May do versus what they shall do can swing the election just see january 6 and pence's role after the 2020 election for that now was 66 days left until votes are counted. This cycle, there are debates happening over new election rules. In a moment, we'll talk about nebraska and a voting rights fight that you may not know was going on. We're going to zero in on a group fighting for their right to even register to vote but first i'm starting with the tension over election rules here in georgia at the center is georgia state board election board, i should say, they pass new rules recently. One would allow election officials to conduct a quote, reasonable inquiry before certifying election results. Another would permit members of county election boards to investigate ballot counts. They sound benign, but democrats are suing. They argue the rules would cause chaos in georgia weeks out from the election, and they want governor brian kemp to do something. Now, this is not just a clean cut fight between democrats and republicans let me read you this quote these misguided last minute changes from unelected bureaucrats who have never run an election and seemed to reject the advice of anyone, whoever has good cause, serious problems in an election that otherwise will be secure and accurate that's from georgia's republican secretary of state, brad raffensberger and just this week he added this you feel like what's happened in the state election board is a direct result of the aftermath of the 2020 election and some of the election to mind is that we're you'd have to ask each of them all really upset, is that the state election board is a mess here in studio to respond, one of georgia's election boards republican members, janelle king first thank you for coming in. Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for having me. What's your response to what you heard there from the secretary of state you know, i have given a response france before when he said that and i'm going to change it up a little bit because last time i say, well, he's a mess because i think to end it, there is just it's doing a disservice to the people. None of these concerns has been communicated to us, which i think is quite interesting. He's gone straight to the public and that's part of the problem is that we're saying one thing in the public and then behind closed doors there's a different conversation that's happening. The fact of the matter is these rules are not going to create any type of chaos. We are simply lining up with the law. And that's what we continue to do. So let's talk about the rules. I said we're going to get into the weeds a bit because this is where things can live and die. One of the rules, as i mentioned, allows election officials the conduct a reasonable inquiry before certifying election results reasonable is not defined by any specific time frame. So why supported without saying, it must be done in time for the state to certify by november 12th will actually does state that in the petition. It says that this has to be done and within the allotted certification period. Whereas the certification period ends on monday, right after the election. That's how long they had. They don't have any additional time. So there's no indication that they're going to break the law or that they can break the law when we're saying is that the information that the election offices have that information she should be readily available to the election board so that when they're signing this document that says that the results are perfect, that they are accurate, and that there isn't any fraud that's the documentation that they have to sign. It's illegal affidavit and they're inaccurate. They could be punishable by getting a felony. So we were just saying that, you know what, some counties he's allowed these board members to see this information and some counties don't. We're making a uniform process so that we don't have to worry about that democrats in their lawsuit, they want clarity, they want certainty that no concern from a local county official who doesn't like the results, there. Can prevent the state from certifying by november 12, okay. Can you guarantee that that will not happen? i can guarantee that actually i can because if in the petition, like i said, it states that this has to be done during the certification process and also states and only the election board members can see the information that's provided during that election. There's not a lot of information. I mean, it's mostly just counts. Right. So we're not i'm talking about the outcome. We're talking about the total numbers. So instead of them just getting an email that says here's the totals and go certify. We're now that they should now get an email that says, hey, here's the recap sheet, here's whatever you need based on information we have, you feel free to certify. Let's talk mailin voting. Former president trump said this about mailin voting. Let's watch it, shouldn't be allowed it's the whole different mindset while we have to do is get control. And then we have to change it. And it's a very simple change. Sameday voting everybody votes. Remember the old days republicans now have the majority on this state election board, the control here. Should there be changes to mailin voting when you think about what you heard. I mean, i think each board member probably has their own personal feelings as it relates to that that however, that's stepping outside of our purview when it comes to mailin voting and whether we have it or not have it, that's the legislators to have to decide that we are not creating laws were setting rules. So the laws are already in place and then we just set rules around it. So depending on people's personal perspective, that's fine. They can have that, but that's not something that we can do as i said at the time up 66 days left until the election and the president of the nonpartisan georgia association of voter, richard registration on election officials said this any last minute changes to the rules risk undermining the public's trust in the electoral process and place undue pressure on the individuals responsible for managing the polls and administering the election this could ultimately lead to errors or delays in voting, which is the last thing any, anyone wants. Are you potentially causing more problems with the confusion then you're solving? no, we're not. So if you look at all the rules, the rules that we are passed are not rules is going to impact anyone's experience with time to vote. They're all rules that take place after the voting process as well. But that's what he's talking about. These officials that it could be too confusing for them at the last minute. Well, it's not because they will have enough time. I mean, there we're not changing anything that has not already been done. We're not creating new laws, so it's already, it's already on the books. We're just lining everything up so asking you to ensure that the number of ballots matches a number of voters is what you should be doing. Anyway, i'm asking you to ensure that precincts are accounting these ballots is what you should be doing anyway. So we're just cleaning it up, making sure his uniformed. But ultimately, we're taking a ground up approach. So what we saw in the past, it has caught chaos, is that from the top level, they have found that there were issues within the hundred and 59 counties and they have to go and try to figure to go through the week to find out where the problem is. We hear these these rules will allow