A supporter of Susan Opraseuth said Tuesday the candidate does not have a database of 330 delegates she needs as she campaigns to replace Fulton County Republican Party incumbent chair Trey Kelly — but she’s supposed to.
Party members said this election pits Kelly, an establishment Republican, against Opraseuth, who strongly supports former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Sources said Fulton County GOP officials will hold an electronic vote Saturday to elect a new chair. This, after previous attempts to elect a chair ended in controversy.
Opraseuth declined a request for comment Tuesday, but one of her supporters, Jamie Parrish, said the database contains the phone numbers and email addresses for delegates who will vote to elect a new chair.
“That is normally afforded to all candidates so that they can campaign, but we are confident that if we have the names we can call and campaign and do whatever, but we cannot do that without the list,” Parrish said.
The Georgia Star News did not independently confirm that Fulton County GOP officials will, in fact, hold the election Saturday. The party’s website and social media pages did not specify when or if they scheduled the election. Acting Chair Betsy Shaw Kramer said on the Fulton County GOP’s Facebook page that “arrangements for secure, electronic voting are being made and will be disseminated immediately when they are finalized.” Kramer, however, told The Star News Tuesday she could not say when party officials will hold the election.
“I am not involved in setting this up, so I am unable to comment,” Kramer said in a text without elaborating.
Kelly did not return two requests for comment Tuesday.
Parrish said no one has informed him about the election date.
“I don’t know that the vote is on Saturday. They haven’t confirmed that. They originally had said Saturday, but some people seem to think they haven’t set a date for it,” Parrish said.
“The Georgia GOP and [Georgia GOP Chair] David Shafer’s office should have the database that was forwarded to them with their county minutes. The secretary of the Georgia GOP has not [provided the list] after being repeatedly asked. We have an idea of how many people. It’s supposed to be 330 delegates. How are we supposed to know who they are letting vote or who is in the database to vote? They have to share that information with us.”
Party members convened in April to elect a new chair. They had to pick between Kelly, the incumbent, or Opraseuth. But Fulton County Republicans tussled over who ultimately prevailed because of voting methods that many people found questionable. Kelly won that first vote. Several party members demanded a second and more transparent vote — which Opraseuth won. Kelly challenged the second vote.
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Chris Butler is an investigative journalist at The Tennessee Star. Follow Chris on Facebook. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Georgia Capitol” by DXR. CC BY-SA 4.0.
