/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5fc80ad88b57b5ff44d40181/0x0.jpg?cropX1=0&cropX2=1890&cropY1=0&cropY2=1063&w=1200&resize=1200,675&ssl=1 "Trump’s Allies Can’t Decide Whether To Boycott Georgia’s Runoff Elections")
Topline
President Donald Trump is falsely claiming Georgia’s November election was irreparably marred by vote-rigging, but he still wants the state’s Republicans to vote in two Senate runoffs next month, a contradiction that has led a few extreme Trump supporters to call for boycotts of the runoffs even as Trump pitches them as must-win contests.
Vice President Mike Pence waves to supporters at a Defend the Majority Rally in Canton, Georgia … [+]
Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Key Facts
Trump is flying to Georgia on Saturday for a rally with Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, who are running against Democratic challengers Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, respectively, in a pair of tight races Jan. 5 that will determine which party controls the Senate next year.
But during a bizarre Wednesday afternoon rally in Atlanta, former Trump campaign attorney Sidney Powell suggested voters should stay home in future elections unless officials commit to various ballot security measures, many of which are either already in place in Georgia (like voter ID rules) or rooted in evidence-free conspiracies about foreign vote-rigging.
Lin Wood, an attorney who has worked alongside Powell to file longshot election lawsuits in Georgia, told rallygoers Wednesday they should only vote for Perdue and Loeffler if they “earn” their votes by pushing the state legislature to reverse the election’s outcome, handing Georgia’s electoral votes to Trump.
Starting last month, a small number of Trump supporters suggested election boycotts on social media, though it’s unclear whether the idea will impact turnout (few pollsters have released data ahead of the runoffs, but both races appear to be fairly tight).
Some Trump surrogates are urging voters to ignore these boycott threats, including Donald Trump Jr. and one Georgia state legislator who shared a stage with Wood and Powell on Wednesday.
Crucial Quote
“Some have talked about staying home,” State Rep. Vernon Jones (D), a Trump supporter, said at the rally, which was billed as a press conference. “You have to come out.”
Chief Critic
“I’m gonna disagree with Vernon Jones,” Wood said on the same stage as Jones, about three minutes later. “We’re not gonna go vote on January 5th in another machine made by China … Why would you go back and vote in another rigged election?”
Surprising Fact
Even though Trump wants his supporters to vote for Loeffler and Perdue, he said Tuesday that Gov. Brian Kemp (R) should “call off” the runoff elections, baselessly implying the two senators would win reelection outright if enough fraudulent ballots are uncovered.
Key Background
Trump and his allies have spent weeks spreading inaccurate rumors about voter fraud in Georgia and nearly every other swing state, part of their legal and political push to overturn Trump’s electoral defeat. In particular, Powell is promoting a false conspiracy theory that Georgia’s voting machines were rigged by foreign governments, multinational corporations and elected officials from both political parties. This gambit has led some of Trump’s supporters to grow suspicious of the country’s election systems, and a small number of hardliners like Powell and Wood are now responding by deciding not to vote in the first place.
Tangent
Some Georgians are calling on Trump’s allies to tone down their conspiratorial rhetoric, noting that officials like Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger have received death threats due to their defense of the state’s voting system. At Wednesday’s rally, Powell and Wood did not accept this idea. Wood led a “lock him up” chant against Gov. Kemp and falsely claimed the governor and Raffensperger took bribes from China to rig the election.
Further Reading
Social media chatter calls for GOP voter boycott of Georgia U.S. Senate runoff races (11Alive)
Trump’s conspiracies have MAGA world talking Georgia boycott (Politico)
/https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5fc80ad88b57b5ff44d40181/0x0.jpg?cropX1=0&cropX2=1890&cropY1=0&cropY2=1063&w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1&description=Trump%E2%80%99s+Allies+Can%E2%80%99t+Decide+Whether+To+Boycott+Georgia%E2%80%99s+Runoff+Elections){kind=link}