Republican Donald Trump's claims that Tuesday's elections are "rigged" in Democrat Hillary Clinton's favor have not gained much traction in Georgia.
An Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll released in late October found that nearly 80 percent of voters say they are confident their vote for president will be accurately counted. That includes about 70 percent of Republicans and two-thirds of Trump supporters.
“It’s totally sour grapes. And it’s a dangerous claim to make. Our whole democracy is based on our belief that our vote matters,” said A.J. Norris, a 49-year-old operations manager in Decatur. “When you begin to question that, you really shake people’s confidence and we give voice to people who can be dangerous to our democracy.”
Trump would not say in a Fox News interview Tuesday whether he would accept the outcome of the vote.
“We’re going to see how things play out today and hopefully they will play out well and hopefully we won’t have to worry about it," Trump said. "Meaning hopefully we will win but we’re going to see how they play out and I want to see everything honest.”
Only 7 percent of voters said they were "not confident at all" in the accuracy of the vote count, including about 13 percent of independent voters. Among them is Matthew Lainhart, a 33-year-old warehouse manager from Barrow County.
“I can see it. I think the whole presidency could be rigged. Voting doesn’t matter,” said Lainhart, who said he’s a reluctant supporter of Libertarian Gary Johnson. “They already know who the president is.”
Trump's refusal to commit to accepting the results of next month's election also didn't win him many supporters. The vast majority of Georgia voters – nearly 90 percent – said they would accept the outcome of the vote. Only 10 percent said they wouldn't.
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