Social media users quickly descended on MSNBC analyst Jason Johnson’s claim that he "can’t say" whether the Georgia midterm elections will be "fair and equitable" thanks to its election law.
Johnson suggested on "Deadline: White House" hours before polls were set to close that Gov. Brian Kemp’s, R-Ga., 2021 voter security law acts as a form of "voter suppression" that prevents him from calling the election "fair" or "equitable."
"The level of voter suppression is beyond anything that we saw in 2018. So I think it’s completely up in the air. There has been youth turnout at levels we haven’t expected. Democrats feel confident, Republicans I’ve spoken to feel confident. But we can’t say that whatever happens tonight is a fair and equitable election, because there have been too many laws passed by election deniers to keep people from expressing themselves," Johnson said.
2022 MIDTERM ELECTIONS: LIVE UPDATES
Twitter users immediately knocked Johnson for preemptively denying Georgia’s election results despite months of the network hitting Republican "election deniers."
Gov. Brian Kemp, R-Ga., passed an election security law in 2021. (REUTERS/Tom Brenner)
Journalist Glenn Greenwald wrote, "MSNBC is already airing their pundits to call into question whether the results of tonight's elections will be fair and legitimate. Isn't doing this supposed to be a threat to democracy or something?"
"We’ve got our first Democrat election denier on @MSNBC. I can’t believe it took this long. The pivot from you can’t ever question elections to 2022 is an illegitimate election will be whiplash inducing," radio host Clay Travis tweeted.
"Denialism, man," The Lafayette Co. president Ellen Carmichael joked.
Marine Corps veteran Jesse Kelly wrote, "Hillary Clinton and the 2016 election was what took this stuff into hyperdrive. ‘Election stolen. Russian interference. Not my president.’ Now every election they lose is illegitimate and every one they win is the safest ever. I choose to participate in this now."
MSNBC analyst Jason Johnson questioned whether Georgia's election is "far and equitable" based on its voting law. (MSNBC)
"Not only an election denier but a turnout denier! At least wait until your woman loses again before resorting to this fact free hyperbole," conservative commentator Rita Panahi wrote.
MSNBC ANALYST ‘CAN’T SAY’ GEORGIA ELECTION IS ‘FAIR AND EQUITABLE’ BECAUSE OF NEW ELECTION LAW
MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan, however, defended Johnson’s claims, arguing that "pointing out obvious GOP voter suppression" is different than denying elections.
"I know the right is desperate to try and call liberals ‘election deniers’ too but, to any good faith actor, there is a massive difference between pointing out obvious GOP voter suppression - & claiming Italian satellites, Hugo Chavez, & Dominion swung an election for the Dems!" Hasan tweeted.
Stacey Abrams, Democratic candidate for Governor of Georgia, speaks to the media after posing for photos with students and encouraging voting at Georgia State University on November 7, 2022, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)
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Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams similarly hit Kemp’s law as "voter suppression" in an interview on Saturday. Despite this claim, Georgia saw record levels of turnout for early voting.