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Brad Raffensperger is Interviewed about Georgia Voting; Aaron Judge Signs 9-Year Deal. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired December 07, 2022 - 08:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:34:05]

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, good morning. I'm Kaitlan Collins, live in Atlanta.

More than 1.6 million people in the state of Georgia came out and voted on election day yesterday. That is the highest number since the Covid-19 pandemic began. And just to be clear, this figure doesn't include those who cast their ballots during those so-called days of early voting.

And despite winning re-election, Senator Raphael Warnock reminded his supporters that he think works - work still needs to be done to stop what he says is the suppression of voters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-GA): Just because people endured long lines that wrapped around buildings, some blocks long, just because they endured the rain and the cold and all kinds of tricks in order to vote doesn't mean that voter suppression does not exist, it simply means that you, the people, have decided that your voices will not be silenced.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[06:35:04]

COLLINS: Joining us this morning is Georgia's Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

First, I'd like you just to respond what you heard Senator Warnock tell his supporters there last night.

BRAD RAFFENSPERGER (R), GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, there's no truth to voter suppression. Yesterday we had 1.6 million people show up to vote. That's more than we had a month ago. It's also more than we had in November 2020. We had record turnout. But then the total turnout we had for a runoff. That's the largest turnout we've ever had for a mid-term election.

And so yesterday the average wait time was about two minutes. The longest wait times were saw typically were 12 to 14 minutes. We had a few counties -- had one precinct here with 30 minutes, things like that. But people were moving through even though we had 1.6 million people show up. So, it was easy to vote. And we can't stop the rain, but in south Georgia the weather was fine, north Georgia we had a little bit of rain when I voted yesterday morning.

COLLINS: And you've said there will be an audit of this race. What does that look like when it comes to the - the timeline and is that a hard recount? What does that look like?

RAFFENSPERGER: It's a partial hand recount. What we do is a sample size to do it -- get at least a 90 percent risk limit audit. And we did a 95 percent back in the fall race just to make sure that everyone understood the machines accurately recorded all those votes. But it's something that we -- everyone is doing in the states with going to a verifiable paper ballot, starting to do RLAs, or risk limit audits, to really verify the count, give voters confidence in the process.

COLLINS: And, obviously, we've seen many of those recounts happen here before.

When it comes to early voting and the impact that that had on this race, is it time for Republicans to do more to embrace early voting here in Georgia?

RAFFENSPERGER: Well, I know when I'm on the ballot, I make sure my team, we're working hard on the absentee ballot process, early voting and then also election day. It's all three areas. We want people to vote. And in Georgia, as secretary of state, I make sure it's easy to vote. We also have appropriate guardrails. We have photo I.D. for absentee voting. That's something that they've been doing in Minnesota for over 10 years. You can then accurately identify who the voters are. That gives voters confidence in the security of the process.

COLLINS: And if Herschel Walker had done more than that, do you think he would have fared better last night?

RAFFENSPERGER: Well, obviously, and I think really as Republicans, if we want to do some soul searching, we need to win back the suburbs. That used to be our bread and butter. That's where we used to be really, really strong. Obviously, we're really strong in the rural area, farming communities, people like that, hardworking people like that. But people work hard in the suburbs, too. We need to win back everyone. We have a great message and we just need to continue working on that.

COLLINS: What changed there?

RAFFENSPERGER: I don't know. I guess bit by bit in the last several years we haven't focused on it. And it's a lot of - about their ground game. There's a lot of really good consultants that know what to do, but I think they need to get a seat at the table moving forward.

COLLINS: The duration of this runoff was shortened. Of course, last year when we saw it, it was closer to nine weeks. Now it's four weeks. What does the future of runoff elections in Georgia -- do there need to be conversations about changing those and eliminating them potentially do you think?

RAFFENSPERGER: Well, the reason we went to a four-week runoff, we only were able to do that is because we had rank choice voting instant runoff. But people have to understand, we use to have only four-week runoffs for federal and state. But a federal judge got activist (ph) and he then said, no, for federal runoffs you have to have nine weeks. So, by going with the instant runoff, it allows us to have four weeks for everyone.

What we could do, if we keep the runoff as it is, is make sure that the counties have additional precincts open so we keep those lines short. And we can work with the general assembly and the counties on that. But also people want to look at, can you have an instant runoff system or do we go back to a plurality, like we've had in years gone by, with a 45 percent total you had to have to avoid a runoff. We could look at something like that. So, I think the general assembly will probably look at several difference options, what's the best path forward.

