Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel alleges election irregularities in Buckhead on Nov. 6, 2020. (Photo by Beau Evans)
Republican leaders in Georgia delivered different responses Friday to President Donald Trump’s claims of voting irregularities and attacks on the state’s election integrity as his lead in the Peach State slipped away to Democratic challenger Joe Biden.
Charged by the president with overseeing “an election apparatus run by Democrats,” Gov. Brian Kemp, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and Georgia House Speaker David Ralston – all Republicans – called for investigations into any voter-fraud allegations.
They did not outline any specific allegations in a brief joint statement Friday and avoided directly addressing Trump’s attacks on Georgia’s election system while also throwing support to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s Republican elections chief.
“We trust that our secretary of state will ensure that the law is followed as written and that Georgia’s election result includes all legally-cast ballots – and only legally-cast ballots,” the statement read. “We will continue to follow this situation to ensure a fair and transparent process.”
Meanwhile, backed by a Trump-painted bus in a Buckhead parking lot, the Georgia Republican Party convened supporters to hear impassioned and conspiracy-tinged speeches by several GOP leaders, including Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel.
McDaniel said her organization plans to send legal teams into four states with tight races including Georgia to investigate alleged voting irregularities, but she and other speakers divulged few specifics. She mentioned one issue involving an unnamed “whistleblower” who allegedly was “told to back-date ballots” in Michigan.
McDaniel declined to describe more specific allegations when pressed by reporters, saying lawyers advised her to keep mum for now.
“We are not going to jump the gun, but they are serious,” McDaniel said of the unspecified allegations.
McDaniel was joined at the podium by former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue, Trump’s agriculture secretary; outgoing state Rep. Vernon Jones; and attorney Lin Wood, who intentionally mispronounced Democratic vice presidential nominee Kalama Harris’ name as “Cabala” Harris during his remarks.
Biden, the former vice president, pulled ahead of Trump in Georgia early Friday morning and held a razor-thin advantage of around 4,000 votes late Friday with roughly 14,200 provisional and 8,400 military and overseas ballots left to be counted.
Raffensperger said Friday the presidential race in Georgia will likely require a recount.
ATLANTA – Georgia tax collections rose by 1.8% in October, building on a positive first quarter for the state as businesses affected by the coronavirus pandemic continued to reopen.
While the monthly revenue report for September showed a decline in tax revenues, the first quarter of fiscal 2021 overall reflected a 6.3% increase over July, August and September of last year.
The state brought in $2.02 billion in taxes last month, an increase of $35.2 million over October 2019.
On the other hand, individual income taxes declined 1.2% last month, driven in part by a 6.8% drop in tax return payments.
The reduced individual income tax collections were more than offset by a 6.3% increase in gross sales tax revenues.
Corporate income taxes fell by 28.8% in October. Contributing to the decline were a 67.6% increase in corporate tax refunds issued by the Georgia Department of Revenue and a 48% decline in tax payments to the state.
With more Georgia drivers taking to the highways with the increased reopening of offices, shops and restaurants, the state’s gasoline tax collections increased by $2.6 million over October 2019, or 1.7%.
Coronavirus has sickened hundreds of thousands people and killed thousands more in Georgia. (Image: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
Nearly eight months into the COVID-19 pandemic, Georgia officials and public-health experts are eying the upcoming winter season with caution amid a recent uptick in positive coronavirus cases and the dual impacts of the flu.
Cases of COVID-19, which had killed 8,156 people by Friday and sickened hundreds of thousands more in Georgia, have declined sharply since a peak in late July when the state averaged more than 3,500 cases per day, according to state Department of Public Health (DPH) data.
But cases have crept back up in recent weeks from a daily average of just under 1,200 cases on Oct. 1 to more than 1,700 cases as of Thursday. The DPH data also shows the state’s case positivity rates and hospitalization counts have ticked up over the past few weeks.
Georgia’s recent increases mirror a spiking trend of new COVID-19 cases across the U.S. that soared to more than 113,000 nationwide on Thursday – though Georgia’s case rates have not risen so steeply as in many other states, said Jose Cordero, an epidemiology professor at the University of Georgia (UGA).
“Right now, we are in an upward trend,” Cordero said. “When you have a virus like [COVID-19], you have it not in a single wave but in multiple waves. And that’s exactly what we’re seeing.”
Georgia might even experience back-to-back waves of increasing COVID-19 infections if people abandon masks, social distancing and other safety precautions during the holiday season, said Isaac Fung, an associate professor of epidemiology at Georgia Southern University’s Jiann-Ping Hsu College of Public Health.
With cold temperatures not yet present in Georgia, Fung traced the current creep in positive cases largely to people who have disregarded safety measures as the pandemic rolls on without a vaccine likely available until next year.
