Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams refused to concede the Georgia race to Republican candidate Brian Kemp on Wednesday morning, despite him being in the lead after 99 percent of precincts had reported.
Abrams argued that the high stakes contest was too close to call and told her supporters, “I’m here tonight to tell you votes remain to be counted. There’s voices that are waiting to be heard,” suggesting that they would wait for absentee ballots to be counted.
“Across our state, folks are opening up the dreams of voters in absentee ballots, and we believe our chance for a stronger Georgia is just within reach. But we cannot seize it until all voices are heard,” she went on. “And I promise you tonight, we’re going to make sure that every vote is counted.”
Voter rights issues were a hot topic in the Georgia gubernatorial race in the past months due to allegations by Democrats that Kemp, the Republican secretary of state, had a conflict of interest as he refused to step down from his post.
Absentee ballots were also in the center of attention with a federal judge ruling last month that Georgia election officials had to stop rejecting them with voters’ signatures that didn’t appear to match signatures on record.
Yet another issue which came to light prior to the election was the alleged hacking attempt by the Georgia Democratic Party, which Kemp’s office said tried to hack the state’s voter registration system. An investigation was opened into the matter, but no proof was provided to support Kemp’s claims.
Voters in Georgia also faced long lines and malfunctioning machines during Tuesday’s vote.
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