In Georgia, it’s Republican vs. Republican as election misinformation spreads

By Sara Murray, CNN

(CNN) — The deep mistrust between conservatives and Republican election officials in Georgia is hampering efforts to slow the tide of election misinformation swirling in this pivotal battleground state.

When Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger warned a video of immigrants voting with multiple IDs was fake and likely a Russian disinformation effort — an assessment backed up by US intelligence agencies — Republican skeptics were unmoved.

Kylie Jane Kremer, a Trump backer who helped organize the January 6, 2021, rally on the Ellipse, posted on social media that if Raffensperger and another top official in the office, Gabriel Sterling, said it was false, “I don’t believe them.”

After US intelligence agencies confirmed what state officials had suspected, she started reposting criticisms of the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

While the most pointed criticism is often directed at Raffensperger — who refused to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election despite a direct plea from then-President Donald Trump — and his staff, the skepticism of local election officials underscores one of the key challenges in trying to debunk misinformation this election year.

Georgia was a Republican stronghold for nearly three decades until Joe Biden flipped the state blue in 2020. With its 16 electoral college votes, the Peach State has emerged as a critical battleground once again this year. The vote-rich counties that are home to Atlanta and its suburbs have become particularly fertile targets for misinformation and legal challenges as Republicans look to bite into Democrats’ edge in those areas.

“In the next few days, you may see some extra drama from fringe activists. They are certainly dramatic, aren’t they?” Raffensperger said during a news conference Monday. “Whatever they say or do, we know this to be true: Here in Georgia, it is easy to vote and hard to cheat. Our systems are secure and our people are ready.”

The best sources of accurate and timely election information have been state and election officials. But plenty of conservatives simply don’t believe what election officials are sharing, even when it is backed up by other sources.

“What we do is continue to provide the facts,” said Karli Swift, chair of the board of elections in DeKalb County. “These are your neighbors that are working to ensure the elections are conducted. We have safeguards to protect elections from fraud.”

Among Georgia state officials, there’s obvious frustration with the local conservative agitators.

Amy Kremer, a Republican National Committeewoman from Georgia and Kylie Jane Kremer’s mother, also shared the fake video of immigrants purportedly voting.

“This is illegal & not okay,” she wrote in a social media post that tagged several Georgia officials.

Sterling responded online, saying: “No responsible person would retweet this ridiculously obvious lie and disinformation. Those doing so are acting to further the efforts of America’s enemies and undermine the security of our nation.”

Sterling told CNN, “Even when we tell them the truth, they move the goal posts. It’s part of the same grift.”

Neither of the Kremers responded to a request for comment.

Lawsuits and false social media posts

In the final weekend before Election Day, the Georgia GOP claimed Fulton County, home of Atlanta, was “illegally” accepting absentee ballots at election offices (not ballot drop boxes). The secretary of state’s office said the plans were legal, and a judge agreed, allowing the weekend hours to continue.

The claim that ballots were being illegally accepted, meanwhile, already had legs.

Conservatives called on their followers to show up to election offices to monitor the situation. Others shared on social media that Gwinnett County had backtracked and would not accept absentee ballots over the weekend, which was false.

“Fulton County is a cesspool,” Cleta Mitchell, a conservative attorney who took part in efforts to try to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, said on Steve Bannon’s podcast after a judge ruled against Republicans.

The Republican National Committee has since filed another legal challenge on the matter in federal court.

Janice Johnston, one of the conservative members of the Georgia State Election Board, recently posted “Danger! Danger! Danger!” and shared misleading information about handling memory cards, suggesting they could be manipulated to alter early votes.

Sterling responded online with a GIF saying, “Aww, that’s not true.”

Johnston told CNN she wants more information from the secretary of state’s office about memory card encryption.

Johnston was back online, seeming to take aim at the weekend absentee ballot returns, claiming that “Chaos, confusion, delay” were being imposed upon Georgia voters.

Sterling said there had not been reports of chaos or delays.

When a CNN reporter visited a local election office in Fulton County over the weekend, there were no signs of chaos, just a few people returning absentee ballots.

This story has been updated with additional reaction.

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