GA SENATOR NIKEMA WILLIAMS ARRESTED FOR PROTECTING VOTING RIGHTS

GEORGIA STATE SENATOR NIKEMA WILLIAMS ARRESTED FOR PROTECTING VOTING RIGHTS:


Post Sources: 11Alive, Youtube


@CareInActionUSA
**** BREAKING: @NikemaForSenate just got released from jail after being arrested at today’s #counteveryvote rally at the Georgia Capitol. “I am incredibly proud and will continue to stand with the citizens of Georgia to demand that their votes be counted.”

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7:29 PM - Nov 13, 2018 · Atlanta, GA

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**** GEORGIA SENATE DEMOCRATS TO DISCUSS ARREST OF SEN. NIKEMA WILLIAMS


Georgia Senate Democrats are poised to talk about the arrest of Sen. Nikema Williams during a protest Tuesday at the state Capitol, where demonstrators demanded every vote in Georgia's midterm race be counted.

Georgia Senate Democrats are poised to talk about the arrest of State Sen. Nikema Williams during the protest Tuesday at the state Capitol.

The press conference is happening at 11:30 a.m. at the Senate Press Room.

Sen. Williams was among more than a dozen people who were arrested Tuesday night in the rotunda. The protesters demanded every vote to be counted in several tight races.

In a video provided to 11Alive News, at least one sign in the crowd read, "Stacey Abrams IS GOVERNOR" and another "COUNT EVERY VOTE" as protesters chanted "No justice, no peace."

Police took Williams and the others to the Fulton County Jail, where she later bonded out. She was greeted by a small crowd of supporters outside the jail.

"I joined them down on the floor and I was singled out as a black female senator, standing in the rotunda with constituents in the Capitol, in the body that I serve in, and I was singled out and arrested today for standing with so many Georgians who are demanding every vote be counted," she said.

When asked whether police knew she was a state senator when she was arrested, Williams quipped, "I wear my name tag every day in the Capitol."

The protest at the state Capitol came as federal judges throughout Georgia ruled on several election-related lawsuits, including several filed in relation to the Georgia governor race.

The results of that election has yet to be officially decided, though Republican Brian Kemp has already declared himself the winner. Democrat Stacey Abrams, however, has yet to concede as she vows to make sure every vote cast in the election be counted.

GEORGIA GOV RACE UPDATE - FED JUDGE ORDERS STATE TO PROTECT PROVISIONAL BALLOTS

GEORGIA GOV RACE UPDATE - FED JUDGE ORDERS STATE TO PROTECT PROVISIONAL BALLOTS:

EVERY VOTE SHOULD COUNT (VOTING RIGHTS).

MOST STATES (MARYLAND -PG COUNTY) HOLD PROVISIONAL BALLOTS UNTIL 13 DAYS AFTER ELECTION SO THEY CAN THROW AWAY CERTAIN BALLOTS.

STACEY ABRAMS IS A 21st CENTURY CHANGE AGENT.

I’M PROUD OF HER.


Post Sources AP, NBC News, Youtube


***** Judge orders Georgia to protect provisional ballots in Abrams-Kemp race

A federal judge has ordered Georgia take steps to ensure provisional ballots aren't improperly rejected and to wait until Friday to certify the results of the midterm elections that include an unsettled race for governor.

In a ruling late Monday, U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg ordered the secretary of state's office to establish and publicize a hotline or website where voters can check whether their provisional ballots were counted and, if not, the reason why.

And, for counties with 100 or more provisional ballots, she ordered the secretary of state's office to review, or have county election officials review, the eligibility of voters who had to cast a provisional ballot because of registration issues.

Totenberg also ruled that Georgia must not certify the election results before Friday at 5 p.m., which falls before the Nov. 20 deadline set by state law.

State elections director Chris Harvey testified at a hearing last week that the state had planned to certify the election results on Wednesday, a day after the deadline for counties to certify their results. He said that would allow preparations to begin for any necessary runoff contests, including one already projected in the race for the next secretary of state.

