GWINNETT COUNTY, Ga. — The day after Georgia’s primary election, Gov. Brian Kemp sat down with Channel 2 Action News for an exclusive interview to discuss the problems voters experienced.
Many counties worked through the day Wednesday to count the ballots from Tuesday’s election.
Kemp led the state election efforts for eight years as Georgia’s secretary of state. The governor told Channel 2′s Tony Thomas it was frustrating to see people standing in line for hours and other issues.
“I think the facts will come out. It will be up to those in the election community to get those fixed," Kemp said.
“The question is why. Why did that happen? That’s what they’ve got to figure out."
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Along with the wait times, Georgia’s new voting machines were not working in some cases or not delivered on time in others.
“I think it makes you look and consider the whole way this election was set up and the process of the absentee ballots versus the people voting in person," Kemp told Thomas. "On the equipment, as we go into November, I think it would be good to have some honest discussions.”
Things went smoothly in many areas across the state. But in the counties that had problems, state and local leaders kept pointing the finger at each other.
Kemp didn’t place the blame on either. The governor said it’s in the hands of state elections board and other investigators to look further.
“I wouldn’t want to speculate on laying any blame. I wasn’t on the ground. I’m not privy to what the issues were,” Kemp said.
Critics said Tuesday wasn’t just mishandled but was outright voter suppression.
“I wouldn’t want to comment on that. There is plenty of political party partisan rhetoric out there. Everybody wants to have secure, accessible, fair elections," Kemp said.
It seemed like a perfect storm brewing with brand new voting machines statewide that required delivery, setup and training right as the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Thomas asked Kemp how worried he feels about Election Day in November.
“I’m not too worried. I think there is plenty of time to fix the problems," Kemp said. “I think there is a lot of motivation to do that and I’m certainly one to want to see that.”
Watch the governor’s full interview below:
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