Stacey Abrams: ‘Unlike Some Folks,’ I Didn’t Challenge the Outcome of the 2018 GA Governor’s Race

EXCERPT:

ABRAMS: "In 2018, I'd spent more than a year traveling the state. But I’d also spent 10 years, 11 years in the state legislature. And I’ve been working on voting rights since I was 17. I’d watched, in fact, I’d battled with the then-secretary of state over his egregious and aggressive voter suppression activities. And on the night, on the 16th of November, when I acknowledged that I would not become the governor, that he had won the election, I did not challenge the outcome of the election, unlike some recent folks did. What I said was that the system was not fair. And leaders challenge systems. Leaders say, 'We can do better.' And that’s what I declared. I could not, in good conscience, say that in order to protect my political future I’m going to be silent about that political present, which is that we had a system under a leader that sought to keep people from casting their ballots, that threw those ballots out, that said that voter suppression was a viable tactic for winning elections. I am so proud of the work that I’ve been able to do in the last three years. But even more, I’m proud of the work that Georgians have done to demonstrate their capacity to have their voices heard, to participate in elections, to change their stars, to change their futures. And I could not be prouder that I was part of that by saying, on November 16th, 2018, that my time would be committed to ensuring the protection of our system, defending our democracy and ensuring access to the right to vote."