A group of Georgia residents got the opportunity to address the Georgia Secretary of State directly on Thursday after sending a letter to her office demanding a recount in many of Georgia's closest elections.
Faith organizer for the New Georgia Project, The Rev. Billy Michael Honor, said he and several others met with acting Secretary of State Robyn Crittenden to discuss their requests. Crittenden took over when Republican candidate for governor Brian Kemp stepped down after the election.
"We had a wonderful conversation over the course of about 45 minutes over these issues and we were given some instructions by the secretary of state in terms of how it is a recount would be considered," Honor said.
He added that his group considers the election issues a "moral crisis."
"... It is not just a matter of her following the law, it is a matter of her using her moral discretion to do the right thing and to bring our state together," he said.
Lydia Medwin of The Temple in midtown Atlanta echoed that sentiment.
"Not just following the law as its written, but trying to do the right thing for the people so that they can feel confident again in their institution," Medwin said. "We had a wonderful conversation. As is already stated, we are excited to, um, continue to petition the secretary and we trust that she'll do the right thing."
Dr. Nichelle Guidry said she's hopeful after the conversation they had.
"Not only were we able to have a conversation about some of the legalities concerning the voter suppression efforts that are seemingly systemic in this election," she said. "But we were also able to raise, again, the kind of moral imperative of her to utilize her discretion to begin to write some new narratives."
Morehouse student government vice president Wendell Shelby-Wallace said that the current Secretary of State should work to regain the confidence of the people.
"What we saw in this most recent election day, particularly for students - essentially lost our trust," he said. "We lost our trust in a democratic process."
Cliff Albright with Black Voters Matter said that he had also hoped the state would give counties enough time to comply with recent court orders.
"As opposed to asking them to certify by today or by tomorrow, asking for them to have an extension until Monday by 5 p.m.," he said.
Albright added that Crittenden said she would take that into consideration.