precincts to have a lot more control over making sure that numbers are accurate. And let me play here what the former president say when he was here in atlanta they're on fire they're doing a great job three members gianna's johnson jeffries and janel king, three people are all pitfalls fighting for honesty, transparency, and victory is that how you would describe yourself? i mean, are you also hear fixing a problem that doesn't exist? the secretary of state says the election is secure. These changes are not helping anything so no, i'm not physic fixing a problem that does not exist actually were preventing problems from happening in the future. If you go back prior to 2020, if you look in 2018, there were issues that sarah migos had with her race against geoff duncan, stacey abrams had several issues that she complained about as well, and then trump had issues that he complained about. So this is something and that we've seen and i don't think it's something that's a major i think it's a matter of process. Right. Like let's just look at the process. Let's fix the broken chains and everything will be fine in 2020, you said democrats cheated in that election is that informing why these changes are being made? i said democrats cheated the election when did i say that? let's play this is january 4, 2021 on wi and in chicago i would hope that democratic party wouldn't cheat this go round. And they did in the same way that we believe they did beforehand. It would take almost twice the effort to do so and i'm pretty sure that we're in place to be the right before the runoff in georgia and new, we're talking in that conversation. I can tweet it out for people want to listen the whole thing. No, thanks. This is after the general. So you said that they cheated is that informing why you are supporting these rules now, was that if they cheat it, but this is the thing we had a lot of concerns about what happens during that timeframe and we didn't know what was going on. I will say that after joining the board, i have access to more information, so i do understand things a little bit differently. And what we did find is that they're worth about 3,000 ballots that we're double counted. If fulton county there 17,000 ballot images that are currently still missing and we just want to find out not what was on those ballots, but what happened during that process because i just think it's basic human error. So you say that they were doublecounted. Do you also believe the election was stolen? i do not believe the election was stolen. That's not that's not my position at all. My position is that there were some issues that they take place so much so that the current or the current attorney general i'm sorry, secretary of state's attorney at the time, ryan germany said that he also sits found some mistakes and he's actually trying to join a monitoring team right now to monitor fulton county and the secretary of state and his office maintain that the 2020 election was fair and accurate. And so i want to express that as well as you make your position clear. Jintao king. Thank you all right. So there's another decision looming that could have a huge impact on the outcome of the election. Let's go to nebraska it's good now state law passed in 2005, restored voting rights for formerly incarcerated felons. One condition, they have to wait two years after their sentences and to register. Now in april, the state legislature remove that requirement, but two days before that new law was going into effect. Nebraska's attorney general said the new law and the 2005 law are both unconstitutional. He argues the state's pardon board does not not legislators rather have the power to restore voting rights. And as a result, the secretary of state in nebraska told county election officials to stop reading interesting people with felonies on their record who have not been pardoned. The aclu sued on behalf of three people impacted in one wants to register as a democrat and others republican. A third, as a nonpartisan supreme court had a hearing this week, a ruling is now pending down to brass because a red state, but nebraska is also unique it allocates electoral votes by district. And in omaha is second gerasa district. Former president donald trump won by just a little more than 6,500 votes in 2016, 2020, president biden won the district by 22,000 votes. This one district could swing the race in a close electoral college count according to the voting rights restoration coalition, 7,000 formerly incarcerated nebraskans could be eligible to vote this context matters to people who are incarcerated in nebraska are disproportionately black, hispanic, or indigenous. Analysis from the prison policy initiative found the rate of black people in prison in nebraska in 2021 was more than nine times higher than white nebraskans. Aaron pedis is impacted by this. He has a felony on his record after spending 16. 5 years in prison erin now works with a nonprofit in nebraska called rise, which helps with reentry. Aaron. Thank you so much for being with me first just the ramifications of not just removing the tooth, the twoyear waiting period, but now saying anyone with a felony on their record, reverting to a 19th century law would not be able to register to vote right yeah, they literally jumped in their amzie to loreen and my back to the future on us. Right. And in camping on a law that's been in place for 20 years, allowing people would pass can only convictions for both my wife food voted 32 in the last three elections was also a formerly incarcerated. Now can no longer oh you said 7,000? that's just 7,000 new voters because not an kylie masse, not including the tens of thousands of votes that are affected by the old law. Impact of this law going to her being banned is just it's a, it's astronomical yeah. I think i also want to be clear here just as in the first conversation, it was not neat along republican and democrat lines here as well the legislature in nebraska, which is unicameral, mostly republican, they voted to support to remove this twoyear waiting periods. So we should not understand this as a political fight why do you think this is happening why do you quoted the numbers in the beginning nine times more likely to be incarcerated than our fellow nebraskans. And i think that there's maybe some fear about how those nine times as many people we'll vote. And so there's been a blanket law revoked basically nullifying our voice being formerly incarcerated and coming out and getting getting my right to vote back invited me back into the fold. And with one slupe of the pan, the secretary of state the attorney general ushered me back out of society and in silence, me that doesn't sit well with me. I feel like they're doing this because they feel like they're doing it in a vacuum. But i'm here this morning to bring light to this issue because i deserve to vote, i've done my time and i want to be able to go into the voter booth and make my voice heard and what's the impact here, even if the law that's been passed is upheld. We covered stories like crystal mason's out of texas, where someone who has a felony on their record, eight accidentally go and try to vote when potentially they are not allowed to. And then they're sentenced. I mean what do you think? the confusion impact will be there in nebraska people aren't going to vote. I mean, i don't want to go back to prison. I know. I worked with hundreds of x incarcerated people in the white opinion is even if this thing was overturned, i'm not getting back into this pr