15 People Arrested Demanding Georgia "Count Every Vote" In Election

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A State Senator Is Amongst Those Arrested

On Tuesday, 15 people were arrested during a protest at Georgia’s Capitol building in Atlanta, according to NBC News.

The protesters were demanding that the uncounted ballots from last week’s gubernatorial race be tallied. Democrat Stacey Abrams is going against Republican Brian Kemp for governor and the race is still too close to call. So far, Kemp holds a lead over Abrams of less than 58,000 votes as of Tuesday. Demonstrators on Tuesday were chanting to “count every vote,” according to law enforcement.

Georgia State Patrol told NBC News that the demonstrators were arrested for unlawfully disrupting “orderly conduct of official business” at the state capital building. Amongst the people arrested on Tuesday was Sen. Nikema Williams, who was additionally charged with misdemeanor obstruction of justice. State patrol said that the protestors were taken to the Fulton County Jail.

Williams spoke about her arrest to The Washington Post. She said she was apprehended “because I refused to leave the floor of this building where I’m a state senator.” She went on to say that the protest was peaceful. Protestors have set up a bail fund site for anyone who wants to donate to the cause.

The race between Abrams and Kemp comes a week after Election Day as Georgia officials continue to tally uncounted ballots in the race. Earlier Tuesday, a federal judge ordered Georgia to guard against the improper rejection of provisional ballots and to hold off until Friday to confirm the state’s election results.

Abrams is hoping to narrow Kemp’s lead so that a mandatory recount or a runoff can happen.

State law requires a candidate has more than 50 percent of the vote in order to win outright. Kemp currently has 50.3 percent of the overall vote. Meanwhile, Abrams has not conceded the race, despite pressure from Kemp who has already declared victory.