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‘Distrust and chaos’: Georgia Dems, GOP battle over new ballot rule as early voting kicks off Tuesday

‘Distrust and chaos’: Georgia Dems, GOP battle over new ballot rule as early voting kicks off Tuesday

Early voting will kick off in Georgia on Tuesday, but the two major political parties are still battling over how those ballots will be tabulated after Election Day. Democrats are in the midst of suing Georgia’s State Election Board over a recently passed rule that would require all votes be counted by hand in each county after they are machine-tabulated to ensure the totals match. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Ga., chairwoman of the Georgia Democratic Party, told Fox News Digital earlier this month that the new rule’s intent was “to sew division and distrust and chaos in our election process.” However, Republican Party officials in the Peach State have accused Democrats of misrepresenting the rule, which they have held up as a critical guardrail to ensuring voter confidence in the elections. TRUMP VS HARRIS ROUND 2? VOTERS IN KEY GA COUNTY REVEAL IF THEY WANT SECOND DEBATE “It’s a check on the system. It’s like reconciling your checkbook,” Georgia GOP Chairman Josh McKoon told Fox News Digital. “I don’t want a repeat of 2020. I don’t think anybody does. And so this is an important way we can restore confidence out there in the public that their elections are secure and fair.” The new rule, which passed on a 3-2 vote by the elections board, has faced some opposition from the right. The office of Georgia’s Secretary of State, led by Republican Brad Raffensperger, called the rule “misguided” in a press release in August. Requiring the hand counting of ballots after machine tabulation, the release said, made it “likely that Georgians will not know the results on Election Night” and “introduces a new and significant risk to chain of custody procedures.” Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, also a Republican, warned election board members in a memo that the rule was not grounded in any existing law and is highly vulnerable to a legal challenge, PBS reported. GEORGIA GOP CHAIR SHARES 2-PRONGED ELECTION STRATEGY AS TRUMP WORKS TO WIN BACK PEACH STATE However, party officials aligned with former President Donald Trump support the rule. Cobb County GOP Chair Salleigh Grubbs called suggestions it would cause delays in the election process “misinformation.” “That is just absolutely not true. There are some counties that already count the number of ballots, and that’s all we’re saying,” Grubbs told Fox News Digital. “Let’s just make sure that we know the total number of ballots that were cast and that that reconciles with the total number of ballots scanned.” Williams would not say how she believed the hand-count ballot rule would affect the election but argued its “intent” is to undermine voter confidence in Georgia’s elections. GEORGIA DEMS CHAIR REVEALS MESSAGE TO UNDECIDED GOP VOTERS AS HARRIS WORKS TO BUILD BROAD BASE She pointed out that Georgia was the center of Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn his 2020 loss. “We counted the ballots in Georgia not once, not twice, but three times, and every time Donald Trump lost. And that’s what this is about. These three pro-Trump members of the State Election Board are trying to create distrust and confusion in our election process so that if and when Donald Trump loses the election once again in battleground Georgia, they can say, ‘See, this is why,’” Williams said. “There was nothing done in the 2020 election that was unfair. The votes were counted, and Donald Trump lost.” However, McKoon suggested that he would have his own doubts about the election if the Democrats’ lawsuit was successful. “I think it will undermine voter confidence because voters will rightly ask the question, ‘Why were they against checking to make sure that the machine count was accurate?’” the Georgia GOP chair said. “Why wouldn’t we want to take these basic steps to make sure voters have confidence in our system?” Georgia’s early voting period runs from Oct. 15 through Nov. 1. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Biden warned Iran that killing Trump would be an act of war: report

