PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) — In a Facebook video that has since been deleted, local attorney Bill Price said he is changing his voter registration, moving to Georgia so he can vote in the January election and seems to encourage others to do the same.
The comments made by Price ended up on a major news network. The video in question came from a talk with members of the Republican Party of Bay County on November 7th. That video was deleted earlier on Tuesday.
In the video, Price said “I’m moving to Georgia, I’m changing my voter registration right now and I’m inviting 2 million people to be my roommate.”
Price said the idea of moving to Georgia with two million people should not be taken seriously and said he was only kidding.
Price also said in the video, “This is what needs to be done. If you don’t want to do it, fine. Might as well move to Venezuela now because get used to that lifestyle because that’s what’s coming.”
The attorney also said that he will continue to make lot of jokes and he hopes they don’t end in a criminal investigation.
“I’m not encouraging anybody to commit fraud, and I was kidding, anything that I said if it’s taken out of context or even if it’s taken within context, it was still a joke,” Price said. “I’m not moving anywhere, I haven’t changed my voter registration, I’m not intending to change my voter registration, I’m not telling anyone else to do it in any other way other than a legal way.”
Price said he believes his Republican Party affiliation is what made the comments attract their criticism.
“I know exactly why they took them seriously,” Price said. “It’s because I support Donald Trump. I support our President and I’m the only guy talking about it. Nobody’s saying anything they’re letting that guy fight this whole thing on his own. That’s why they’re making a big deal out of this because everybody expects it from the left. Everybody expects a communist to do what a communist is gonna do. But when a conservative, a decent guy who served his country for a decade in uniform says something like that, they’re like oh it can’t be a joke because we need to make a story of it.”
The Georgia Secretary of State’s Office released a statement saying, “Secretary Raffensperger has made it clear he has no tolerance for election wrongdoing and will investigate any credible evidence of it. Only permanent residents are eligible to vote in Georgia. Registering without the intention of permanent residency is a felony.”
Last Friday, the Georgia Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, issued a warning to people who are trying to move to Georgia for the sole purpose of voting and then leaving, saying that it is illegal and considered voter fraud.
