Nonprofit executive who helped Georgia audit has a history of anti-Trump tweets



[ad_1]

The executive director of a San Francisco-based nonprofit that was approached by Georgia’s secretary of state to help with the state audit has a history of anti-Trump tweets, but insisted on it. does not “bring them to work”.

Ben Adida, Director of VotingWorks, tweeted in 2018, “Fk Donald Trump and all his facilitators”, and, the same year, called the Republican Party “rotten to the bottom”.

He said he read some GOP posts at the time and say it is clear that “they are ready to live with all the fascism provided by Trump” to make gains in the Supreme Court. (Judge Brett Kavanaugh was appointed by President Trump around the time of the tweet.)

In 2016, he criticized Republican leaders who endorsed Trump, who Adida labeled “The ultimate xenophobic”.

Adida and VotingWorks did not respond to Fox News emails asking for comment, but he spoke to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in November and tried to separate his political beliefs from the stated goal of the non-profit organization to be non-partisan.

He told the newspaper that those who work in the elections are “aware of politics” and have their own political views.

JUDGE GEORIGA PROHIBITS 3 COUNTIES OF GEORGIA FROM Erasing Domination Voting Data

“If people want to disagree with my personal political views, yes, of course, but I don’t bring them to work,” he told the newspaper.

Workers scan ballots as the Fulton County presidential count kicks off Wednesday morning, November 25, 2020 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta.  (AP Photo / Ben Gray)

Workers scan ballots as the Fulton County presidential count kicks off Wednesday morning, November 25, 2020 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. (AP Photo / Ben Gray)

Despite the assurances, the tweets could fuel suspicion among conservatives that, once again, left-wing California tech workers are playing a big role in the election. Trump supporters have previously accused Facebook and Twitter of shielding Biden from potentially damaging stories about his son Hunter Biden in the run-up to the election. Sidney Powell, a senior lawyer investigating allegations of widespread electoral fraud, also criticized the Dominion’s voting machines.

A new law in Georgia requires an audit of every race after every election. Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said he chose to audit the presidential race and its 5 million votes because of its importance and the narrow margin between Trump and Joe Biden.

He hired the nonprofit earlier this year, according to the AJC report.

Biden beat Trump by about 13,000 votes in Peach State, but Trump and his legal team contested the vote and were very critical of both Raffensperger and Governor Brian Kemp.

Raffensperger certified the election result on November 20 and Kemp approved it.

VotingWorks issued a press release a day earlier to confirm that it had completed its “first statewide risk mitigation audit” and that Biden was the winner.

GEORGIA’S SECRETARY OF STATE SOUNDS ALARM BEFORE RUNOFF ELECTIONS

“VotingWorks was proud to provide on-the-job training, logistics and technical support, although the immense increase in manual ballot counting was carried out by local and state election officials in Georgia who worked relentlessly throughout the week, ”the statement read. .

The nonprofit said it prides itself on its transparency and that the software it uses is open-source.

The Journal-Constitution reported that there had been previous concerns about VotingWorks and potential biases. The report says two of its officers, including Adida, have donated to Democrats.

The newspaper reported that reports of the donations opened both Adida and the nonprofit organization to criticism online.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

Gabriel Sterling, the state’s head of the voting system, told the newspaper he was comfortable with VotingWorks to provide operational support and said the technology was valuable. “There’s no one else doing this,” he says.

“It’s a whole new science.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report



[ad_2]

Source link