Biden warned Iran that killing Trump would be an act of war: report

President Biden reportedly instructed his National Security Council to make clear to Iran that any attempt on former President Trump’s life would be viewed as an act of war.  The stark warning comes as the Trump team has been briefed on specific attempts on Trump’s life, and they’ve made an unusual request for military aircraft in the waning days of the campaign.  The U.S. has gone to unprecedented lengths to protect the former president from retaliation from Iran for the 2020 killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Some $150 million a year has gone to protecting officials like former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, former head of U.S. Central Command, according to Politico.  The Trump campaign recently requested military aircraft capable of shooting down missiles to tote the former president around in the weeks before the election.  IRAN MAKING BILLIONS IN OIL REVENUES DESPITE SANCTIONS  When pressed by Fox News Digital last month, the White House declined to say whether Biden believed killing Trump would be an act of war, but promised to keep the Trump team in the loop on the threat assessment from Iran.  “We consider this a national and homeland security matter of the highest priority, and we strongly condemn Iran for these brazen threats,” National Security Council spokesperson Sean Savitt said. He confirmed that Iran had long sought revenge on Trump for killing Soleimani.  “We have ensured that appropriate agencies are continuously and promptly providing the former president’s security detail with evolving threat information. Additionally, President Biden has reiterated his directive that the United States Secret Service should receive every resource, capability and protective measure required to address those evolving threats to the former president.” Both Trump and his high-level officials who ordered the strike in 2020 have faced death threats from Iran, which also recently hacked Trump’s campaign and tried to peddle information to Democrats and the media.  Trump prodded Biden to tell Iran it would be “blown to smithereens” if a U.S. politician was harmed.  “If I were the president, I would inform the threatening country, in this case Iran, that if you do anything to harm this person, we are going to blow your largest cities and the country itself to smithereens,” he reiterated. PUTIN MEETS WITH IRANIAN PRESIDENT TO CELEBRATE ‘CLOSE’ RELATIONSHIP  Trump survived one assassination attempt at a rally in July – and the Secret Service thwarted another one at his Florida golf course in September. Trump has surmised that the attempts may be linked to Iran, claims that have not been verified by authorities.  In addition to a military plane, the Trump campaign has asked for armored vehicles typically reserved for sitting presidents, more flight restrictions over his rallies and residences, reimbursements for decoy aircraft and more money for Secret Service and local law enforcement to protect him.  Biden told reporters on Friday he would be happy to offer Trump military aircraft in the final stages of his campaign, “as long as he doesn’t ask for F-15s.”  “Look, what I’ve told the department is to give him every single thing he needs for his – as if he were a sitting president,” he said. “Give him all that he needs. If it fits within that category, that’s fine.” In June, undercover FBI agents met with a Pakistani man who was looking to hire hit men to assassinate a U.S. politician, according to documents unsealed in August. They arrested the man, Asif Merchant, 46, on July 12, the day before Trump’s Butler, Pennsylvania, rally. In 2022, the Justice Department charged a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps with attempting to kill former national security adviser John Bolton.

Former GOP governor warns Harris admin will ‘try to sneak through’ healthcare benefits for illegal immigrants

Former GOP governor warns Harris admin will ‘try to sneak through’ healthcare benefits for illegal immigrants

FIRST ON FOX: Former Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is warning that any push by a Harris administration to enact Medicare for All would result in more than 12 million illegal immigrants being added to the program, which he says would impact Americans who have paid into it, and invite more illegal immigrants to the U.S. “It would make the program even more expensive. It would make it harder for us to see doctors. It would add $2 trillion of spending. It would lead to huge provider cuts. This would have devastating impact on our seniors,” he told Fox News Digital in an interview. “And in the middle of all this, Kamala Harris wants to add 12 million illegal immigrants.” Jindal, with the America First Policy Institute, is launching a video warning about the five biggest dangers of Medicare for All, which has been a policy goal of left-wing Democrats for years.  TRUMP SOUNDS ALARM ON ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS MURDERERS: ‘A LOT OF BAD GENES IN OUR COUNTRY’ Vice President Kamala Harris repeatedly called for the passage of Medicare for All. She was a co-sponsor of Sen. Bernie Sanders’ legislation and voiced her support for it on multiple occasions. During her 2019 presidential primary campaign, she called for a transition to a Medicare for All type of system. “So, the bottom line and the most important is that everyone have access to health care,” Harris said. “That is the goal. That is the purpose for me supporting the policy of ‘Medicare for All,’” she said in 2019. She has also said it would include those in the country illegally.  “I am opposed to any policy that would deny, in our country, any human being from access to public safety, public education or public health. Period,” she said. However, this year, her campaign told media outlets, including Fox, that she no longer backs the plan and is instead focused on improving and expanding Obamacare. Her campaign website says she will “make affordable health care a right, not a privilege by expanding and strengthening the Affordable Care Act and making permanent the Biden-Harris tax credit enhancements that are lowering health care premiums by an average of about $800 a year for millions of Americans.”  Jindal, however, is skeptical of that denial. “When politicians tell you and show you what they believe, I think we should believe them,” he said. “What’s more likely? That she’s all of a sudden changed her mind and she won’t tell us that herself? She won’t tell us why she changed her mind. She won’t tell us what new policy she supports. Or is it more likely she’ll simply say whatever it takes to get elected, but still has the same radical beliefs that she’s always had before?” NEW POLL REVEALS TRUMP HAS SIGNIFICANT LEAD ON IMMIGRATION, BORDER SECURITY IN KEY BATTLEGROUND STATE Jindal warns that not only would it put intense pressure on the healthcare system, and lead to worse coverage for Americans, but it would also encourage more illegal immigration. “This is literally a gold-plated invitation for new immigrants. She hasn’t suggested simply that she just wants to add the 12 million illegal immigrants that are already here into Medicare. What she is saying is, hey, those that are here, those that can get here, we want to put you into Medicare. What does that say to illegal immigrants that haven’t even gotten here yet? What does that say to people all over the world? If you can make your way here, Kamala Harris wants to give you access to Medicare.” CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS Jindal warned that a potential Harris administration is “going to try to sneak through what they can’t get through, done through the front door, or they’re going to try to sneak through the back door.”  “And that’s why we made this video. We want voters to understand an America First health care agenda, first of all, takes care of the American people that have paid their taxes into the Medicare program. And then secondly, puts patients and their doctors, not government bureaucrats, in control of their health care,” he added.

