A group of more than 15 protestors was arrested on Tuesday afternoon in the Georgia State Capitol for demanding that every vote in the recent midterm elections be counted. Among them was State Senator Nikema Williams, who apparently was only standing silently with her constituents as they insisted that elected officials do their jobs and fix the election mess that Republicans have created.
In a press release issued by local activists, organizer Tameka Middleton said the following about what happened:
“Senator Nikema Williams was arrested in the Georgia State Capitol for literally doing her job as an elected official. We are disgusted by the aggressive intimidation tactics by police -- the latest effort at voter suppression to silence the voices of Black people. This is 2018 and we will not allow Jim Crow South to rear its ugly head again in Georgia. We demand the immediate release of Senator Williams and all of the peaceful protestors who were arrested.”
A Count Every Vote bail fund has been launched to support those who were arrested. They’ve set a $20,000 goal. That campaign can be accessed by clicking here.
There is also a Facebook page run by the group, Southerners on New Ground, which will be posting updates. Click here for more information.
Though a federal judge has given the state until Friday to certify the election results, it’s important to remain vigilant. Judge Amy Totenberg has ruled that provisional ballots must be counted and that the state has to do the job that Republican Brian Kemp failed to do. Clearly, Republicans are afraid of this, which is why they are resorting to these dirty tricks like arresting peaceful protestors for asking them to do what we should always be done in any free, fair and Democratic election—count every vote.