Current unofficial returns show Republican Brian Kemp leading by a margin that would make him the governor-elect. But Democrat Stacey Abrams insists that enough outstanding votes remain to be counted that could pull Kemp below the majority threshold and force a Dec. 4 runoff.

Totenberg acted in response to a lawsuit filed Nov. 5 by Common Cause Georgia. The suit accuses Kemp, the state's top elections official until he resigned as secretary of state last week, of acting recklessly after a vulnerability in Georgia's voter registration database was exposed shortly before the election.

Kemp's actions increased the risk that eligible voters could be illegally removed from the voter registration database or have registration information illegally altered, the lawsuit says.

Sara Henderson, executive director of Common Cause Georgia, said in an emailed statement that the ruling helps increase voter confidence in elections.

The secretary of state's office was reviewing the order and considering its options, spokeswoman Candice Broce said in an email.

Totenberg's order doesn't change the Tuesday deadline for counties to certify their results. But Abrams' campaign filed a lawsuit Sunday asking a federal court to push that deadline to Wednesday, while also requiring that elections authorities count certain provisional and absentee ballots that have been or would be rejected for "arbitrary reasons."

"I am fighting to make sure our democracy works for and represents everyone who has ever put their faith in it. I am fighting for every Georgian who cast a ballot with the promise that their vote would count," Abrams said in a statement explaining her refusal to end her bid to become the first black woman elected governor in American history.

Kemp's campaign retorted that Abrams' latest effort is "a disgrace to democracy" and ignores mathematical realities.

"Clearly, Stacey Abrams isn't ready for her 15 minutes of fame to end," said Kemp spokesman Ryan Mahoney.

As of Monday evening, a hearing had not been scheduled for arguments in the case, but Abrams' campaign was expecting a federal court in Atlanta to set a Tuesday hearing, given the time sensitivity.

Unofficial returns show Kemp with a lead of about 60,000 votes out of more than 3.9 million cast; Abrams would need a net gain of about 21,000 votes to force a Dec. 4 runoff. NBC has rated the race too close to call at this time.

The Georgia race, along with Florida's gubernatorial and Senate matchups that are requiring recounts, are among the final measures of a midterm election cycle that already has allowed Democrats to deal serious blows to President Donald Trump.

Democrats already have won the House, flipped seven governor's seats and reclaimed more than 300 state legislative seats in statehouses around the country. The GOP maintained its Senate majority, and could still expand it. But it's looking to hold the governor's mansions in Florida and Georgia to deny Democrats important gains in presidential battlegrounds ahead of the 2020 election.

Republicans have been governor in Georgia since 2003 and in Florida since 1999, and Trump has put a premium on the two states, endorsing both Kemp and Florida's GOP nominee Ron DeSantis when they were in competitive GOP primaries and then campaigning in person for them ahead of the Nov. 6 election.

Georgia's interim Secretary of State Robyn Crittenden on Monday directed county officials to count some provisional ballots that had been rejected because of voters' failure to provide their year of birth, provided the voter's identity and eligibility was still established.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the State Election Board asked Crittenden to send a letter instructing county election officials how to handle absentee ballots.

Republican Gov. Nathan Deal appointed Crittenden to replace Kemp, who resigned last week after declaring victory in the governor's race. He called his margin — 50.3 percent of the vote — "clear and convincing," but said he wanted Georgians to have confidence in the certification process.

Crittenden's directive was in line with one form of relief sought by the Abrams campaign lawsuit but rejected another.

When casting absentee ballots, voters have to sign an oath and have to write their address and year of birth. The lawsuit asked the judge to order that county election officials accept any absentee ballots on which there was missing or insufficient oath information as long as that doesn't "substantially obstruct" officials from verifying the absentee voter's identity.

The lawsuit says that at least 1,095 qualified voters who cast absentee ballots in Gwinnett County had them "arbitrarily and unlawfully rejected" because of missing or insufficient information.

Under Georgia law, any issues causing a voter to cast a provisional ballot must be remedied within three days of the election — Nov. 9 for this election. The lawsuit asks that county election officials be required to consider evidence proving eligibility through Wednesday at 5 p.m.