COLLINS: As we wait to see what that looks like, something that President Biden is now pushing for is changing the way that Democrats have their presidential process. And part of that he wants to move Georgia up earlier in the primary selection. Is that something that you would accept?

RAFFENSPERGER: Well, first of all, I like the idea that Georgia is moving up in the rankings because we are -- continue to grow in population. And that means it really increases our importance and our significance as a state.

But whatever we do, we need to have buy-in from both sides of the aisle, both political parties. So, they need to start doing some talking to each other because we can't do anything unilaterally. And whatever we do, it's going to be based on what is in state law. And so that's really working with the general assembly. So, you're going to have to talk to both sides of the aisle to have that happen and both political parties.

COLLINS: So, as it stands right now, you would not change the day that Democratic voters in Georgia go to cast their ballots.

RAFFENSPERGER: Yes, I don't have the authority to change that. I follow the will of the general assembly, what's put into law. But I think if you're going to have that -- something like that, I think that then both parties, at the national level, are going to have to talk to each other and then work that through the general assembly. Our session starts in about a month.

COLLINS: Last question. You were one of the first witnesses to go and testify before this special purpose grand jury here in Fulton County investigating those efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Do you now believe that a law was broken in that infamous hour-long phone call that you had with former President Trump?

[08:40:05] RAFFENSPERGER: Well, I always like to tell people, I'm an engineer, and I like to stick into facts and details. And I'll let the lawyers decide on things like that. What I do is I just give people the information. Here's the conversation we had. In fact, anyone can listen to it. It's still probably out there on the web. You have an hour and ten minutes, listen to it. You can decide what was said and what was not said.

COLLINS: Due expect indictments in that case potentially?

RAFFENSPERGER: Well, that - that's -- they don't tell us what they're going to do. It's a secret grand jury. And so when they -- it happens, I'll probably be finding out just the same time you do.

COLLINS: Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, thank you for your time this morning.

RAFFENSPERGER: Thank you.

COLLINS: And also just in to CNN this morning, we are learning of a major discovery at those power substations we've been talking about this week in North Carolina that were attacked over the weekend. Stand by for the latest on that.

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POPPY HARLOW, CNN ANCHOR: This just in, CNN's John Miller reports new details out of Moore County, North Carolina, this morning, just hours after that attack that disabled two high-voltage substations and plunged thousands there into darkness. Police recovered nearly two dozen shell casings from a high-powered rifle.

[08:45:04]

That evidence found at both of the crime scenes. However, no fingerprints were recovered. At least not yet. Authorities are still searching for a rifle, but ballistics may still offer some critical evidence to who could have done this. They say the spot where those casings were found gives investigators a way to pinpoint the firing positions used by the sniper. Knowing where the shooter fired from could lead to other discoveries, such as shoe prints.

Don.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right, everyone pay attention to this. OK. This just in to CNN THIS MORNING, and the number is 360 million. That's our number this morning. The Yankees re-signing Aaron Judge to a nine-year deal. It is the second largest in history.

Harry Enten is here with more.

Harry, what's the number, what are we talking?

HARRY ENTEN, CNN SENIOR DATA REPORTER: Its' $40 million a year, Don, $40 million a year. It's the largest - second largest -

LEMON: How can he survive on that?

ENTEN: How is he going to do it? Maybe I'm going to his house with a nice, you know, tin can and try and get some money from him.

Look, $40 million a year. It's no surprise if you've listened to me over all these years that I do not like the New York Yankees. This is not something that makes me particularly excited. The fact is that Aaron Judge is an amazing ball player. I can admire him for his, you know, wonderful play on the field, hitting 62 home runs this past year, breaking an American League record that stood for over 60 years. Roger Maris, of course, hit 61 in 1961.

This is not good news for me, but it just shows that Aaron Judge took a chance, right? He could have signed a longer contract going into last year. He decided, no, I'm going to play out my contract year, take a real shot. And he hit 62 home runs and now he has been rewarded.

LEMON: $360 million. Hey, look, I ain't mad at him.

ENTEN: I -

HARLOW: Go get it.

LEMON: More power -- more power to him.

ENTEN: YOU know, the owners make a lot of money.

LEMON: Yes.

ENTEN: The players should make a lot of money, too. He give the Yankee fans a lot of throws and carried the Yankees on his back this last season.

LEMON: Thank you, Harry.

ENTEN: Thank you.

