'Jim Crow 2.0?' Conservatives blast Democratic fearmongering after Georgia smashes early voting records

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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp rips Stacey Abrams' abortion pivot: 'Don't really know where she stands'

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp joined 'Fox & Friends' to discuss his debate with Democrat Stacey Abrams and key issues that matter to Georgians as they head to the ballot box for early voting.

Conservative Twitter users slammed Democrats for having once claimed that updated Georgia election laws were "Jim Crow 2.0" after state election officials reported this week that early voting numbers this year smashed turnout in the 2018 midterms. 

In 2021, President Joe Biden, fellow Democratic lawmakers and major media outlets attacked a new Georgia election integrity law as an attempt by GOP officials to suppress the vote, particularly among the African American community. 

The Democrats were so pointed in their attacks on the legislation that Biden referred to it in March 2021 as "Jim Crow in the 21st Century." He added, "It must end. We have a moral and constitutional obligation to act."

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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp looks on during the celebration honoring the Georgia Bulldogs national championship victory on Jan. 15, 2022, in Athens, Georgia.  (Todd Kirkland/Getty Images)

In addition to the political attacks, the Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the state’s law. Though 15 months after filing the suit, the DOJ and the White House have no update on the status of the legal action.

Despite Democrats claiming the voting law would suppress the vote, Chief Operating Officer in the Office of the Georgia Secretary of State, Gabriel Sterling, announced on Twitter Monday that 2022 early voting broke records.

He tweeted, "Our elections team has reviewed the initial early vote numbers for Day 1 and we know we are north of 125,000. This dwarfs the previous record of 72k from the 2018 midterm 1st day of early voting. We will have exact numbers in the morning."

Hours earlier, Sterling had tweeted, "As of 4:15 we have seen over 100,000 Georgians cast their votes early. This blows away the previous midterm 1st day record of approximately 72,000 and we have lots of voting to go today."

Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter and NBC News contributor Greg Bluestein concurred with Sterling, tweeting, "The first day of early voting in Georgia set a new midterm turnout record, with nearly 123,000 in-person voters casting their ballots. It's an early sign of soaring interest in this year’s elections."

His AJC colleague, reporter Mark Niesse, also touted the record-breaking numbers, tweeting, "Record midterm turnout on Day 1 of early voting in Georgia: About 124,000 in-person votes cast, smashing the previous high of 71,000 on the first day of early voting in 2018."

Conservatives found this remarkable in light of Democrats’ efforts to claim that Georgia officials were limiting the vote. They brought up the old talking points on Twitter.

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Democratic Georgia gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams speaks with Fox News' Brandon Gillespie following a rally with the Asian-American community in Gwinnett County, Georgia on October 7, 2022. (Brandon Gillespie)

NewsBusters associate editor Nick Fondacaro shared a "CBS Evening News" clip acknowledging the turnout and mocked it, tweeting, "And yet the liberal media still claims there’s ‘vOtEr SuPpReSsIoN’ and ‘jIm CrOwN[sic] 2.0.’"

Conservative radio host Larry O’Connor shared a local Fox affiliate’s story on the record-breaking turnout and commented, "’Jim Crow 2.0’ UPDATE!"

The Spectator contributing editor Stephen L. Miller shared Sterling’s tweet and captioned it, "Jim Crow 2.0."

TownHall.com political editor Guy Benson commented on Sterling’s tweet as well, noting how this year’s early voting turnout has doubled 2018’s. Benson tweeted, "Double. Remember the ‘Jim Crow’ liars."

Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson tweeted, "Remember all of the doomsday projections about voter suppression with the election legislation passed by our friends in GA? I do. Well done, Georgia! #EasyToVoteHardToCheat."

And Conservative writer Ellen Carmichael sarcastically tweeted, "Voter suppression!" in response to Sterling’s tweet. 

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Georgia GOP Senate candidate Herschel Walker and Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock. (Getty Images)