GA Elections: Trump Returns, Lawsuit Tossed, Officials Stressed

GEORGIA — President Donald Trump will headline a rally near Dalton on Jan. 4, the night before the runoff election to choose Georgia’s two U.S. Senators.

Trump finally tweeted specifics about the rally Sunday after announcing earlier this month that he would return to Georgia to campaign for Republican candidates U.S. Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue.

Trump’s first-post election appearance was on Dec. 5 in Valdosta, where he repeated unsupported claims that his loss to President-elect Joe Biden had been “rigged.” Trump also attacked Gov. Brian Kemp at the time for certifying his loss in Georgia, simultaneously questioning the vote’s legitimacy in November while urging his supporters to cast ballots in January.

The president’s appearance in northwest Georgia is significant: Georgia’s 14th District is solidly Republican but has shown lower voter turnout than any other district, according to the website GeorgiaVotes.com.

Trump’s rally is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Jan. 4 at Dalton Municipal Airport. Tickets are available on the Trump campaign website.

On behalf of two GREAT Senators, @sendavidperdue & @KLoeffler, I will be going to Georgia on Monday night, January 4th., to have a big and wonderful RALLY. So important for our Country that they win!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 27, 2020

Local Elections Officials Under Intense Pressure

Between the pandemic and intense scrutiny of their work, county election offices across Georgia are feeling the strain going into the Jan. 5 runoffs.

“It doesn’t even seem like Christmas to any of us,” Deidre Holden, elections supervisor in Paulding County, said to Politico. “Nobody’s had any time off. And that’s to be expected, because we have to get through this election. You are physically tired, you are mentally tired. You are basically exhausted. But we know that we have to keep going on.”

Bartow County elections supervisor Joseph Kirk said he was concerned that coronavirus spread during holiday gatherings could deplete his staff.

“Not everyone is following the advice and not having large family gatherings or going to Christmas gatherings,” Kirk told Politico. “All we can do right now is plan for contingencies, have a plan B available and hope we don’t have to use it.”

The worst strain of all, though, may be the cloud of suspicion cast on all officials by Trump’s repeated claims of election fraud.

“The sheer flood of disinformation had undermined people’s faith,” said Gabriel Sterling, an elections official from the Georgia secretary of state’s office. “At the end of the day, what that means is you don’t trust your neighbor who’s running the election.”

Politico’s story about the challenge’s faced by Georgia election officials can be found here.

'Speculative' Lawsuit To Stop Runoff Thrown Out By Judge

The latest challenge to Georgia elections — this one to stop the Jan. 5 runoff election for U.S. Senate — was dismissed as “astonishingly speculative” Monday by a federal judge.

Judge Timothy Batten Sr. denied a request by Atlanta attorney Lin Wood to prevent the runoff because of what Wood said was an illegal process for verifying signatures on absentee ballot envelopes, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

In his ruling, Batten said Wood didn’t have standing to sue and that courts “do not credit bald assertions that rest on mere supposition.”

“Time and time again we have successfully fought off lawsuits from the right and the left looking to undermine rule of law in Georgia,” Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said in a statement Monday. “The numerous baseless and frivolous lawsuits, funded by unsuspecting Georgians who are being duped by Wood, are just the latest in a long history of lawsuits to nowhere in Georgia.”

Wood has sued unsuccessfully in early December to stop Georgia from certifying its general election results. Wood's most recent suit drew international attention for, among other things, declaring that he verified his facts “under plenty of perjury.” The correct phrase is “under penalty of perjury.”

According to the Independent and other news organizations, about 60 lawsuits have been filed by Trump and his allies to overturn the results of the general election. Most have been dismissed.