ATLANTA — Today, Fair Fight Action CEO Lauren Groh-Wargo responded to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s creation of a so-called absentee ballot ‘fraud’ task force. Her statement follows:
“With the creation of this so-called ‘fraud’ task force, we are witnessing a full submission of Brad Raffensperger to the Trump voter suppression machine. Donald Trump has made clear that he cannot win re-election unless he is able to stop people from casting their votes by mail and having their votes counted, and Trump’s advisors have stated aloud that unprecedented voter suppression will be a key tenet of their re-election strategy. The notion that there are widespread efforts to submit mail ballots on behalf of other voters is a fairy tale told by Donald Trump. Like other myths about so-called ‘voter fraud,’ this myth is perpetrated to intimidate voters and justify efforts to suppress votes.
“Even though no evidence of wrongdoing exists, Raffensperger is continuing the Kempian playbook of abusing public resources by enlisting law enforcement in a partisan expedition to intimidate voters. Raffensperger is also asking election officials to become armchair forensic scientists by urging them to disqualify votes based on the junk science of so-called signature mismatch, discriminating against Georgians of color and Georgians with disabilities.
“Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, voters need options of how to vote, including safely casting a ballot in person and safely casting their vote by mail. By refusing to pay for return postage, intimidating voters with a sham ‘fraud’ task force, and rejecting ballot applications based on junk science, Raffensperger is bowing to his White House overlords by making it harder to vote by mail. Fair Fight Action will continue to use every tool in our arsenal to fight for every eligible Georgian’s right to cast a ballot and have that ballot counted, either by mail or in person.”
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