JACKSONVILLE, Fla — The Jacksonville Branch NAACP is speaking out against Rep. John Rutherford (R-Jacksonville) and his plans to object to Electoral College results showing Joe Biden is the next President of the United States.
"This is blatant disrespect to the democracy of this country," said local NAACP Branch President Isaiah Rumlin in a news release. "The people have spoken!"
The NAACP release calls Rutherford's plan to join a handful of other republicans in backing President Donald Trump's refusal to concede the November election "disenfranchis(ing) millions of voters" and "only a ploy for political gain."
"Although Rutherford represents several areas in Duval and St. Johns County, the organization expects all elected officials to respect the process they are sworn to uphold," the NAACP release says.
Rutherford tweeted last week "On January 6th, I will OBJECT. It is up to the state legislatures in the six contested states to move quickly and do what they know is right."
There was no evidence found of any widespread or systemic election fraud in any state.
"Instead of undermining our democracy, why isn't his focus on dealing with the increased number of COVID cases and the hundreds of struggling Black businesses in his own counties and state?" Rumlin says in the release. "Instead, he wants to support a movement that has no chance of reality.
Rutherford acknowledged the effort was unlikely to succeed in derailing the election, saying in a statement "Unfortunately the result on January 6th is almost certain, because Democrats have the votes to prevail over the objections we raise." But, the NAACP says the effort to cast doubt about the results of the election "is absurd and has no merit and doing so sets a dangerous precedent."
See Rutherford's tweet below or click here to read his full statement.