Georgia state Rep. Vernon Jones, a pro-Trump Democrat, made it clear Thursday that the president’s supporters are in the post-election legal battle for the long haul, firing up a crowd in Atlanta by vowing that “we’re going to fight.”
Mr. Jones, who appeared at the press conference with Donald Trump Jr. and Republican Rep. Doug Collins, blasted media outlets for reporting double-digits polling leads for former Vice President Joseph R. Biden, alleging that “the process has been tainted.”
“Let me tell you, we’re not going to stand for that. We’re not going to back down. We’re going to fight,” said Mr. Jones told a cheering crowd, as shown on Fox News video. “We don’t cut and run. We’re going to fight. This is a battle cry.”
A Chatham County Superior Court judge rejected Thursday the Trump campaign’s petition alleging improprieties with the vote count and asking the court to secure and account for ballots arriving after 7 p.m. Tuesday.
Georgia Republican Party chairman Jack Shafer said in a statement that the party would sue as many as a dozen counties.
Mr. Jones, who did not seek reelection this year, has drawn criticism from Democrats for his outspoken support of President Trump.
“My point is, America—my point is, Georgia, that we believe in the process, but this process has been tainted,” Mr. Jones said. “And if you taint it for one party, you taint it for the other party. And if you taint it for one American, then you taint it for all Americans. And we’re not going to stand for this.”
Vernon Jones: “We are not going to stand for it, we are not going to back down. We are going to fight. This is a battle cry.”
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) November 6, 2020
“I just want to say to the press, we ain’t bullshitting.”pic.twitter.com/aZfvOpmcVX
Mr. Trump’s lead in Georgia had shrunk to about 3,400 votes at 7:30 p.m. Thursday as election workers tally absentee ballots, according to WSB-TV in Atlanta.
The Georgia Secretary of State’s office said late Thursday that 18,936 absentee ballots in seven counties must still be counted, and that ballots received from military voters and residents living overseas by 5 p.m. Friday will be tallied.
State elections official Gabriel Sterling vouched for the legitimacy of the state’s ballot-counting process.
“I think if anybody was going to try to rig a system they might have seen something a little less close than this,” Mr. Sterling said at a press conference. “In this state in particular we take security very seriously.”
Mr. Collins tweeted Thursday that “Democrats are trying to steal this election. We won’t let it happen.”
• The article based in part on wires reports.
• Valerie Richardson can be reached at vrichardson@washingtontimes.com.
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