Politics

CNN Analyst: Georgia Republicans Trying To ‘Muzzle’ Stacey Abram’s Work ‘Says All You Need To Know’

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Brandon Gillespie Media Reporter
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CNN analyst John Avlon criticized Georgia Republicans on Wednesday for trying to “undo” changes that Stacey Abrams advocated for to increase voter turnout in recent Georgia elections.

Avlon appeared on “CNN Newsroom” and discussed the efforts to “restrict voter access” in the state with hosts Jim Sciutto and Poppy Harlow. Sciutto pointed to a Republican official in Georgia who claimed that they needed to change the election laws so that they “have a shot at winning,” then asked, “Does that reveal the motivation behind this, that this is about more voting equals more Democrats voting?”

“100%. That was the GOP chair of Gwinnett County in Georgia. And, she said the quiet part out loud, that they needed to put these changes so Republicans would have a shot at winning,” Avlon responded. “It’s about trying to raise the bar for participation and make it more difficult.”

Avlon specifically pointed to changes in requiring automatic absentee ballots, and then went on to say that making it more difficult for people to participate in the voting process is a pattern from Republicans being seen across various states. He didn’t specify which states he was talking about, but continued saying, it’s impossible to “not see an attempt to sort of rig the system” in these attempted changes.

Harlow chimed in, mentioning Republicans trying to get rid of ballot drop boxes, and that if they were successful it would roll back “almost all of what Stacey Abrams was able to do over the last few years.” (RELATED: PHOTOS: Stacey Abrams Continued To Get Caught Maskless Inside Georgia Capitol)

Abrams has remained politically active in her home state of Georgia and across the country after losing the 2018 Georgia gubernatorial election to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp. She has received credit for increasing voter turnout among Democrats, President Joe Biden winning the state in the 2020 election, and for the Democrats picking up both Senate seats in a Jan. runoff and special election.

‘This is a case of a Republican legislature trying to muzzle — in fact, trying to overturn or undo what Stacey Abrams did very successfully, to help flip the state in terms of the Senate vote, says all you need to know. But, I think ultimately this is about a discomfort with a full participation in democracy,” Avlon said. “The fact that so many state legislatures are controlled by Republicans, who are trying to sort of put their thumb on the scale to retain power, speaks to the deeper problem in our politics right now.”