“If people continue to be relaxed about wearing face masks, we could potentially see a major increase after Thanksgiving and another wave after Christmas,” Fung said. “It is certainly a very challenging circumstance for many individuals, especially older age groups.”
At the same time, the rate of COVID-19 tests aimed at helping pinpoint where outbreaks occur has declined in Georgia recently, as noted in a White House task force report issued Nov. 1. Fewer tests make it tougher to gauge the true extent of the virus’ reach in local communities, the report says.
That knowledge gap could heighten the risk of spreading coronavirus in gathering places like bars or indoor parties, particularly if family and friends sick of being socially separated throw caution to the wind for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, said UGA’s Cordero.
“If you have people that you don’t know whether they’re positive or not, you’re going to have more [cases], especially with the asymptomatic spreaders,” Cordero said.
State public-health officials and Gov. Brian Kemp have touted boosts in testing availability and turnaround times for several months, after tests were limited and sluggish during the pandemic’s early days. Private labs and companies like CVS and Walmart joined the state to start offering tests in May.
But more recently, Georgians preoccupied with rebuilding their businesses, keeping their online-learning kids focused at home and just generally feeling fatigued by the stress and isolation of the pandemic have gone to get tested less often, said Nancy Nydam, a DPH spokeswoman.
“Testing for COVID-19 in Georgia has declined as it has nationally,” Nydam said. “There is not one definitive reason for the decline. … [But] it is possible that as we get closer to Thanksgiving and the holidays, we again will see an uptick in demand for testing.”
Alongside official testing, UGA Professor Erin Lipp and a student group have been analyzing COVID-19 levels at three Athens wastewater treatment plants since late May to gain a broader picture of the virus’ presence in Athens-Clarke County, including among infected people who do not show symptoms.
A dashboard, which depicts the weekly amount of COVID-19 viruses that detach from feces in the county’s sewerage system, has shown fluctuating levels of coronavirus in Athens since October, complicating the guesswork for how transmissions might trend in the coming winter months, Lipp said.
“We haven’t seen a consistent trend in recent weeks pointing in one direction or another,” Lipp said. “But we really need to be aware of the increased possibility of transmission in Athens, even if it’s not happening right now.”
With such uncertainty, Georgia officials and health experts are pushing to avoid simultaneous outbreaks of COVID-19 and influenza, which combined could hammer local hospitals where doctors and nurses have spent months treating coronavirus patients.
Already, Albany’s hard-hit Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital in South Georgia is bracing for “another significant and potentially dangerous stage” in the fight against COVID-19, although positive cases and hospitalizations of late have stayed steadily low, said hospital President and CEO Scott Steiner.
“This has been a record-setting week for new COVID-19 cases nationwide as the virus spreads rapidly in many areas where cold weather has arrived,” Steiner said Friday. “Once cooler weather comes to Southwest Georgia, and we begin to spend more time indoors, the risk for virus transmission will rise.”
Kemp’s office said the governor and the state’s public-health chief, Dr. Kathleen Toomey, have been checking in regularly with hospitals ahead of the winter season to prepare for any capacity issues resulting from a potential influx of COVID-19 and flu patients.
State emergency-management officials also have “an on-hand supply” of masks, hand sanitizer and other protective gear that “can be deployed at a moment’s notice” in the event of an outbreak, said the governor’s press secretary, Cody Hall.
“We continue to urge all Georgians to follow best practices and get their flu shot to prevent a ‘twindemic’ of COVID-19 and the flu,” Hall said. “We’re also still asking Georgians to do ‘Four Things for Fall’ to mitigate the spread of COVID-19: Wear a mask, wash your hands, watch your distance and follow the guidance of public-health officials.”
Fung, of Georgia Southern, agrees those habits could help stave off a winter COVID-19 wave. He’s been sheltering in his home since March, when the virus first fired across Georgia, and put bluntly the possible consequences for people who ignore distancing and masking practices this holiday season.
“They need to be aware that they may potentially infect their grandparents,” Fung said. “If I was in that situation, I would feel very bad.”
ATLANTA – Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger defended the state’s elections system Friday, one day after President Donald Trump and his Republican supporters accused the secretary of state’s office of mishandling absentee ballots.
With more than 22,600 military and overseas absentee ballots as well as provisional ballots remaining to be counted as of late Friday, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden had pulled ahead of Trump in Georgia by 4,235 votes. Biden had trailed the president in the Peach State from the time vote counting began after the polls closed on Tuesday night until the wee hours of Friday morning.
Georgia was one of just a handful of states still up for grabs on Friday, with Biden holding narrow leads in most of them.
“The stakes are high and emotions are high on all sides,” Raffensperger, a Republican, said during a news conference. “We will not let that debate distract us from our work. We will get it right.”
After Trump took to the White House podium Thursday night to slam Georgia and other states still counting absentee ballots, Republican members of Georgia’s congressional delegation rushed to back the president. GOP Sen. Kelly Loeffler contributed to a defense fund raising money to mount legal challenges alleging fraud in the election.
