Her friend, consultant Mary Bignault, shakes her head.
I stood in line to vote early. Behind me, five people were talking about being paid to move into our electoral district and vote for the Democrats, she claims.
The whole thing is very strange.
The duo has taken their place in front of the stage in a packed meeting room in northern Atlanta. They are holding signs with the text "Women for Trump" and say they are looking forward to hearing the Republican presidential candidate's daughter-in-law Lara Trump and other women speak.
Over 100 lawsuits
But like most people in the room, they still remember the 2020 election. It was then that Donald Trump disputed his loss here in Georgia, which led to several lawsuits, three recounts, and an indictment against the former president for attempting to overturn the election result.
In Trump circles, the indictment is often called "false". A majority of the most loyal so-called Maga voters believe Trump's court-proven claims of electoral fraud and are therefore on their guard now. This is what Lara Trump, who has been the assistant chair of the Republicans since March, is counting on when she takes the stage.
We have launched an aggressive operation to secure electoral integrity. If you think you can cheat, we will find you, she warns, and is met with applause.
Under her leadership, the Republicans have filed over 130 lawsuits against electoral procedures they find suspicious in several states over the past few months. This includes, among other things, whether postal votes have correct timestamps and opening hours at polling stations, she explains.
Free and legal?
In Georgia, meanwhile, several measures have been taken to secure the electoral process. Bignault, Cole, and several others say they have more confidence in the election now than four years ago. But, they add, you never know.
It sounds like an echo of Trump, who, like several party colleagues, has said that the result will be recognized if the election is "free, fair, and legal". In some circles, this is interpreted as an opening to claim electoral fraud if the result is not favorable, a development experts have warned against.
Negative rhetoric on both sides creates mistrust, especially here in Georgia. If people again believe that the election is stolen, it can lead to unrest and even violence, notes Jennifer McCoy, professor of political science at Georgia State University.
The concern is also present among Democrats. But there, it's more about fear that right-wing extremist militias will "guard" polling stations and intimidate voters.
I've heard about armed activists and burned ballot boxes. It's not the system that's the problem, it's the people, says tax consultant and Democrat Lagenia Arnold.
The southern state of Georgia is one of the 13 original states in the USA and is located on the east coast, north of Florida. Georgia is also known as the Peach State.
The capital Atlanta is also the largest city. The state has over 11 million inhabitants. 33 percent of them are black and 11 percent are Spanish-speaking so-called Latinos, according to the statistics authority Census.
In presidential election contexts, Georgia is a crucial swing state, with its 16 electors. A majority of the inhabitants have voted for the Republican candidate in presidential elections since 1992. But in 2020, the trend was broken when the Democrats' Joe Biden won over Donald Trump with a margin of just over 12,000 votes.
Trump disputed the election result, which led to an indictment at the state level for primarily attempting to overturn the election result. At the center is the phone call Trump made to the state's election official, Republican Brad Raffensperger, after the 2020 election. In the recorded conversation, Raffensperger is asked to "find the 11,780 votes" needed for a Trump victory. Trump claims he did nothing wrong. The process has been delayed and no trial has been held.
