Brad Raffensperger touts 'record turnout' in Georgia midterm elections
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger touted "record turnout" in the state's midterm elections on Tuesday during an appearance on "Morning Joe."
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger touted "record turnout" in Georgia's midterm elections on Wednesday after Democrats, including President Biden, likened voting laws in the state to "Jim Crow 2.0."
"Morning Joe" host Joe Scarborough asked Raffensperger about the criticism of the Georgia voting laws after the state experienced record turnout in the midterm elections: "There are a lot of people that have been critical of the laws in Georgia. Talking about Jim Crow, 2.0…. Been a lot of criticism, and yet, you look at the numbers this past week, pretty remarkable."
"Well, we had a record – we have just a record turnout. It was bigger than what we had in 2018. We had short lines. Our average wait time in lines was about two minutes in the afternoon. Tracking at three minutes. Longest on leader board 14 minutes. Check-in time, when you got to the front line, 47 seconds. It was just a very smooth process," Raffensperger said.
He continued, "We worked hard with the counties to keep those lines short. Make sure everyone had the opportunity to vote. In Georgia, you can vote no excuse absentee voting 17 days early voting and then Election Day. So we gave voters a choice and they responded. We had a very calm, smooth, well-attended, you know, good turnout election."
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger joins the hosts of "Morning Joe" on Wednesday. (Screenshot/MSNBC/MorningJoe)
Co-host Mike Brzezinski asked if the Georgia Senate runoff election would go "smoothly."
"Yes, it will. We’ve been working with the counties. It’s a tighter schedule. It’s a four-week runoff period," Raffensperger said. He explained, "People can request absentee ballots so that process has happened and then early voting starts right after Thanksgiving, the Monday after. So we'll have five days early voting, and Election Day and then no excuse absentee voting. We expect more than likely half the voters will come back to vote."
Raffensperger also assured they would prepare Georgia's counties for a large turnout.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is shown in this Oct. 18, 2022 file photograph speaking during the Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young Debate Series in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Ben Gray File) (AP Photo/Ben Gray File)
Biden and members of the media slammed Georgia's voting laws as "Jim Crow 2.0."
In October 2021, Biden described the law as "Jim Crow in the 21st Century." In January of this year, the president called it "Jim Crow 2.0."
However, Biden and other Democrats praised voter turnout after midterm elections and admitted they went well.
"The states across the country saw record voter turnout. And the heart and soul of our democracy — the voters, the poll workers, the election officials — they did their job and they fulfilled their duty, and apparently without much interference at all — without any interference, it looks like," Biden said at the White House on Nov. 9.
U.S. President Joe Biden reacts as he walks to greet Chinese President Xi Jinping before a meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit meeting, Monday, Nov. 14, 2022, in Bali, Indonesia. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (Associated Press)
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Biden said it was a testament to American democracy.