Mary Norwood does not believe that Keisha Lance Bottoms defeated her fair and square. Days after it was announced that Bottoms defeated Norwood in the election to become the next mayor of Atlanta, Norwood said that her numbers suffered because of cheating.
“Many voters have come forward to describe the administrative problems and voter intimidation that occurred on Election Day. If you have experienced a problem when you cast your vote, contact the Secretary of State using their Stop Voter Fraud website,” Norwood tweeted.
Norwood is following the same playbook that Donald Trump used when he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton in the last presidential election. He claimed that four million fraudulent voters found a way to vote for Clinton, although there wasn’t any evidence to prove his claim. Trump even created a commission to examine voter fraud. However, the commission did not find anything and it has been sued for lack of transparency. In November, a judge ruled that the commission would not meet anymore before 2018.
Norwood’s claim of voter fraud was also issued without evidence. Rolling out released a recording where Norwood claimed that she lost in 2009 to Kasim Reed due to voter fraud. She also used racial codes in the private meeting with the Buckhead Young Republicans. Reed has threatened to sue Norwood if she doesn’t retract her statement.
Votes in the 2017 election were certified this week and Bottoms’ final total increased. Norwood has asked for a recount.