Trends are good in the swing county GOP chair calls ‘Little Pennsylvania’: It’ll ‘be a repeat of ‘16’

Trends are good in the swing county GOP chair calls ‘Little Pennsylvania’: It’ll ‘be a repeat of ‘16’

The Republican chairman of a Pennsylvania county that has voted for the ultimate presidential victor in the past four cycles says it is both the enthusiasm of the electorate and the makeup of the area that proves why it is key for both candidates this year. “In 2016, Erie voted for Trump and in 2020, Erie voted for Biden. And obviously, Pennsylvania went the same direction in ‘16 and ‘20, and the nation did too,” Erie County Republican Party Chair Tom Eddy said in a Thursday interview. “I look at Erie as being just kind of like this small ‘Little Pennsylvania’,” he said. “Pennsylvania is a pretty big state and if you look down in the southeastern and the southwest corners, they are pretty industrialized: Pittsburgh; Philadelphia. And then, if you go to the middle of the state: pretty agricultural. And if you look at that Erie, it’s this little stamp up in this northwest corner.” PA TOWN ROILED BY TALK OF MIGRANT HOUSING IN CIVIL-WAR-ERA ORPHANAGE BUILDING Eddy noted Erie’s southern half is predominantly agricultural and leans heavily Republican, while the city of Erie in the north, including Pennsylvania’s only beachfront, is heavily Democratic, with purple suburbs in between. “The city has some major industry. It’s pretty big in plastic industries and tool-and-die, but it also has a pretty large immigrant population: very ethnic, diverse, racially diverse. I mean, everything you see around the entire state is here in this little corner.” Eddy said he tells candidates who visit his area that if their message can resonate there, it will resonate statewide largely for that reason. “Erie is unique … in the fact it is able to pick the winners.” Other than choosing former Secretary of State John Kerry, former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis and former Vice President Al Gore, the county has voted for the eventual president in races going back to the 1960s. Eddy said the county went for former President Donald Trump in 2016 despite a 10,000-vote registration advantage for Democrats. Therefore, it is the independent voters who often make the difference for GOP candidates. In that regard, Eddy said yard signs for other topline candidates, like state Sen. Dan Laughlin, R-Erie, have been flying out the door of his office, a few blocks outside the city proper. PENNSYLVANIA LEADERS IN BOTH PARTIES TALK GROUND GAME AS GOP SEEKS TO UNDO MASSIVE GAINS Laughlin’s seat is one of at least three that Democrats hope to flip this November, according to the Pennsylvania Independent. Democrats are hoping for such a turn of events, which would give the party its first full operational control of state government in decades, according to state Sen. Sharif Street, D-Philadelphia, the state party chair. Lt. Gov. Austin Davis would be the tie-breaking vote in a 25-25 Senate, and winning four seats would give Democrats full control of the upper chamber. In a recent interview, Street said Pennsylvania Democrats have seen 40,000 volunteers sign up since Vice President Kamala Harris became the party’s nominee. “The vice president has sort of set the world on fire,” he said. However, Eddy remained confident Erie would help return Trump to the White House and maintain at least a divided state government — with Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro not up for re-election, and a current four-seat GOP Senate majority and a one-seat Democratic House majority. “Every week, Dan [Laughlin] brings in yard signs, and within two days they’re gone,” he said. The same holds true for Trump-Vance and other races, he added. He also credited his group of independent volunteers, including a local named Pat who has reportedly knocked on 2,500 doors in the county. Eddy added that another strategy he and other Republicans are embracing this fall is mail-in and early voting. On his regular visits to the courthouse to obtain more registration applications and the like, Eddy said he has seen lines of people waiting to vote early, something new to him and many others in the area. When he would hand out such forms at GOP rallies during the 2020 cycle, many attendees did not want them because the practice was criticized on the right, Eddy said, adding that now, the party and Trump embrace early voting, and people are listening to the nominee’s advice. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP Along with getting people to vote early, targeting low-propensity voters has been important in Erie. These voters, who are not likely to go to the polls for one reason or another, are the prime electors to utilize an absentee or early ballot. “You have this right that has been given to us from people generations before who did a lot of sacrificing to ensure that we have this right to control our government and not the other way around,” Eddy said.  “If we don’t take advantage of that, we’re going to wind up like a lot of other third-world countries … So we’ve got this unique right to be able to pick the people to represent us. You should go out and vote for that person. It may not always be who I like. But as long as it’s who you want. That’s the important thing.” Fox News Digital reached out to Laughlin, the Erie County Democratic Party as well as local Democrats, including the campaign of state Rep. Ryan Bizzarro, who represents Erie.  In comments to NPR, Erie County Democratic Chairman Sam Talarico said enthusiasm on his side has been “crazy” as well. “[W]e had 60 people on our volunteer list the day before [Biden] dropped out. And right now, we have 310 people on our volunteer list,” he told the outlet. Talarico added that it appears to be younger voters who are more energized now that Harris is the nominee.

