Stacey Abrams, the election truther who self-identifies as the winner of Georgia's gubernatorial race in 2018, continues to struggle on the campaign trail. Days after denouncing Georgia as "the worst state in the country," Abrams gave a bumbling response to a reporter's question about why voter turnout was soaring in the state, especially among black voters, despite what Democrats had repeatedly claimed was a "Jim Crow 2.0" regime of so-called voter suppression.
"We know that increased turnout has nothing to do with suppression," Abrams said (with a straight face) at a press conference ahead of the state's primary elections on Tuesday. "Suppression is about whether or not you make it difficult for voters to access the ballot."
Abrams had previously accused Republicans of "stealing the right to vote" by passing legislation to roll back some of the election measures instituted at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. President Joe Biden described the GOP voting reforms as "Jim Crow on steroids." Nevertheless, voters in Georgia have been casting ballots in record numbers, with a significant increase in early turnout among black voters. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution noted the "short lines and limited problems" as voters casts their primary ballots on Tuesday.
Before dismissing the suggestion that the increased turnout was evidence that black voters might not be experiencing segregation-era levels of suppression, Abrams had boasted about the "surge in Democratic voting" during the primary, especially among "voters that weren't in the mix four years ago," which would have been before Republicans enacted their oppressive Ultra Jim Crow regime.
"In this primary, despite not having the resources of Republicans or the competition of Republicans, what we have seen is record turnout among communities of color, among Latino and Hispanic and black communities," Abrams said.
Just like during Jim Crow.