HARLOW: Teachers should make $360 million, too.

LEMON: Yes.

HARLOW: Just saying. There's that.

All right, coming up, an interview you will want to see. We are really glad we're going to be joined by the family of fallen officers - remember Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick. Why they refused to shake the hands of top congressional Republicans at a medal ceremony for those law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol on January 6th. We'll talk to them about that and their beloved son and brother, ahead.

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[08:51:30]

HARLOW: Welcome back to CNN THIS MORNING.

The family of fallen U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick refusing to shake hands with the top two Republicans in Congress, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. This was yesterday at a ceremony honoring law enforcement officers who defended the Capitol on January 6th, the day of the insurrection. Of course, we all know Sicknick suffered a stroke and died of natural causes one day after the insurrection.

Joining us now are his family members who loved him so very much. You saw them in the video. His mother Gladys and his brothers Ken and Craig.

Good morning and thank you.

LEMON: Good morning. Thank you guys for being here. Thank you.

CRAIG SICKNICK, BROTHER OF FALLEN CAPITOL POLICE OFFICER BRIAN SICKNICK: Good morning.

GLADYS SICKNICK, MOTHER OF ALLEN CAPITOL POLICE OFFICER BRIAN SICKNICK: Good morning.

HARLOW: We will get to that and what was behind it. But, mother to mother, tell everyone about Brian.

G. SICKNICK: Brian was very, very quiet. He - he had a sense of humor that I didn't know about until - until - because when he - there's - there was -- there's two officers that are liaisons between the Capitol Police and us. In fact, they put us up, take us down there, bring us home. That's what they did yesterday. And the stories they tell about him were just amazing.

But he was a very quiet kid. Never - never wanted to join anything. I put him in t-ball, ten minutes. I put him -- he just didn't want to - he didn't want to join anything. And then he joined the Air National Guard. He found, you know, he found his way and he was doing what was right for the country.

HARLOW: What did it mean to him to do that?

G. SICKNICK: He was just -- he just felt this - this, you know -- he was defending the Constitution, which should be done.

LEMON: Mom, I'm so glad you're here. I'm glad all of you are here.

So, listen, I want to talk to you about why you did what you did, OK. So, when asked yesterday about why you didn't shake the hands of McCarthy and McConnell, you said they're just two-faced, right? This is according to a quote. You said you're just tired of them standing there and saying how wonderful the Capital Police is and then turn around and go down to Mar-a-Lago and kiss his ring and come back and stand here and sit with - you know, it just hurts, you said. You said too, you told me earlier in the break that you were looking for -- you guys were trying to figure out what to say. And you said maybe a better way to say something is not to say anything at all. G. SICKNICK: That's what I - yes, I -- we were talking about saying

something. And then we said, no, I think the best way is just to ignore them. And we had no idea it was going to blow up like this. We just - we really didn't. And I'm glad it did because I think it made them think about what they do. I mean just sitting in these senators' officers and looking at the pictures of their families behind them and thinking, you know, what do they do when they go home? Do they -- what do they say to their children and grandchildren when they go home? You know, what kind of country is this going to be? Do they really want them to live in a country of their making?

LEMON: It took courage to do that. Was it tough to do, Craig?

C. SICKNICK: Honestly, after what we've been through over the last almost two years now, no, I really do not hold respect for people who have no integrity, which is what - so this is not a partisan issue, this is an integrity issue. They - they took an oath to defend and uphold the Constitution. And when somebody challenges it, like Trump, they do nothing. Their silence is deafening. Or, worse, they keep perpetrate the same policies and lies that caused the insurrection to happen.

[08:55:01]

LEMON: Ken.

KEN SICKNICK, BROTHER OF FALLEN CAPITOL POLICE OFFICER BRIAN SICKNICK: I think it was an ABC interview recently with - with Mitch McConnell, and he just - they -- he was asked four or five times in a row specifically, will you support Donald Trump?

HARLOW: Right.

K. SICKNICK: He refused -

LEMON: He refused to (INAUDIBLE).

K. SICKNICK: He refused -- everything was wishy washy. He refused to say, no, I don't support him. Well, you know, if he's going to do this, and well, you know, but he never - you know, I'm against tribalism. I'm against, you know, being, hey, you're on my team or you're n this team.

But when -- when somebody's - when somebody that's potentially going to be the most powerful person in the world says, hey, I want to - I'm going to - we're going to push the Constitution aside and not pay attention to it at all or I'm going to just rip it up, how - how - how do you support -- how do you even say, well, that's -- that's a no brainer. It's a, no, I'm not going to support him.

