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Georgia Supreme Court Rejects GOP Push for Hand Count of Votes
One advocate praised the court for refusing to allow the State Election Board "to inject chaos and confusion into our democratic system."
Oct 22, 2024
Voting rights advocates on Tuesday cheered the Georgia Supreme Court's unanimous decision to reject Republican efforts to require a hand count of votes and another rule that could delay certification of the results for the November 5 election.
After Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney last week struck down the State Election Board's (SEB) hand-count policy and ruled that local election officials must certify results regardless of their beliefs that "voter fraud" has taken place, the Republican National Committee and Georgia GOP sought an expedited appeal before Election Day.
"The high court's one-page order leaves in place a Fulton County judge's ruling last week that seven new election rules are 'illegal, unconstitutional, and void,'" The Atlanta Journal-Constitutionreported Tuesday. "The order noted the appeal can proceed on a normal schedule."
Although Republican attacks on voting rights in the state persist, advocates still celebrated what Democracy Docket called "a win for voters."
Andrea Young, executive director of the ACLU of Georgia, said that "with this ruling, the court keeps the status quo in place, refusing to allow the SEB to inject chaos and confusion into our democratic system."
"We are excited about the record early voting numbers in Georgia and glad that now all can focus on participating in this important election without disruption," Young added.
Georgia is just one of several states where early voting is already underway and was a key focus of former Republican President Donald Trump's attempt to reverse his 2020 loss. Trump—who faces a criminal case in Fulton County over his "Big Lie" efforts during the last cycle—is now the Republican nominee running against Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris.
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The Republican National Convention Is a Who’s Who of Election Deniers
The Big Lie that the 2020 election was “stolen” remains an inextricable centerpiece of Trumpism, while any meaningful pushback has been eliminated within the party.
Jul 19, 2024
With the nomination of Ohio Sen. JD Vance for vice president at the Republican National Convention on Monday, the GOP has doubled down on its insistence on election denialism as central to its DNA. The Big Lie that the 2020 election was “stolen” remains an inextricable centerpiece of Trumpism, while any meaningful pushback has been eliminated within the party.
Once a “never-Trumper,” Vance reversed course on entering the 2020 Senate race in Ohio, becoming an outspoken supporter of the then-president and a spokesperson for the Big Lie. Both before and after the 2020 presidential election, he claimed that people voted illegally “on a large-scale basis” and spread other conspiracy theories about the election. When asked in an ABC interview earlier this year what he would have done if he had been vice president on January 6, 2021, Vance admitted that he would not have certified the election results.
In fact, this election cycle only those who embrace election denialism and are therefore deemed sufficiently loyal to former U.S. President Donald Trump have remained within the Republican Party fold. In March of this year, longtime chair of the Republican National Committee (RNC) Ronna McDaniel was forced to resign from her position under pressure amid rising tension between Trump and the RNC. Under her leadership, the RNC had dutifully promoted Trump’s false claims of voter and electoral fraud, as well as downplayed the severity of the insurrection on January 6.
The complete takeover of the GOP by election deniers is on full display at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week.
McDaniel’s rapid fall from grace within the RNC was shocking in many ways given her unflinching loyalty to Trump and willingness to utilize the RNC to further his interests. Georgia’s National Committeeman Jason Thompson suggested in April that her ouster as chair had been sealed by her refusal to allow the RNC to cover the legal costs of indicted fake electors. According to him, McDaniel said it was, “Not our problem.” Thompson points to her refusal as the driving force behind “the downfall of Ronna.”
McDaniel was replaced by Trump-approved loyalists, with North Carolina GOP Chair Michael Whatley and Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, elected as RNC chair and co-chair, respectively. Whatley previously promoted 2020 election lies and supported legal efforts to overturn the results, and Lara Trump has accused the Democrats of “massive fraud” in 2020.
Staffers at the RNC were laid off en masse following the shakeup, with more than 60 officials booted from their positions. Reporting by The Washington Post revealed that under the new leadership, prospective RNC employees were asked during their job interviews if they believed the 2020 election was stolen, essentially making election denialism the new litmus test for employment at the RNC.
Since then, the RNC has announced an “election integrity” initiative to mobilize thousands of polling place monitors, poll workers, and attorneys in swing states during the November election. “We can never go back and repeat 2020, but we can learn the lessons from 2020,” said Lara Trump at the kickoff event for the initiative. The RNC has also filed lawsuits in battleground states to bar mail-in ballots from being counted after Election Day.
The complete takeover of the GOP by election deniers is on full display at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee this week. On Monday, the event opened with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Debbie Kraulidis, a J6 protester. Convention speakers feature prominent Republicans who have spread Trump’s baseless claims of election fraud, including Charlie Kirk of Turning Point USA, U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake, among many others.