Harris campaign deploys Bill Clinton to key states 22 days from Election Day

Harris campaign deploys Bill Clinton to key states 22 days from Election Day

Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign has deployed Bill Clinton to key states 22 days from Election Day.  The former president campaigned on behalf of Harris in Albany, Georgia, on Sunday, speaking to congregants at Mount Zion Baptist Church. The Harris campaign announced on Thursday that Clinton is scheduled to headline a bus tour this week through eastern North Carolina.  Both Harris and former President Trump have visited the Tar Heel state in Hurricane Helene’s aftermath.  Clinton’s bus tour comes after Harris on Sunday rallied at Eastern Carolina University in Greenville, N.C. “Uniting people and building, being repairers of the breach, as Isaiah says, those are the things that work,” Clinton said at Mount Zion Baptist Church on Sunday. “Blaming, dividing, demeaning — they get you a bunch of votes at election time, but they don’t work.” TRUMP CAMP RIPS HARRIS OVER UNEARTHED COMMENTS ON RENAMING COLUMBUS DAY: ‘STEREOTYPICAL LEFTIST’ “This whole election and the future of the country is turning out to be what people who were sort of on the fence about voting are going to do in the next three and a half weeks,” Clinton added, addressing the congregation. “It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.” While the Black church was not quite full, a hefty crowd welcomed Clinton with a standing ovation, according to the Associated Press. Many attendees were older, but some younger people were dispersed throughout the pews. Albany was an early battleground in the fight for civil rights. The city garnered national attention as hundreds of protesters, including Martin Luther King Jr., were arrested and jailed in 1961 and 1962. Clinton, who was governor of Arkansas before he became president, also spoke at the Harris campaign’s Albany office, saying he asked the campaign to send him to rural areas, where he feels most at home. HARRIS UNVEILS AGENDA TO HELP BLACK MEN ‘GET AHEAD’ AS POLLS SHOW TRUMP GAINS The 42nd president’s visit to the two battleground states serves as a new attempt by the Harris-Walz campaign to appeal to rural voters, who have traditionally voted Republican in recent presidential elections. Trump’s campaign launched a three-day bus tour last week across North Carolina, with Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds, U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and several former Trump administration officials campaigning on behalf of the Republican presidential nominee.  Democrats see Clinton as someone who can mobilize both rural voters and Black voters. But while Clinton was recognized for his popularity in southern Black communities, it remains to be seen whether he can still inspire Black voters as the population familiar with his presidency grows older, according to the AP. Georgia is one of seven states seen as pivotal in this year’s presidential race, and turnout among Black voters could hold the key for Democrats to winning the state’s 16 electoral votes. President Biden won Georgia in 2020 by 11,779 votes out of more than 5 million cast, according to the AP. That was the first time a Democrat carried the state since Clinton in 1992. Four years later, Clinton lost the state to Republican Bob Dole but won reelection. In 1992, Clinton and then-Sen. Al Gore rode a campaign bus through southwest Georgia to court rural voters. Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz revived the approach earlier in the campaign by visiting Savannah and Liberty County in the southeastern part of the state, but they did not travel west. The Associated Press contributed to this report.