HARLOW: Should we take a moment to listen to what - because I will say, McConnell - you know, McCarthy went down to Mar-a-Lago to sort of kiss the ring, right? And McConnell did not. He has been critical of Trump.

K. SICKNICK: Right. HARLOW: You're right, that he didn't - he didn't answer that question at all when pushed. But he also has not, you know, talked to Trump or met with Trump since December 2020 when he congratulated Biden. So there's a difference there, right?

K. SICKNICK: Yes.

C. SICKNICK: Yes, there is.

HARLOW: But - but let's -- let's listen to what McConnell said when he was asked about this moment. Here - here it was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL (R-KY): I would respond by saying, today we gave the Gold Medal to the heroes of January 6th. We admire and respect them. They laid their lives on the line. And that's why we gave a Gold Medal today to the heroes of January 6th.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: Do wonder if you have a message, though, for him this morning, or for either of them this morning?

G. SICKNICK: I just don't know how they can stand there and talk to the press, talk to the cameras and say what they do knowing what they've done in the past. And they - I don't -- do they think people don't pay attention? Apparently, a lot don't pay attention. But -- I don't know, if they lost children in an insurrection like this, I kind of wonder what they would do.

LEMON: The people who were there fighting also received awards. As you know, Michael Fanone, who -- received an award. And he said that he was heckled by members of his own police department who called him derogatory terms. And he said it's tough for him to deal with. What do you think of that, members of his own department?

G. SICKNICK: Yes, I had no idea that happened until later, on the way home from D.C. yesterday. I had no idea. I think it's awful. I mean, he put his life on the line. He didn't have to do that.

C. SICKNICK: He almost met the same fate as Brian.

G. SICKNICK: Yes, he almost died. And he wasn't asked to go to the Capitol. He put on his uniform and he went.

HARLOW: You brought up the Constitution. And it was just this weekend that the former president, Donald Trump, called to terminate.

LEMON: You mentioned the Constitution as well.

HARLOW: Yes. Terminate the Constitution. I wonder, because Brian can't be here to say what he went to work for every day, which was to defend it with everything he had, what do you think he would say?

K. SICKNICK: I -- I mean -- HARLOW: About this moment in America.

C. SICKNICK: He would have been appalled. It's -- you know, it's -- we have 200 plus year history of -- we had bad moments, of course, through history. And we've gotten over many of them. And now seem to be going through more. So how do you get to a point where we become, you know, the wonder of the world, to now having countries looking at us and going, what's going on, you know?

HARLOW: Yes.

C. SICKNICK: Every election now is going to be challenged, it looks like. And what's the reason for it? It's - OK, I can understand if there's an election and it might be close. Do a recount. Look into things. You know, if there's any wrongdoing, fix it. But when, two years later, after, you know, every - every contested election was looked at and they found little to no fraud or abuse of the system whatsoever, yet everything still perpetrates. That's not our system. That's not how it's supposed to work.

K. SICKNICK: Yes, I honestly -- honestly, I don't know if I can speak for Brian, because his opinion was different before he died, you know? He was a staunch supporter. And -- but, you know, to -- to have -- to incite Americans to attack other Americans, it's mind boggling.

HARLOW: Yes.

K. SICKNICK: Mind boggling.

G. SICKNICK: Just talking -- talking to our -- these - these police officers, people don't realize how bad it was in the Capital and what these people left in their -- what they did to the Capitol was just -- they're still cleaning it up.

LEMON: We're so glad that you all could be here. And I can't imagine what you're dealing with as you -- I know you said it's day to day.

G. SICKNICK: Yes, like - like McConnell - you was talking about the Constitution. McConnell - I mean they took that same oath to defend the Constitution. They're not doing that.

HARLOW: Well, look, there is -

LEMON: Thank you.

HARLOW: There is no loss like the loss of a child. And I'm so sorry for all of you. But very grateful for you to come and remind people about what a remarkable man he was.

[09:00:06]

G. SICKNICK: Yes, he was - he was - he was different.

LEMON: Thank you. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you, mom. We really appreciate it. Thank you very much.

C. SICKNICK: Thank you for having us.

HARLOW: (INAUDIBLE).

And our - our thanks to all of you for watching. We'll see you right back here tomorrow morning.

CNN "NEWSROOM" is now.