CNN
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Deep mistrust between conservative and Republican election officials in Georgia is hampering efforts to slow the tide of election misinformation in the crucial battleground state.
When Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger warned that a video of immigrants voting using multiple IDs was fake and likely a Russian disinformation operation, Republican skeptics were unfazed.
Kylie Jane Kremer, a Trump supporter who helped organize the Jan. 6, 2021 Ellipse rally, posted on social media that the statements made by Raffensperger and another government official, Gabriel Sterling, were false. If so, he posted, “I don’t believe it.” they. ”
She began reposting criticism of the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency after U.S. intelligence confirmed what state officials had suspected.
The sharpest criticism has often been directed at Mr. Raffensperger and his staff, who refused to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election despite a direct plea from then-President Donald Trump, but local election officials The authorities’ skepticism highlights one of the key issues in the election. We’re trying to debunk misinformation this election year.
Georgia was a Republican stronghold for nearly 30 years until Joe Biden flipped the state blue in 2020. The Peach State, with its 16 electoral votes, has once again emerged as a key battleground this year. Atlanta and some of its suburban voting counties have been particularly attractive targets for misinformation and legal challenges as Republicans seek to cut into Democratic advantages in these areas.
The best sources of accurate and timely election information are state and election officials. But many conservatives simply don’t believe what election officials are sharing, even when it’s corroborated by other sources.
“What we’re doing is continuing to provide the facts,” said DeKalb County Board of Elections Chair Carly Swift. “These are our neighbors who are working hard to ensure elections are conducted. We have safeguards in place to protect elections from fraud.”
There is clear dissatisfaction among Georgia officials with local conservative agitators.
The mother of Amy Kremer and Kylie Jane Kremer, Republican national committee members from Georgia, also shared a fake video purporting to show immigrants voting.
“This is illegal and will not be tolerated,” she wrote in a social media post tagging several Georgia officials.
“No responsible person would retweet this ridiculously obvious lie and disinformation,” Sterling said online. ”
“Even when we tell them the truth, they move the goalposts. That’s part of the same frustration,” Sterling told CNN.
Neither Mr. and Mrs. Kramer responded to requests for comment.
Lawsuits and false social media posts
In the final weekend before Election Day, the Georgia Republican Party claimed that Fulton County, home to Atlanta, was “illegally” accepting absentee ballots at election offices (not at ballot drop boxes). The Secretary of State’s Office said the plan was legal, and a judge agreed, allowing the store to remain open on weekends.
Meanwhile, claims that ballots are being accepted illegally already have merit.
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If Trump wins the election, conspiracy theorists will be in a position to shape policy.
Conservatives called on their supporters to come to election offices and monitor the situation. Some people falsely shared on social media that Gwinnett County had backtracked and would no longer accept absentee ballots over the weekend.
“Fulton County is a cesspool,” Cleta Mitchell, a conservative lawyer who participated in the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election, said on Steve Bannon’s podcast after the judge ruled against Republicans. spoke.
The Republican National Committee subsequently filed another legal challenge on the issue in federal court.
Janice Johnston, one of the conservative members of the Georgia State Board of Elections, recently posted, “Danger!” danger! danger! “and shared misleading information about the handling of memory cards and suggested that memory cards could be manipulated to alter early voting.”
Ms Sterling responded online with a GIF saying: “Oh that’s not true.”
Johnston returned online and appeared to take aim at absentee ballot returns over the weekend, claiming “confusion, disruption and delay” were being imposed on Georgia voters.
Mr Sterling said there were no reports of disruptions or delays. Johnston did not respond to a request for comment.
When a CNN reporter visited a local elections office in Fulton County over the weekend, there were no signs of disruption, only a few people returning absentee ballots.
