It was fake news deja vu all the way again this weekend as Ali Velshi, MSNBC host, repeated discredit claims that Republican Brian Kemp engaged shady activities to get himself elected governor in 2018.
This election misinformation redux was made during an interview with Democrat Stacey Abrams Saturday morning, during the time slot that was left open by the recent canning Tiffany Cross of race provocateur Tiffany Cross.
The segment was created by MSNBC host without mentioning that the then-Secretary Kemp was applying a law passed in 1990s by state Democrats.
Unsurprisingly, Kemp won Georgia’s governorship race by less than 55,000 votes from four million voters in 2018. Kemp was at the time the state’s secretary of state and was responsible for running elections. Abrams and Democrats have long criticised Kemp’s “voter list maintenance”. Let me tell you more about that.
He added:
Kemp removed more than half a million people from Georgia’s voter rolls in July 2017. This included roughly 107,000 people who were not registered to vote in recent elections. Kemp also placed 53,000 voter registrations on the hold prior to the 2018 election. This was because he ran afoul the so-called “exact matching” system. It means that even a dropped hyphen, or an apostrophe could cause a voter’s registration to be delayed. A Associated Press analysis found that almost 70% of voter registrations put on hold were for black voters, despite the fact that Georgia’s population is only 32% black.
Velshi didn’t mention that it was a voter registry group that Abrams founded to target minorities who sloppily processed thousands of applications, not including vital information such as valid Social Security Numbers and valid names. Applicants could still vote by simply showing up to the election with the required photo identification. Kemp stated that many of these voters were fake names and non-existent voters.
These and other claims were repeatedly debunked by NewsBusters before the 2018 elections. News outlets repeated the discredited claims over-and-over. The misinformation was repeated by Velshi right up to the day before the election.
Velshi claimed that it was illegal in Georgia to give water or snacks to voters who were standing in line. However, there was a minimum distance requirement. Here’s Velshi:
They are the cornerstone of victory and were the target of much voter suppression. Many Americans are familiar with the images of voter suppression — such as we were showing — of photos of Georgia where it was illegal to provide water or snacks to voters — of registration items that are impediments for people voting.
Subway and T-Mobile sponsored the latest MSNBC misinformation. Their contact information can be found linked.
The following is a transcription:
MSNBC Live
November 5, 2022
Eastern, 10:02 a.m.
ALI VELSHI – The rematch between Stacey Abrams (Gouvernor) and Brian Kemp was close. Unsurprisingly, Kemp won Georgia’s governor race by less than 55,000 votes from four million voters in 2018. Kemp was at the time the state’s secretary of state and in charge for running elections. Abrams and Democrats have long criticised Kemp’s “voter list maintenance”. Let me tell you more about that.
Kemp removed more than half a million people from Georgia’s voter rolls in July 2017. This included roughly 107,000 people who were not registered to vote in recent elections. Kemp also placed 53,000 voter registrations on the hold prior to the 2018 election. This was because he ran afoul the so-called “exact matching” system. It means that even a dropped hyphen, or an apostrophe could cause a voter’s registration to be delayed. A Associated Press analysis found that almost 70% of voter registrations put on hold were for black voters, despite the fact that Georgia’s population is only 32% black.
(…)
STACEY ABRAMS GEORGIA DEMOCRATIC GOVERNOR: I tried very hard to engage black voters, because I know they are the cornerstone to victory in Georgia. I didn’t leave any stone unturned.
VELSHI : They are the cornerstone of victory and were the target of much voter suppression. The imagery of voter suppression — as we were just showing — of images of Georgia where it was illegal to provide water or snacks to voters — is a big deal to many Americans. It also shows the registration obstacles that make it difficult for people to vote. How influential is this to people today? Are there black voters in Georgia who want to vote to reverse this?
ABRAMS: This is precisely why people are turning out. It is still Tuesday, so I remind you. We have seen a large turnout among black voters in Georgia, but it is important to remember that early voting was not the end. We know that people turned out early because they understood that Brian Kemp, Brad Raffensberger had put barriers in place — that they will be denied food and water in lines that used to stretch for up to four to eight hours in years past.
They are aware that absentee ballots have faced more difficulties than white supremacist and hard-right-wing groups, which has led to people being denied their right to vote. Brian Kemp’s law has led to the suspension of the right to vote for up to 75,000 people. He did it because he was frustrated with the results. While he’s been praised for not committing treason we continue to ignore the fact that you can derail an election outcome — which many have done — but it’s even more efficient to block access. Brian Kemp has been doing this since his modus operandi.
VELSHI : It’s cool to congratulate someone for not committing treason in 2022.
(…)
ABRAMS: Let’s not be misled. The false narrative that voter turnout dispels voter suppression is a misleading belief. It missunderstands the effectiveness and efficiency of suppression. It has never been about removing all voters. It’s about blocking the flow of the process and stopping some voters. The Merrill case will highlight the precision of voter suppression and it will be celebrated. It will knock out section 2 of the Voting rights Act. Section 5 has been eliminated by the Shelby decision. Section 2 was eliminated by the Brnovich decision in 211. The loop will be closed by the Merrill decision. In half of the states with the fastest growing population and where protection is essential, there will not be an effective Voting Rights Act. Brian Kemp is the architect. His bill in Georgia becomes the blueprint for 24 states. If it hasn’t reached you yet it is on its way.
VELSHI : So your group, the Fair Right [sic], has worked to mobilize Georgian voters back in 2014. The then-Secretary at State Kemp framed it in racial terms. What is the result? How do people interpret it?
ABRAMS: As you mentioned earlier, if someone is honest with you, believe them. Brian Kemp has spent 16 decades trying to undermine the right of people of color to vote. He has done it deliberately, tirelessly, and with great success. He doesn’t get credit for how we are turning out. This is the result organizers in Georgia who refuse to be controlled and push back.
