On his third trip to Georgia during the Senate runoff campaign, Vice President Mike Pence urged a crowd of hundreds in Augusta to cast absentee ballots for Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue.
This comes after President Donald Trump’s questioning of the security of absentee ballots before the general election appeared to dampen absentee turnout for Republicans in November.
“We’re on them this time,” Pence said. “We’re watching. We’re going to secure the polls. We’re going to secure the drop boxes. So get an absentee ballot in today and vote. Don’t wait. Get it done.”
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has pointed out that nearly 25,000 Georgia Republicans who cast absentee ballots in June did not vote in November, wondering if Trump suppressed his own votes by questioning the integrity of the system.
President-elect Joe Biden, who won the state by about 12,000 votes, received almost double the absentee-by-mail votes as Trump in November.
“Together with your two senators, we’re fighting every day for the integrity of our elections,” Pence told the crowd. “And we’re fighting every day to hold the line and save the majority in the United States Senate. It’s really why I’m here. It’s why the President was in Valdosta on Saturday.”
At his Saturday rally, Trump urged Georgians to vote again in January for Loeffler and Perdue. But he also spent much time repeating unfounded claims of voter fraud about the November election, calling Georgia’s system “rigged.”
A movement among Trump supporters has emerged, suggesting Republicans not vote in January unless election rules are changed.
The Georgia GOP and Senate campaigns have worked to counter that narrative and shore up support in the system. The state party announced this week it has recruited 4,000 poll watchers.
Loeffler said on Fox News this week that her team is very much paying attention to voting in January.
“We’re going to be there to validate and verify signatures,” she said. “We’re going to make sure we have a very robust organization because of what’s at stake on January 5th.”
The Georgia Republican Party sued the Secretary of State in advance of the runoffs over allegations of absentee ballot and poll watching issues in November.
Georgia’s Republican election officials have repeatedly said there’s been no evidence of widespread voter fraud, but leaders including Raffensperger and Gove. Brian Kemp have united in support for future reforms to the state’s absentee ballot program, including requiring photo ID.
Pence instilled upon the crowd the gravity of Georgia’s two Senate runoffs.
“The eyes of America are on you. The eyes of the world are on you,” he said.