But Gabriel Sterling, voting systems manager for the secretary of state’s office, said Friday Georgia election officials have not seen any “widespread irregularities” in the counting of votes.
“When margins are this tight, small things can make a difference,” he said. “So, everything is going to have to be investigated to ensure the integrity of this election.”
Raffensperger said the thin margin separating Biden and Trump in Georgia likely will necessitate a recount, which will come after the vote has been audited and certified.
“We’re committed to doing everything we can to maintain trust in our electoral process,” Raffensperger said.
Sterling said the secretary of state’s office is open to investigating any allegations of wrongdoing that can be supported.
“If somebody has a credible complaint and some evidence, they can give our office a call,” he said.
President Donald Trump slammed Georgia’s election system in a speech at the White House on Nov. 5, 2020. (White House video)
A handful of Republican statewide officeholders rushed to President Donald Trump’s defense Thursday night as he lashed out against Georgia’s election system just before his lead over Democratic challenger Joe Biden evaporated overnight in the Peach State.
In a prime-time televised speech Thursday, Trump accused Georgia election officials of improperly counting mail-in votes and of having “an election apparatus run by Democrats,” even though both the governor and the state’s election chief are Republicans.
The Republican president, who has called for halting ballot counts in some tight-race states, also made unfounded claims Georgia election officials were accepting ballots after the 7 p.m. Election Day deadline. Similar allegations were made in a Trump campaign lawsuit that a Chatham County judge tossed Thursday.
Trump delivered his speech just as his lead over Biden in Georgia shrunk to less than 4,000 votes. Hours later on Friday, the former vice president and Democratic nominee pulled ahead in the state with a few thousand ballots still left to be counted.
Biden’s lead over Trump in Georgia stood at 1,097 votes as of 10 a.m. Thursday morning, according to official state elections data.
Of Georgia’s eight currently seated Republican Congress members, two immediately echoed the president’s attitude Thursday night by slamming the state’s election system in a bid to cast doubt on the election’s integrity and back Trump’s intent to fight mail-in ballot counting in court.
U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, whose district stretches from east of Atlanta to suburban Augusta, unloaded on Georgia officials’ handling of the election minutes after Trump’s speech ended. In a Twitter post, Hice called their performance “embarrassing” and made unfounded claims that “partisan ballots keep appearing” in Georgia.
Shortly after, outgoing U.S. Rep. Doug Collins appeared at a Trump campaign rally in Atlanta alongside the president’s son, Donald Trump Jr., where the four-term Gainesville congressman accused an unnamed local media outlet of refusing to report on ballots being counted at State Farm Arena after observers were forced to leave due to a burst water pipe.
“Who’s in cahoots with who?” said Collins, who finished third and out of the running for a January runoff earlier this week in the crowded race for U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s seat.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, the controversial firebrand Republican who won a Northwest Georgia congressional seat on Tuesday, accused Democratic leaders of aiming to “steal” the election by “trying to count ballots that are coming in after the election.”
She also described Republicans who would not support Trump’s push to curb ballot counting in certain states as “cowards” and “weak-kneed.”
The state’s two Republican U.S. Senators, Loeffler and David Perdue, declined Thursday night to directly comment in response to Trump’s statements on Georgia’s election. Both staunch supporters of Trump, Perdue and Loeffler pointed to earlier comments Thursday they made calling for all “legal” and “lawful” votes to be counted.
Loeffler, however, said on Twitter she donated to a Trump campaign fundraising platform aimed at raising money to “protect the results” of the election.
Georgia’s Republican U.S. Reps. Drew Ferguson, Austin Scott, Barry Loudermilk, Rob Woodall, Rick Allen and Buddy Carter had not directly addressed the president’s election comments as of Friday morning. On social media, some of them echoed Loeffler and Perdue in calling for counting “legal” votes.
Also avoiding direct comment were Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, a staunch Trump supporter, and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican whose office oversees activities of the state’s 159 county elections boards and is responsible for providing local precincts with voting machines.
In several updates since Tuesday, Raffensperger has stressed Georgia’s election system has “strong security protocols.” His top deputy, Jordan Fuchs, said Friday morning state and local election workers were focused on delivering “real, accurate election results” with the presidential race so close.
“Election workers around the state are working with integrity to ensure every legal ballot is counted,” Fuchs said.
Likewise, the state’s voting systems manager, Gabriel Sterling, defended the elections’ handling by state and county officials on behalf of Raffensperger’s office Thursday, repeatedly stressing the need for accuracy over speed in the ongoing tabulation of ballots.
“In this state, in particular, we take security very seriously,” Sterling said Thursday. “I can speak for the people on Secretary Raffensperger’s staff [and] the elections directors from around the state — they’re going to get it right.”
