Sen. Perdue: Georgia Senate seats are ‘last line of defense’ against Democratic agenda
Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga., discusses what is at stake if Democrats win control of the Senate.
Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler on Monday accused Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger of failing to release a list of newly registered voters as state election officials deal with the aftermath of three ballot counts finishing just before early voting in the runoff elections started.
Perdue and Loeffler's concerns come after Republicans have worried that Democrats could move to Georgia temporarily to vote in the Senate runoffs, something Raffensperger has said he will not allow.
"It’s been one week since the voter registration deadline passed and the secretary of state has failed to compile and release a final list of newly registered voters," Loeffler and Perdue said in a joint statement. "This is totally unacceptable – the deadline for new voter registration was Dec. 7, 2020. In-person early voting starts today, and the public remains without a full accounting of who is registered and who may attempt to cast a ballot in the runoff."
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"This lack of transparency needs to be rectified immediately, or the integrity of our elections will remain threatened," the senators continued. "Georgians demand transparency, accountability and accuracy in our elections process – and the secretary of state is failing to provide it in a timely manner.”
Vice President Mike Pence, center, Senator Kelly Loeffler, left, and Senator David Perdue, right, wave at individuals at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Ga., Friday, Nov. 20, 2020. (Alyssa Pointer /Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Loeffler and Perdue's statement comes as Georgians begin early voting in the Senate races on Monday. Neither Georgia voters nor election officials are getting a break: some counties had runoff elections in early December, which affected the timeline for inputting new registrations. In addition, Georgia has an intense process for verifying new voters, according to 11 Alive.
A handful of liberals have urged voters to move to Georgia to vote in the Senate runoffs – but moving to Georgia for a short time just to vote is against state law.
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"I've seen people saying they'll move to Georgia, but it's a lot more difficult than they think," Eddie Zipperer, assistant professor of political science at Georgia Military College, told Fox News. "It would be very dangerous and, ultimately, I presume, not worth it."
"What’s going to pose the biggest problem is going to be all manner of outside money coming in," Zipperer said. "If I were a Republican, I’d be much more concerned about outside money coming in than outside people coming in."
In this Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020, file photo, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaks during a news conference in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, File)
Raffensperger has launched investigations into several groups, including one founded by former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, for seeking to “aggressively” register “ineligible, out-of-state or deceased voters” before the state’s Jan. 5 Senate runoff elections.
Raffensperger and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, have been under fire from President Trump after Kemp certified the state's election for President-elect Joe Biden.
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Fox News' inquiry to the Georgia secretary of state's office was not immediately returned.
Fox News' Brooke Singman contributed to this report.
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