Georgia GOP Chair Says ‘We Are Trusting No One,’ Promises ‘Eyes on Every Part’ of Voting Process

AUGUSTA, Georgia — Georgia Republican Party chairman David Shafer said Thursday during Vice President Mike Pence’s rally for the upcoming Senate runoff election that the state party is “trusting no one” as it prepares for Georgia’s voting process to begin.

Shafer told the rally crowd of several hundred Thursday afternoon that Georgians must vote for Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler regardless of accusations that voter fraud occurred in the November 3 general election. “The fight for election integrity and the fight for David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler go hand in hand,” Shafer said.

Shafer was adamant that the state party is preparing accordingly to avoid questions of election integrity in the runoff election, taking place January 5, and confirmed his organization has recruited 4,000 poll watchers for the race.

“I want to promise you that we are trusting no one and taking nothing for granted,” Shafer said. “We have recruited 4,000 poll watchers for the upcoming runoff elections. We filed suit against our own secretary of state. We’re gonna make sure we have eyes on every part of the process.”

Shafer’s promise comes as the Georgia secretary of state’s office gave an update Thursday insisting full transparency was present in the state’s election process, including in the signature verification part, which has faced particular criticism from President Donald Trump, Trump’s legal team, and the Georgia GOP after the state’s hand recount of election results did not include signature verification.