Trump-Backed Organization Launches New Effort to Disenfranchise Georgia Voters

America First Policy Institute continues to push election lies and conspiracies

America First Policy Institute also represents Julie Adams in her Fulton Election Lawsuit

Today, the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute launched a new initiative to disenfranchise Georgia voters, and amplified dangerous and damaging election lies. At the press conference held inside of the Georgia State Capitol, the America First Policy Institute’s Hogan Gidley falsely claimed that “in the state of Georgia, there are twenty-two counties with [voter] registration rates at, or above, 100%.” 

Today was not the first time Gidley, a former Trump White House spokesperson, has pushed dangerous election lies and conspiracy theories. In one notable instance, following the January 6 insurrection, Gidley claimed President Trump “can’t say anything (about the U.S. Capitol riot) because the [social media] platforms have removed him.” Independent fact checker, Politifact, rated that claim “False.” 

America First Policy Institute (AFPI) is no stranger to Georgia. Julie Adams, a Fulton County Board of Elections member who refused and eventually abstained from certifying Fulton County’s election last month, is represented by AFPI, and filed a lawsuit claiming she didn’t have enough information to certify the elections. In an editorial dated June 4, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s editorial board stated the obvious about the AFPI and Adams’ lawsuit: 
 
“While we’d all agree that elections and their counting and certifications should be transparent, that’s not what this is about. Instead, the suit is laying the foundation for a November redo of 2020′s stolen election claims should the presumptive Republican nominee, former president Donald Trump, lose.”
 
“This is a transparent attempt to set the stage for that fight,” said Chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia Congresswoman Nikema Williams. “The Democratic Party of Georgia will continue to combat Trump’s efforts to undermine our democracy and ensure local elections are certified, which is required by law. Georgians want leaders who know our democracy is stronger when we all vote, which is why Democrats will fight any efforts, like this one, to undermine our free and fair elections, and why we are protecting Georgians’ fundamental right to vote.”

Last week, Rolling Stone found that in addition to Adams’ role as a member of the Fulton County Board of Elections, she is also listed as a “regional coordinator” of Cleta Mitchell’s Election Integrity Network. 

According to Axios, “the legal fight over the 2024 election has begun.”
 
“Former President Trump’s team is more focused so far on building a sprawling network of “election integrity” lawyers and poll watchers than on rounding up organizers and door knockers to reach voters.

Why it matters: It’s a sign that five months before Election Day, the legal battle over the 2024 race is underway — and that Trump plans to cry “rigged” if he loses, just as it did after the 2020 election and his felony convictions.”

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