The first midterm election results had just started trickling in, Tuesday, and MSNBC was already jumping to the conclusion of “voter suppression” and “nefarious intent” in Georgia. Even though the polls weren’t even closed, reporter Trymaine Lee worried, “This race has been controversial from the very beginning. Concerns about voter suppression efforts, especially coming down from Brian Kemp, the Secretary of State, who is also running for governor.”
He warned this was all linked to “the gutting of the Voting Rights Act.” Lee then brought on Derek Johnson, NAACP President. With no pushback, Johnson called for “bring[ing] criminal charges against how [the Republican Kemp is] treating our democracy during this election cycle.”
Regarding long lines and problems at the polls, Lee led the conversation this way: “How much do you think is mismanagement of the polls and how much might be nefarious?”
And yet, as ABC noted, preliminary exit polls have record high turnout for nonwhites in Georgia:
In preliminary exit poll results, turnout among nonwhites is a record 40 percent, including 30 percent black voters. The previous high among nonwhites was 36 percent in 2014 – compared with just 18 percent in 1994.
On his Twitter page, MSNBC's Lee praised Maryland’s Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous as a “really strong voice” and insisted that Donald Trump “disrespected” Puerto Ricans.
A transcript of the segment is below. Click “expand” to read more:
The Vote: America’s Future
11/6/18
6:42pm ETRACHEL MADDOW: Trymaine Lee is at a polling place now in Atlanta, Georgia. Trymaine, thanks very much for joining us. What have you been seeing today?
TRYMAINE LEE: Hey, Rachel, thank you very much. Here in Atlanta, Georgia, where voters may be poised to make history by possibly electing the first black female governor in the United States. But this race has been controversial from the very beginning. Concerns about voter suppression efforts, especially coming down from Brian Kemp, the Secretary of State, who is also running for governor. But also, not the least of which is the gutting of the Voting Rights Act. You talk to folks who have been around the block a few times and they say they saw this coming a mile away. But today, even though there's excitement and long lines everywhere you go, there's also concerns about voter suppression efforts and things going wrong at the polls. I want to bring in Derek Johnson, head of the NAACP. Derek, what have we been seeing out there? There have been concerns across counties and across Atlanta that these voter suppression efforts are actually working. Some funny business at the polls.
DEREK JOHNSON: We're preparing a lawsuit right now to extend voting time for precincts in Gwinnett County. You have voters standing in line over four hours because they didn't have power cords. We're finding the same stories in Fulton counties. We're standing outside the Morehouse precinct where students have been turned away because of the exact match. It's unfortunate that Brian Kemp did not stand down as Secretary of State to ensure we had a fair election.
LEE: How much do you think is mismanagement of the polls and how much might be nefarious?
JOHNSON: Whether it’s malicious intent or benign neglect, it should not take place for this election cycle. We should have a transparent and fair system. He should have stepped down. In fact, I wish we could bring criminal charges against how he's treating our democracy during this election cycle.
LEE: Is there concern any of the swirl of controversy, what we're seeing at the polls, will impact voter behavior or has impacted voter behavior at all today?
JOHNSON: Well, I am excited with the level of enthusiasm, the determination of voters to stay in line. I'm encouraging voters to stay in line, whether you're in Georgia, whether you are in Florida, or Maryland or any other state, because no matter what, don't leave the polling place unless you cast a ballot, whether it is provisional or an actual ballot.
LEE: Inside this auditorium in Morehouse college, there's still over 100 people still waiting in line. So students all day. The lines stretched down the block a little bit. I talked to volunteers, you see behind me a bunch of poll watchers saying that every hour of every moment of today day, the line stretched to 150 people or more. There's still young people in there ready to vote. There's excitement, but also a lot of concern.
