Pence Rallies, Ballot Drop Boxes Stay: GA Election News

ATLANTA, GA — Characterizing fears of voter fraud as “highly speculative,” a federal judge on Thursday slapped back an attempt by Republicans to eliminate ballot drop boxes before the Jan. 5 runoff.

“We are not even on the eve of an election,” said J. Randal Hall, chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Augusta, as reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We are, as it relates to this particular election, closing in on halftime.”

The lawsuit, filed by the Twelfth Congressional District Republican Committee, argued that absentee-ballot drop boxes encouraged voter fraud. The suit also asked that local election officials be prohibited from opening ballot envelopes before election day.

Meanwhile, two voting-rights group have sued at least four Georgia counties for not offering enough early-voting opportunities.

The New Georgia Project and Democracy Docket have filed suit in Bibb, Clarke, Houston and Paulding counties for not offering early voting on Saturdays, which they say is required by state law. Bibb County officials say those rules don’t apply to runoff elections, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

The two groups told the Atlanta newspaper that they may file similar suits in other Georgia counties.

Pence Visits Georgia Fourth Time, Rallies For Loeffler And Perdue

Vice President Mike Pence made his fourth pass through Georgia Thursday in support of Republican U.S. Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, both of whom are fighting to keep their seats in a January runoff election.

“Let’s send a message to Chuck Schumer and those Washington Democrats,” Pence said in Columbus, as reported by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We’re going keep Georgia. We’re going to save the Senate. And then we’re going to save America!”

Pence, who also spoke in Macon, never directly acknowledged that President-elect Joe Biden had won the election, although he did say that a Republican majority in the U.S. Senate could prevent one-party rule. Pence also said “our election continues in courthouses throughout the land.”

Before Pence spoke, Loeffler and both Perdue both hit a familiar talking point: painting Democratic candidates Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff as “radical socialists.”

“We will see the first Marxist elected to Senate if we don’t win these races,” Loeffler told the crowd, as reported by the Atlanta newspaper.

Political Ads Are Returning On Thursday To Facebook — But Only If You Live In Georgia

Facebook said Wednesday it will partially lift its ban on political ads, allowing authorized advertisers to buy ads targeted to Georgia voters ahead of the Jan. 5 runoff. Only advertisers who had previously run ads and who had already been vetted will be allowed back on the social media platform. Ads appeared again at noon Eastern time.

A previously issued Facebook ban on political ads remains in effect for the other 49 states, according to The New York Times. That ban took effect when the polls closed on Nov. 3 to stem misinformation about who won the presidential election.

“We will reject ads that target locations outside of Georgia or that are not about the elections for violating our Advertising Policies,” said Facebook product manager Sarah Schiff posted to a company blog. “And, we will continue to prohibit any ad that includes content debunked by third-party fact-checkers or delegitimizes the Georgia runoff elections.”

DJ ANONE, Monica, K-Dubb Headline Drive-In Voter Rally

March On and Future Coalition will host a drive-in concert Saturday in College Park as part of March On the Polls Day, encouraging voters of color and young voters to turn out for the runoff.

Local artists will perform at the Gateway Center, 2330 Convention Center Concourse, starting at 3 p.m. Headline entertainment — featuring DJ AONE, Monica, K-Dubb, Lamman Rucker and Singer Sammie — starts at 6 p.m. The parking lot will open at 5 p.m.

Due to COVID-19, the concert will be a drive-in event. All participants will follow strict safety regulations, including the wearing of masks, and will adhere to guidelines to ensure proper social distancing throughout the event.

March On bills itself as a political organization composed of women-led political activist groups that grew out of the women’s marches of January 21, 2017. Future Coalition is a network of youth-led organizations including Gen Z and young millennial leaders from across the country.

Late-Night Comedian Compares Jan. 5 Runoff To Stomach Issues

Samantha Bee, host of TBS’s late-night show “Full Frontal,” devoted all of Wednesday's episode to the Jan. 5 Georgia runoff, reported The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“What exactly are the Georgia runoffs?” Bee asked. “It sounds like a gastrointestinal issue. As in, ‘I ate an expired cobbler and got a bad case of the Georgia runoffs.’”

The episode — titled “Why Georgia” after a song by John Mayer, who lived in the Atlanta area before he became famous — explained the origins of Georgia’s runoff system, which Bee said was proposed by a segregationist and worked against Democratic candidates.