CNN
—
Four years ago, Georgia was at the center of then-President Donald Trump and his allies' attempts to overturn his election loss.
Officials from Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, to individual election workers have faced a barrage of attacks, including harassment, physical threats and legal action. This year, fears of another attack on the state's election workers for their work spurred the creation of a new legal defense fund.
The group was founded by Raffensperger allies to provide legal assistance to election officials who are being “harassed, attacked or sued” for carrying out their duties in the critical battleground state.
The Election Defense Fund also plans to support lawsuits against election officials who might seek to refuse to certify this year's results or reject them altogether.
The group has raised nearly $2 million for its efforts so far, with its total goal topping $5 million, said Ryan Germany, who served as general counsel in Raffensperger's office and is now a leader of the Election Defense Fund .
“The overarching goal is of course that we want to support the election workers who are doing the right thing. And, you know, part of what we're trying to accomplish is, 'Hey, if you're an election official and you do the right thing, follow the law, you're going to have support,'” Germany told CNN.
“And the opposite of that is, if you don't do it, if you go rogue, then you're on your own,” he said.
Trump and his supporters have already begun laying the groundwork to support claims of a rigged election if he loses – an effort that is likely to have both judicial and extrajudicial implications and features prominently in places where the final results could be close. Trump lost Georgia to Joe Biden in 2020 by just under 12,000 votes.
Germany said the group's mission is to defend the state's election results, regardless of the outcome of the presidential contest this year.
“Where we thought something was needed is someone, you know, a group that defends the process and the people who run that process, whether it's a Kamala (Harris) win or a Trump win “he said.
The reporter explains what Giuliani should leave to Georgia election workers
The group is currently assisting Raffensperger in a legal battle he is facing related to the 2020 election, when he became a prime target of Trump supporters over his decision to reject requests to overturn Biden's victory there. Germany said the fund is also working to advance the narrative that the state's elections are running smoothly to forestall possible attempts by Trump's allies to undermine the results.
The state is seeing record turnout in early voting this year, and Raffensperger said Wednesday that his office is prepared to defend the process if legal challenges arise after Election Day.
“I put voters first. And that’s really important to me,” Raffensperger said during a press conference. “If we do that, we create trust. And by building trust, we build trust. And trust is today's gold standard. We are battle-hardened. We are ready.”
Germany said what the group will ultimately do with the money raised may not be known until after Tuesday, when county election officials begin finalizing the state's results before the Nov. 12 deadline.
Democrats and others have raised concerns that some local officials in the state may seek to delay or deny certification if they believe the election was marred by fraud or abuse. A state judge ruled earlier this month that while county election officials have a duty to “investigate concerns about miscounts,” those concerns “do not constitute grounds to delay or deny certification,” which he said is required by state law.
If an election official tries to violate his legal duties, Germany said, “We would, as you know, try to intervene on the other side.”
He also said that if the Election Defense Fund manages to reach its fundraising goal, the group would be open to helping election officials who may need help in other states where problems are emerging after the election.
“What if it’s not Georgia, right? “What if it’s another state?” he said. “I've been fortunate enough to get to know election officials in other states, and I think hopefully we can reach out to them and basically say, 'How can we help?'”