Crittenden's guidance to the counties noted that the Nov. 9 deadline for verifying the eligibility of provisional ballots was set by state law.

The lawsuit also asked that provisional ballots cast by a voter registered in another county be counted as if the voter had shown up at the wrong precinct. The lawsuit says that of the 1,556 provisional ballots Fulton County reported having rejected by Nov. 9, nearly 1,000 were disqualified because they were cast by voters whose registration records showed them registered in another county.

Further, the Abrams' campaign is asking that any of the court's orders in the case be applied retroactively to counties that already have certified their returns, meaning those counties would have to reopen their counting process using any new standards and then submit updated returns to the state.

STACEY ABRAMS WON’T CONCEDE; DEMANDS RUN-OFF, I CONCUR

STACEY ABRAMS WON’T CONCEDE; DEMANDS RUN-OFF, I CONCUR:

VOTES ARE STILL BEING COUNTED & THE MARGIN IS VERY SLIM.

THUS A RUN-OFF SHOULD BE ALLOWED.

STACEY WORKED EXTREMELY HARD TO GAIN VOTER CONFIDENCE.

IT’S NOT ABOUT RACE......IT’S ABOUT WINNING WITH INTEGRITY.

EVERY BALLOT CAST FOR STACEY SHOULD COUNT.

THE ENTIRE WORLD IS WATCHING 2018 GEORGIA GUBERNATORIAL RACE.


Post Sources: CNN, Youtube


***** Stacey Abrams refuses to concede Georgia governor's race, hoping for runoff


Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams is not conceding the Georgia governor's race to Republican candidate Brian Kemp, arguing that the high stakes contest is too close to call with the possibility of a runoff next month.
Kemp is currently ahead of Abrams by nearly 68,000 votes with 99% of precincts reporting, according to CNN election results. But he only has 50.4% of the vote. If neither candidate receives 50%, there will be a runoff in early December.

"I'm here tonight to tell you votes remain to be counted. There's voices that are waiting to be heard," Abrams, who would be the nation's first black female governor, told supporters early Wednesday morning gathered in Atlanta.

Kemp told supporters he is confident of his victory.

"There are votes left to count. But we have a very strong lead. And folks, make no mistake, the math is on our side to win this election," he said.

According to a statement provided to CNN by her campaign, Abrams is holding off on conceding to see if a runoff is possible.

The campaign cited several specific places in the state that could play a role in a scenario to force the runoff, including three of the state's largest counties that "have reported only a portion of the votes that were submitted by early mail" and four other large counties that "have reported exactly 0 votes by mail," according to the campaign. Together, it said, the seven counties "are expected to return a minimum of 77,000 ballots."

"These counties also represent heavily-Democratic leaning constituencies, and the majority of those votes are anticipated to be for Stacey Abrams," the statement read. The campaign also said absentee ballots could make a difference.

"Across our state, folks are opening up the dreams of voters in absentee ballots, and we believe our chance for a stronger Georgia is just within reach," Abrams said Wednesday morning.

Voters rights issues have taken front and center in the the high-profile gubernatorial race between Kemp, the GOP secretary of state, and Abrams, a state representative.

Democrats have accused Kemp of a conflict of interest as he refused to step away from his post overseeing state elections while he campaigned for governor.

Last month, a federal judge ruled Georgia election officials had to stop rejecting absentee ballots with voters' signatures that didn't appear to match signatures on record.

On Sunday, Kemp's office opened an investigation into the Georgia Democratic Party for what it said was an attempted hack of the state's voter registration system, without providing proof. Georgia Democrats flatly denied the allegation.

He dismissed critics alleging that he weaponized state law to suppress the minority vote as "outside agitators."

A lawsuit filed Tuesday in a Georgia federal court by five state voters asked a judge to strip Kemp of his powers over the midterm election -- including any potential runoffs.

Voters in the Peach State also faced long lines and malfunctioning machines during Tuesday's vote.