Protesters at Georgia Capitol demand 'all votes be counted'
ATLANTA - Protesters are calling for officials to count every vote in Georgia and denounced former Secretary of State Brian Kemp and Governor Nathan Deal for declaring Kemp the winner in the gubernatorial race before that happened.
RELATED: Kemp introduces transition team, Abrams campaign vows to fight
The protesters gathered in front of what they called the “people’s house” the State Capitol in Atlanta.
Declaring it isn’t over yet, a group describing itself as “grassroots” gathered at the front entrance of the State Capitol.
RELATED: Stacey Abrams' legal team: 'All votes haven't been counted'
“Let every vote be counted. This election cycle is not over. The election has not been certified. So at this point, no one is a governor-elect,” said Organizer Imara Canady.
Canady said the protest was an impromptu gathering after Kemp and Gov. Deal held a news conference declaring Kemp the winner of the election over Democrat Stacy Abrams.
Kemp resigned his position as Secretary of State for which he was facing a federal lawsuit challenging his ability to fairly administer state elections.
“He resigned because he knew that today was the first day of many lawsuits that he would be facing,” said Wanda Mosley, one of the protestors.
Protestors said provisional, paper ballots, are still being counted in places like Gwinnett County, which had technical glitches Election Day. Gwinnett’s Elections office extended hours Thursday and Friday to address those concerns.
RELATED: Brian Kemp resigning as Secretary of State
Georgia State Senator Democrat Nan Orrack spent her birthday at the protest.
“We have until tomorrow at the close of business for all the provisional ballots to be verified and we must have accuracy,” said Georgia State Senator, Democrat Nan Orrack.
As the grassroots group gathered, a much larger group protesting against President Trump marched in from the federal courthouse.
RELATED: Governor Deal appoints Robyn Crittenden as Secretary of State
All then called for a complete and transparent count of the election.
“We demand that our vote be counted,” said Canady.
The protestors were asked to refer anyone who may have had problems voting to a Georgia Democratic Party voter protection hotline at 888-730-5816 to address their concerns.