Former President Donald Trump praised three members of the Georgia State Election Board during a rally in Atlanta, calling them “pit bulls fighting for honesty, transparency and victory.” The three members – Dr. Janice Johnston, Rick Jaffares, and Janelle King – have questioned the results of the 2020 election, similar to Trump. They recently came under fire for holding a meeting to pass new election rules without the other two members, criticized for potentially increasing chaos and confusion in the 2024 election.
Trump has been critical of Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, both Republicans, who did not support his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Legislation passed after the election removed Raffensperger from the board and gave it more power, removing the secretary of state altogether in 2024.
The three members in question, all Republicans aligned with Trump’s beliefs, hastily adopted new election rules, including increasing the number of partisan poll watchers and requiring daily ballot counts, leading to criticism and a lawsuit from a good government group. The Georgia Republican Party sought to intervene in the lawsuit, raising concerns about potential interference in the electoral process.
Amidst all of this, Trump’s public endorsement of the board members has raised concerns about the integrity of the upcoming election in Georgia. Some Democrats worry about potential alterations to how elections are certified, while the Republican Party wants to ensure that elections are free from fraud. The board members maintain that they made decisions based on facts and evidence, without influence from outside parties.
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