Four prominent former officials in Georgia are joining a group that says it will try to counteract efforts to make people distrust elections.  The coalition wants to fight back against claims that undermine the integrity of elections in the Peach State.

Those joining the Democracy Defense Project, whose launch was announced Tuesday, include two Georgia Republicans, former Gov. Nathan Deal and former U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, and two Democrats, former Gov. Roy Barnes and former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin.

Governor Barnes said, “While it may be politically advantageous to undermine America’s core values,” Barnes said, “it’s a harmful, damaging game with lasting consequences for ‘We the People’.”

The four are Georgia board members in a national effort that says it will seek news coverage, as well as raise money to buy advertisements to push back against efforts to undermine elections and try to persuade people to move beyond “polarizing rhetoric.”