Georgia SOS on Trump, Abrams, Fulton, new voter law and Kemp's censure

Oct. 20—MARIETTA — Georgia's top elections administrator told the Marietta Rotary Club that "intellectual curiosity and intellectual honesty" from both sides of the aisle are needed to restore confidence in elections.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who was pressured and disparaged by former President Donald Trump after last year's election, accused both Trump and former Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams of misleading voters.

In the case of Trump, it was the falsehoods spread by the former president and people around him after Joe Biden won Georgia in 2020, culminating in the Capitol riot. Trump asked Raffensperger to overturn the results and "find" votes that would negate Biden's winning of the state. He has since endorsed one of Raffensperger's primary challengers, Congressman Jody Hice, R-Greensboro.

An August Yahoo News/YouGov poll found that two-thirds of Republicans believe the 2020 election was stolen.

Speaking to the Rotarians, Raffensperger once again dispelled myths that claim large numbers of dead people, underage people or immigrants living in the country illegally voted.

He pointed out that 26,000 Georgians voted in 2020 but left the presidential spot blank. In metro Atlanta and Athens, then-U.S. Sen. David Perdue, R-Georgia, received 20,000 more votes than Trump. And GOP Congressional candidates received 33,000 more votes than Trump.

"If you look at those three data points I think they tell you a lot about ... what really happened," Raffensperger said.

Asked about voter machine security, he assured people that the voting machines are not connected to the internet and, therefore not vulnerable to remote hackers.

In the case of Stacey Abrams, Raffensperger accused her of sowing mistrust in elections by blaming her 2018 loss to Brian Kemp on voter suppression. Raffensperger pointed out the "record turnout" and "record registration" in that election.

"She's been spreading that voter suppression thing now, going on three or four years," he said. "You look at 2020, what you really saw on the flip side of that coin, (is) talk about voter fraud."

Asked by an audience member if Abrams had ever asked Raffensperger to overturn a result, he replied no, but said Abrams had filed lawsuits against the state that cost taxpayers money.

Raffensperger said his job was not to lean on the scales but to call balls and strikes.

"That's really what I want people to understand — my job as secretary of state is to be like that umpire," he said.

New provisionsRaffensperger stressed that he views the administration of elections as a nonpolitical, nonpartisan responsibility. And he defended parts of Senate Bill 202, the state's controversial new election law.

Democrats have blasted the new law as "Jim Crow 2.0," saying it would limit turnout among voters of color and was a solution in search of a problem. President Joe Biden's Justice Department has sued Georgia over the law, alleging racial discrimination.

While Raffensperger has been critical of a provision within the bill removing him from the state elections board, he focused Wednesday on provisions he said would increase trust in Georgia's elections.

Voter ID is a secure, popular and fair way to ensure election integrity, he said. New provisions in the law increase surveillance of drop boxes, which increases security, he added.

An 11-day cutoff to request an absentee ballot ensures less ballots will be mailed at the last minute, he said.

Raffensperger also pointed out SB 202 expands early voting in most counties.

What about the much-maligned provision that people can't hand out water to voters in line? That was needed, he said, because campaign workers were giving water to voters inside areas where campaigning is banned, which sowed mistrust.

If voter wait times can be reduced, he added, there won't be a need for voters to be given food or water. New requirements that counties add more voting machines or more precincts to reduce wait times will help, he said.

"We want, when you go to vote, we want it to feel like that Chick-fil-A experience," Raffensperger said — quick and easy.

County by countyOne Rotarian asked Raffensperger what Cobb County could do to improve its elections.

"Nothing, you have Janine Eveler," he said, calling the Cobb elections chief "one of the best election directors in the state."

He doesn't feel that way about Fulton County, however. The state elections board is investigating the elections department of the state's largest county, which could lead to a state takeover.

Raffensperger said Fulton has had "habitual, long-lasting problems" and that "enough is enough." Those problems aren't cheating, he said, but "gross mismanagement" which "becomes a breeding ground for conspiracy theories."

Fulton officials have said Raffensperger and other GOP officials are targeting the county for political gain, to prove their conservative bona fides to rural Georgia.

"This is an accountability measure to improve themselves," Raffensperger said, adding that the Fulton issue was not a political investigation. "They have nothing to fear. If they don't improve themselves, there will be consequences for their lack of actions. So we're saying, fix it."

ReceptionRotary members received Raffensperger warmly.

"As a lawyer and as someone who's handled a lot of election lawsuits, I want to commend you for your integrity and following the rule of law," attorney Joseph Atkins told Raffensperger. The audience broke into applause after Atkins' comment.

Rotary member Pat Allen said after the event that it was "an excellent education."

"He provided specifics ... I liked that even though he is from one particular party, that he stressed the bipartisanship that was needed to move things forward," Allen said.

In an interview, Raffensperger quoted Abraham Lincoln when asked about the divide in the Republican Party.

"A house divided against itself cannot stand," he said. Later, referring to the Cobb Republican Party's censure of Gov. Brian Kemp, he added that "people are way off base in trying to censure our constitutional officers."

The GOP, if it is to be successful in a growing, diversifying Georgia, should focus on economic opportunity, deregulation, parents controlling education, public safety and border security, he said.

"We have to do that in a way that isn't divisive, but actually comes with charm, rectitude and grace," he said.