Poll worker, voter safety a concern ahead of Georgia senate runoff

ATLANTA - The safety of election workers is a top priority for a local voter rights group. The organization Fair Fight says those workers and Georgia voters shouldn't be scared when they head to the polls.

Unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in Georgia persist weeks after the General Election. With Georgia's Senate Runoff just weeks away, a bipartisan coalition of law enforcement leaders, politicans, legal experts  and voter rights groups voiced their concerns during a press call on Tuesday.

The ongoing harassment of  Georgia's elections officials and workers, and reports of voter intimidation is, they say, alarming and illegal. 

"We as local elected servants have the responsibility to ensure that this process is conducted fairly and safely," said Savannah Mayor Van Johnson. 

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According to Professor Mary McCord, who is legal director for the Institute of Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law, voter intimidation takes many forms, and isn't  just limited to the no-electioneering zones around the polls.

"Voter intimidation can be accomplished through a number of means: violent behavior, threats of violence, disruption to the voting lines or blocking the entrance, brandishing firearms or displaying them in an intimidating way. Even spreading false information." 

The group has committed to protecting Georgians constitutional right to vote and to ensuring their safety in this volatile political climate. 

Dekalb County Solicitor-General Donna Coleman-Stribling said protecting the safety of poll workers and voters is a top priority. 

"We have to protect these rights, we have to protect individuals rights to vote, to feel safe when they go in to vote, that our elections officials feel safe while they are there."

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