When Election Day was approaching, politicians in Georgia were doing their best to encourage voters to cast their ballots. On Wednesday, Oct. 30, Stacey Abrams, former Georgia State Representative, came to Milledgeville for a rally thrown by the GCSU Young Democrats to campaign for Democratic Presidential Nominee and current Vice President Kamala Harris.
The Young Democrats of GCSU asked Abrams to come to Milledgeville to speak, but Axel Hawkins, a senior history major and president of Student Government Association, said in her opening speech that organizers did not have to beg Abrams to come, but that she jumped at the chance to speak to Middle Georgia voters before election day.
“I think it is really important to energize voters,” said Hadley Quigg, president of Young Democrats of GCSU.
When Abrams took to the platform, she spoke about how the people of Milledgeville’s voices matter. She discussed voter suppression and encouraged people who may not think their vote matters to rethink going to the polls.
Abortion policy in Georgia was a subject of the rally as well. Abrams spoke about Amber Thurman and Candi Miller, two Georgia women who recently passed away due to delayed and unsafe abortions, and Abrams called for the crowd to say their names and remember them when voting.
Abrams also addressed the voters asking why Harris has not implemented the ideas being used in her campaign, rejecting that it is because she is stagnant.
“It took four years to fix the stuff he [Donald Trump] broke,” said Abrams, defending Harris to dubious voters who say the vice president has not had a proactive role throughout the Biden administration.
Emily Wright, a junior political science and philosophy double major, introduced Abrams, speaking fondly about how both Abrams and Harris represent women in an unprecedented way.
“Everything she [Abrams] has done to fight voter suppression is really important to me, and I love being here to support her and to support Kamala Harris and get out to vote,” Wright said.
In Wright’s speech, she spoke about some of the issues that Democrats like Abrams and Harris have been most passionate about in the past months of campaigning, such as women’s healthcare and voter suppression.
Floyd Griffin Jr., the former Georgia senator currently running for the District 149 (Milledgeville) House of Representatives seat, also spoke at the rally. In his speech, Griffin reached out to the locals of Baldwin County, encouraging them to vote for their families.
Griffin spoke about his support of Harris, mentioning those who paved the way for her candidacy this year, such as Shirley Chislom, a 1972 presidential candidate, and former President Barack Obama. But Griffin is also aware of the limited days remaining for citizens to vote, lamenting that campaigning has shifted from convincing Americans for whom to vote into emphasizing the importance of actually casting a ballot.
“The persuasion campaign is pretty much over, now it’s about getting out to vote,” Griffin said.
This sentiment was reflected by students speaking at the rally.
“I’m so glad we got all of you to show up, but more importantly, we all need to show up and vote,” Hawkins said.
Hawkins’ speech was aimed toward student voters, and she was adamant that young voters are going to impact this election heavily. She shared information about the GCSU guidelines for an excused absence to vote — absence will be excused by professors if the student can prove that they were at the polls.
Milledgeville Mayor Mary Parham-Copelan spoke extensively about young voters doing the research for this election, thanking Stacey Abrams for coming to Milledgeville and reminding the people that every vote matters.
“This is your democracy; please get out and vote,” Parham-Copelan said.
“Milledgeville, like so much of rural Georgia, is essential to not only how we win but how we move forward,” Abrams said.
While Abrams lost her race for governor in 2022, she still remains a Democratic leader in Georgia.
“She has been a true leader and a true friend to the city of Milledgeville, Baldwin County, Middle Georgia and to me personally,” said Quentin T. Howell, chairman of the Democratic Committee in Baldwin County.
