Republican overheard in audio claiming gov will surge troops on Election Day

A spokesman for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp disputes claims from the Republican gubernatorial nominee that he would deploy the National Guard to monitor the November elections.

GOP gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson made the claim during an Aug. 13 rally in Columbus, according to audio obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, when a nervous attendee expressed fears that Democrats would "cheat."

"I know, we're going to have people watching out for us," Jackson told the attendee, who urged him to ask President Donald Trump to deploy federal troops to Georgia.

"Well, we'll get National Guard," Jackson replied. "Gov. Kemp is going to watch it for us. Yes, he's going to get the National Guard."

The exchange came as voting rights groups and Democrats raise alarms nationally that President Donald Trump and his allies could use the military to interfere with the vote, but Jackson's campaign disputed that he was endorsing troop deployments at polling places.

Spokesperson Garrison Douglas said Jackson trusts Kemp to run "safe and secure" elections and touted the state's record on voting access.

Kemp's office told AJC correspondent Greg Bluestein there are no plans for a deployment.

“We’ve proven for multiple cycles now that it’s easy to vote and hard to cheat in Georgia elections," a spokesperson from the governor's office said. "The same will be true this cycle. We are approaching this upcoming election the exact same way we have in the past.”

Trump has repeatedly declined to rule out deploying troops or federal agents to polling sites, saying he would "do anything necessary" to ensure "honest elections," and has suggested Republicans should "take over" voting procedures in some areas.

Democrats have responded by drafting legal challenges in case ballots are seized and developing election-monitoring programs, and the Democratic National Committee sued in March seeking records on any potential intervention.

Georgia Democrats say their concerns are heightened because Kemp has previously deployed Guard troops at Trump's request, including sending about 300 to Washington last year.

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) is sponsoring legislation to restrict the use of federal troops or armed law enforcement at election sites, warning that "this administration has made clear that they will stop at nothing to prevent the American people from making their voices heard this November."

Federal law bars stationing troops or armed federal agents at polling sites except to "repel armed enemies of the United States," but governors retain broader authority to deploy the National Guard for election support, such as cybersecurity and logistics.

Trump has never accepted his 2020 loss in Georgia, and FBI agents seized Fulton County's 2020 ballots in January as part of an investigation that has not produced charges.