At least 16 delegates invited to this year’s convention signed fraudulent Electoral College documents in their states in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, serving as “fake electors” in a coordinated attempt to subvert the outcome of the election in seven battleground states. In addition, at least four convention delegates had been slated to act as fake electors before others were chosen in their place. The fake electors from Arizona, Michigan, and Nevada are currently facing felony charges, except for one whose charges were dropped in exchange for cooperation. As of last August, 3 of 16 fake electors in Georgia have been indicted in connection with the state’s massive racketeering case against Trump and 18 co-defendants.
Other prominent election deniers are also serving as delegates at this week’s convention, including Georgia National Committeewoman Amy Kremer, who was one of the most active fundraisers in the Stop the Steal movement and whose organization secured the permit for the Save America rally in Washington on January 6, and Michigan delegate Matthew DePerno, who currently faces criminal charges for an alleged effort to tamper with voting machines following the 2020 election.
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Abortion Rights Defenders Say Don't Be Fooled by GOP Platform Change
"Voters don't want abortion bans," said one advocate. "Republicans know it and this plan shows just how desperate Trump and the MAGA GOP are to strip away our reproductive freedom."
Jul 08, 2024
Reproductive freedom advocates on Monday warned against trusting the Republican Party, whose 2024 policy platform now "reads like the transcript" from one of former U.S. President Donald Trump's rallies—including its section on abortion.
"Republicans want to criminalize abortion care and impose a nationwide ban," declared U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). "The far-right extremists lied to the American people about respecting the precedent of Roe v. Wade. They are lying once again."
Trump, a frequent liar, attacked reproductive freedom as president and has bragged about appointing half of the U.S. Supreme Court justices who reversedRoe with a Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization ruling that paved the way for strict bans in over a dozen states.
However, Trump has also tried to distance himself from some extreme and devastating policies, recognizing them as politically risky as he runs for the White House against embattled President Joe Biden, a Democrat campaigning on his support for reproductive rights.
The GOP abortion policy appears on the second-to-last page of the 2024 platform, released just a week before the Republican National Convention is set to kick off in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. It states:
Republicans Will Protect and Defend a Vote of the People, from within the States, on the Issue of Life
We proudly stand for families and Life. We believe that the 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees that no person can be denied Life or Liberty without Due Process, and that the States are, therefore, free to pass Laws protecting those Rights. After 51 years, because of us, that power has been given to the States and to a vote of the People. We will oppose Late Term Abortion, while supporting mothers and policies that advance Prenatal Care, access to Birth Control, and IVF (fertility treatments).
Trump says he supports states making abortion policies. The Associated Pressreported that the platform reflects his position, "omitting the explicit basis for a national ban for the first time in 40 years."
According toPolitico, "Trump didn't just edit the platform language, but wrote some parts of the 15-page draft himself."
The Republican National Committee's (RNC) platform panel approved the document in an 84-18 vote, notedThe New York Times, which added that Trump "was especially focused on softening the language on abortion."
In response to the Times reporting, journalist Paul Blest asserted on social media that "this is such a ridiculous framing on this story about the Republican platform."
"The platform didn't soften the abortion [stance], it just didn't mention it, and the people whose job is to advocate for abortion bans are totally fine with it," Blest continued. "Why do you think that would be?"
"If there's a landslide thanks to Biden's hubris you can bet the GOP will try to jam through a 15-week ban, then a 12-week ban, then a six-week ban, then a full ban with exceptions, then a full ban with no exceptions," he warned. "Whether the platform says it or not."
University of Texas law professor Liz Sepper explained what is included in the platform, saying: "Y'all, the RNC draft platform does not 'moderate' on abortion. It commits to constitutional personhood for fetuses. It takes the view that it is not a mere statute but rather the Constitution that bans abortion nationwide."
"Allow me to anti-abortion translate: The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects life of fetuses," Sepper said. "With Roe, states could not so legislate. After Dobbs, they can legislate this view. And the 14th Amendment prohibits denial of fetal life IN ALL STATES."
"This is commitment to full constitutional personhood for blastocysts/embryos/fetuses," she continued. "That is, the RNC is committing to ensure embryos have rights equal to a full human person. There is no universe where embryos have constitutional rights and IVF can still happen on any scale."
Addressing the platform in an email, Biden's campaign said that "in a desperate attempt to conceal his extreme stance on abortion, Donald Trump directed the RNC to hide the ball on their unpopular plans to ban abortion nationwide—with or without Congress."
"Trump has endorsed every extreme abortion ban, including those with no exceptions for rape or incest, and has even said states should have the right to punish and prosecute women who have an abortion and monitor their pregnancies," the campaign added. "No one is buying Trump's sudden backtracking, including his fellow abortion banners."
The Biden campaign and other critics highlighted praise for the platform from leaders of anti-choice groups including Americans United for Life, Students for Life of America, and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.
Meanwhile, Mini Timmaraju, who leads Reproductive Freedom for All, said that "the GOP wants to ban abortion nationwide—and their platform shows that they'll try to use the 14th Amendment to do it."
"Voters don't want abortion bans," she emphasized. "Republicans know it and this plan shows just how desperate Trump and the MAGA GOP are to strip away our reproductive freedom."
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