Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA) on Tuesday denied that GOP efforts to delegitimize the election process will discourage voter turnout as his home state of Georgia holds runoff elections that will determine the balance of the Senate.
On Monday, Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) announced her plan to object to the Electoral College certification process this week that will ratify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. The joint session of Congress is scheduled a day after the Georgia runoff elections on Tuesday that will determine the balance of the Senate.
Loeffler’s statement noted that she plans to “object on her own” and not as part of the GOP effort led by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) to object to the votes by the Electoral College ratifying Biden’s victory.
The next day, Hice griped about the “lack of willingness” of those who refuse to go along with Republicans’ efforts to contest election results during an interview on Fox News.
“I think the lack of willingness both from individuals within our state and otherwise to take a stand for free and fair elections — that has been the cause that has caused many people to say they want to stay home,” Hice said,
Asked whether that position will discourage Georgians from voting for Loeffler and Sen. David Perdue (R-GA) in the battleground state’s Senate runoff elections, Hice denied the possibility as he vehemently defended long-shot GOP efforts to overturn the results.
“No, I think it’s just the opposite,” Hice said. “What I’m saying is: what keeps people home is a candidate who will not stand for the freedom of their vote to count.”
Hice then praised Loeffler for supposedly earning “enormous” applause during a rally in Dalton, Georgia the night before. During the last rally before the Georgia Senate runoff elections, President Trump threatened that he “won’t like (Vice President Mike Pence) as much” if the VP doesn’t object to the Electoral Vote certification that will cement Biden’s victory.
“So look, it’s a critical vote,” Hice said. “A lot of people have opinions, one way or the other, but we have a constitutional duty to defend the right of the people to express their opinions in the voting booth.”
Watch Hice’s remarks below:
REP. JODY HICE: Officials not taking a stand for free & fair elections is the reason people want to stay home
FOX: But does saying stuff like that discourage people from voting?
HICE: No. What keeps people home is a candidate who will not stand for the freedom of votes to count pic.twitter.com/mOtaCMjp0g
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 5, 2021
