Voters in Georgia are deciding today which party will have control of the US Senate with a pair of runoff races. The votes come after President-elect Joe Biden's narrow win in the state, marking the first time a Democratic presidential candidate has won the state in this century.
Just days after a controversial phone call between President Donald Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger became public, officials in Georgia are once again expressing concerns over the safety of voters and election workers.
On Monday during a news conference with state election manager Gabriel Sterling, he disclosed that election sites have faced unspecified threats. Sterling, however, would not go into details over the nature of the threats.
"There was more of a coordinated effort with local law enforcement to do sweeps and look around and I'm not going to get into too much detail but we feel comfortable right now that voting is being done in a safe proper way,” Sterling said.
On Sunday, the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office disclosed that several emails had been sent to officials there of threats to polling sites. The office did not disclose the nature of the threats, but said that it was working with area law enforcement agencies to protect the 40 polling sites within the county.
Previously, Sterling blasted those claiming the November election was rigged, adding that, “Someone's going to get hurt. Someone's going to get shot. Someone's going to get killed, and it's not right."
Sterling, who said that he and Raffensperger have been the target of violent threats, added that his wife has been receiving threats of sexual violence.
In a news conference last month, Sterling decried election conspiracy theories.
"I don't have all the best words to do this because I'm angry,” Sterling said. “The straw that broke the camel's back today is again this 20-year-old contractor for a voting system company, just trying to do his job, In fact, I talked to Dominion today and I said, 'He's one of the better ones they got.' His family is getting harassed now. There's a noose out there with his name on it. It's not right. I can't begin to explain the level of anger I have right now over this. And every American, every Georgian, Republican and Democrat alike should have that same level of anger.”
Despite Trump’s baseless claims of November’s election being stolen from him, and amid the threats of violence, Sterling encouraged those in the state to vote.
“i said if you believe in your heart of hearts that there was (election fraud), the best thing for you to do is to turn out and vote and make it harder for them to steal,” Sterling said this week. “If that's what you genuinely in your heart of hearts believe, turn out and vote. There are people who fought and died and marched and prayed and voted to get the right to vote. Throwing it away because you have some feeling that it may not matter is self-destructive, ultimately, and a self-fulfilling prophecy in the end.”