all of the theatrics, the math remains the same,” Kemp campaign spokesman Cody Hall said in an email. “Abrams lost and Brian Kemp won. This election is over.”
Since he declared himself governor last week and resigned as secretary of state, Kemp’s lead has narrowed as counties have tabulated more ballots. And the numbers could change again as federal courts issue new guidance on counting certain provisional and absentee ballots.
Groh-Wargo said Tuesday that the Abrams campaign believes she needs a net gain of 17,759 votes to pull Kemp below a majority threshold and force a Dec. 4 runoff. Kemp’s campaign said even if every vote that Abrams’ campaign is arguing for is granted by the courts and counted for her, she cannot overcome his lead or force a runoff.
The Associated Press has not called the race.
Meanwhile, U.S. District Judge Steve Jones was expected to rule Wednesday on requests, but no decision had been released as of Wednesday evening, Abrams’ campaign made in a lawsuit filed Sunday.
The campaign has asked Jones to order county election officials to accept any absentee ballots with missing or insufficient information as long as that doesn’t “substantially obstruct” officials from verifying the absentee voter’s identity. It also asked him to order county election officials to accept voter information that’s submitted to fix issues with provisional ballots, and to count those votes, until 5 p.m. Wednesday. And it asked that provisional ballots cast by voters in the wrong county be counted as if the voter had shown up at the wrong precinct.
Lawyers for state and county election officials argued the Abrams campaign was trying to use a post-election lawsuit to rewrite Georgia’s election laws. They say county election officials have been properly counting ballots and have been able to complete their duties in the time allowed.
The lawsuit was one of several election-related complaints filed before multiple federal judges.
U.S. District Judge Leigh May ordered Gwinnett County election officials Tuesday not to reject absentee ballots just because the voter’s birth year is missing or wrong. She also ordered the county to delay certification of its election results until those ballots have been counted.
Jones said he will consider whether he should effectively extend May’s order to Georgia’s other 158 counties.
U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg late Monday ordered state officials not to do their final certification of election results before 5 p.m. Friday.
State law sets a Nov. 20 deadline, but secretary of state’s office elections director Chris Harvey testified last week that the state had planned to certify the election results Wednesday, a day after the deadline for counties to certify their results. He said that would allow preparations to begin for any runoff contests, including those already projected in the races for secretary of state and a Public Service Commission seat.
Totenberg’s order left untouched the county certification deadline. Candice Broce, a spokeswoman for secretary of state’s office, said Wednesday that all counties but Gwinnett have certified their totals.
Totenberg also ordered the secretary of state’s office to establish and publicize a hotline or website enabling voters to check whether their provisional ballots were counted and, if not, why not. And she ordered the secretary of state’s office to review or have county election authorities review the eligibility of voters who had to cast provisional ballots because of registration issues.
With state lawmakers gathered at the Georgia Capitol Tuesday for the start of a special legislative session, dozens of protesters gathered in statehouse rotunda, loudly chanting “Count every vote!” and waving signs with the same slogan. Police arrested 15 people, including state Sen. Nikema Williams, an Atlanta Democrat.
Police zip-tied Williams’ hands behind her back and led her to one of two vans holding other arrested protesters.
She gave a tearful speech on the Senate floor Wednesday, saying she was booked and strip-searched at the Fulton County jail and held for five hours. She said her 3-yearold son heard news of her arrest on the radio and told a baby sitter: “That’s Mommy.”
“I didn’t do anything to obstruct anyone from doing their job or their business on the floor,” Williams said. “What I did was I stood with my constituents as they wanted their voices to be heard.”
The Georgia Constitution says legislators “shall be free from arrest during sessions of the General Assembly … except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace.”