Democrat Stacey Abrams may fight for a new election in the Georgia governor's race


President Trump last week floated the idea of a "new election" in Arizona. But now, it's Democrat Stacey Abrams who may be pushing for that option in Georgia.
Republican Brian Kemp currently holds an 18,000-vote lead over Abrams in the Georgia gubernatorial election, but with the official state certification of the results possibly coming on Friday, The Associated Press reports that Abrams' campaign is preparing an "unprecedented legal challenge" that could involve pushing for a new vote.
Abrams would be challenging the result by saying there was "misconduct, fraud, or irregularities," enough "to change or place in doubt the results," as outlined in Georgia election law. Her team would then assemble affidavits from voters who say they were disenfranchised. Abrams accused Kemp of voter suppression throughout the campaign; in one example, tens of thousands of voters' registrations were put on hold because information on their applications wasn't an exact match with information in voter databases. There were also reports on Election Day of long lines, a problem exacerbated by some technical issues in the state's second-largest county, and voters not being offered provisional ballots when they should have been.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
If Abrams' team took this case to court, their argument would be that as many as 18,000 voters could have been disenfranchised; had Abrams received that many additional votes, she would be able to force a runoff election in December. Abrams' lawyers, however, say no decisions have been finalized and they are "considering all options," one of which would involve a judge reopening the certified results to address potential irregularities. Kemp declared victory last week, and his campaign argues Abrams is trying to "count illegal votes" and that his lead is too great for any remaining uncounted ballots to make a difference.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brendan worked as a culture writer at The Week from 2018 to 2023, covering the entertainment industry, including film reviews, television recaps, awards season, the box office, major movie franchises and Hollywood gossip. He has written about film and television for outlets including Bloody Disgusting, Showbiz Cheat Sheet, Heavy and The Celebrity Cafe.
-
How would the Trump administration denaturalize immigrant citizens?
Today's Big Question Using civil courts lowers the burden of proof
-
Who has to pay the estate tax?
the explainer Trump's new bill will permanently shift who owes federal estate tax
-
'Trucking is a dangerous business'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami
-
GOP races to revise megabill after Senate rulings
Speed Read A Senate parliamentarian ruled that several changes to Medicaid included in Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill" were not permissible
-
Supreme Court lets states ax Planned Parenthood funds
Speed Read The court ruled that Planned Parenthood cannot sue South Carolina over the state's effort to deny it funding
-
Trump plans Iran talks, insists nuke threat gone
Speed Read 'The war is done' and 'we destroyed the nuclear,' said President Trump