Barack Obama praises Stacey Abrams, describes her as a ‘more hopeful vision’

Former President Barack Obama hit the campaign trail hard for Georgia Governor hopeful Stacey Abrams and he told thousands of supporters at the Forbes Arena on Morehouse College’s campus on Friday that she is a “more hopeful vision” of government.

“The healthcare of millions of people are on the ballot,” Obama said. “Making sure that working families get a fair shake is on the ballot. But maybe most of all the character of our country is on the ballot.”

Without mentioning the name of her Republican opponent Brian Kemp, Mr. Obama said the secretary of state was among GOP politicians “trying to disenfranchise people and take away the right to vote.”

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“If you’re aspiring to the highest office in the state … how can you actively try to prevent citizens from your state from exercising their most basic right?” Obama asked.

“They’re trying to disenfranchise you and take away the right to vote. Stacey’s opponent has already been caught multiple times …” he said over a chorus of boos, Politically Georgia reports. “Don’t boo. Vote. They don’t care about your boos. They care about your vote.”

Obama also blasted Kemp for repeatedly refusing to step down as secretary of state as he runs for Georgia’s highest office.

Abrams has accused Kemp of voter suppression and Kemp has called such accusations a “farce”

“The system is rigged,” Obama told the crowded arena. “There has been a systematic effort to cripple our democracy and to disenfranchise those who do not subscribe to certain political views.”

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Georgia has reportedly “purged twice as many voters — 1.5 million — between the 2012 and 2016 elections as it did between 2008 and 2012,” according to the Brennan Center for Justice.

“Georgia, be unafraid,” Obama said. “If they try to take away your right to vote, there’s only one way to take it back: Vote.”