Stacey Abrams is not only refusing to concede the Georgia gubernatorial race, but her team is moving forward with legal action.
According to The Hill, Kurt Kastorf from the candidate's legal team announced the campaign filed a lawsuit on Thursday in connection to Dougherty County's absentee ballots. They claim the ballots were mailed too slowly. Kastorf said the first delay was caused by direct order and was then further delayed by Hurricane Michael.
The Abrams team held a press conference on Thursday about the candidate's decision to stay in the race.
“We are in this race until we’re convinced that every vote is counted,” said Abrams campaign manager Lauren Groh-Wargo. “We don’t believe any of these numbers are credible.”
Kastorf also highlighted Chatham County. There, voters were reportedly told they needed to cast provisional ballots but were not given these ballots because judges had run out. That left those voters unable to vote. The team announced plans for a lawsuit about this action but said it is first collecting sworn statements from voters about the problems they encountered there.
As the legal challenges mount, Brian Kemp has officially resigned as secretary of state, according to CNN. The Associated Press has Kemp leading by 62,709 votes with 100 percent of precincts reporting, but he has not been declared the winner by any major news outlets at this time.
NAACP President Derrick Johnson commented on the timing of Kemp's resignation. Many Abrams supporters called on Kemp to step down when he entered the race, arguing it wasn't fair for the man who oversees the state's elections to run for Georgia's top job. Johnson echoed these sentiments, saying Kemp should've stepped down "months ago," The Hill reports.
"Whether it’s malicious intent or benign neglect, Kemp’s actions during the election were textbook voter suppression and surely decreased voter confidence among residents in the state," Johnson said in a statement on Thursday. "His actions were strategic, careless and aimed at silencing the voting power of communities of color in the state, and although his resignation comes at an interesting time, amidst a recount of the gubernatorial race, the NAACP will be closely watching how these events unfold."
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