Fulton County Elections Director Richard Barron has been a major focus of the nation this week. As eyes converge on Atlanta votes coming in to see if Georgia flips from red to blue in the U.S. presidential election, Barron has appeared on TV to explain the process to media such as CNN.
And he’s done so with some soccer paraphernalia adorned around his neck.
As many on Twitter have pointed out (and my brother texted me about it Wednesday night), Barron has been wearing a Portland Timbers lanyard in all of his interviews on TV. Fulton County, of course, is Atlanta United territory, so many folks were understandably confused. Some jokingly suggested a conspiracy, but we all know conspiracy theories about voter fraud are never true.
Richard Barron, The Fulton County Elections Director, is wearing a Portland Timbers lanyard. @MLS's impact. pic.twitter.com/tU3YDmY9Qy
— mariel stoll (@MarielStoll) November 5, 2020
Hey @ATLUTD send the @FultonInfo Elections Director an Atlanta United lanyard. Why the heck is Richard Barron wearing a Portland Timbers’ one?! #vamos #atlutd #mls pic.twitter.com/Fbtdg2n4cp
— Cecelia Hanley (@CHanley_Digital) November 5, 2020
The Fulton co. director of elections, Richard Barron, is wearing a Portland Timbers lanyard. This is not acceptable and is VERY concerning to me
— Maruf M. Hoque (@marufisonfire) November 5, 2020
So, what gives? Why is an Atlanta-area election director supporting a Portland soccer team? Again, almost all alleged voter fraud is a conspiracy theory purported by those who want to increase voter suppression, so it’s definitely not that.
And it’s not hard to figure out why the Fulton County Elections Director is pro-Portland.
Chris Barron (@tbc5150 on Twitter) claims to be Richard’s brother, and we have no reason to not believe him considering his past tweets prior to Richard’s sudden fame on TV on Wednesday. Chris said Richard has been an Atlanta United season-ticket holder but is a lifelong Timbers fan.
He had ATL season tickets for a couple of years to watch MLS games, but he’s a lifelong Timbers fan. I get him most of his gear.
— Chris Barron (@tbc5150) November 5, 2020
My brother Rick heads elections for Fulton County, Ga., and he’s getting more attention for wearing his @TimbersFC lanyard on @CNN than for anything else. This is why we love Twitter. #RCTID #MLS @FultonInfo pic.twitter.com/MZNQDRnF1s
— Chris Barron (@tbc5150) November 5, 2020
See? No conspiracy theory. Voter fraud isn’t widespread like some would like you to believe. But soccer fans are.
