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Georgia Secretary of State and Candidate for Governor Who Is Holding Up Thousands of Voter Registrations Just Got Slapped With a Lawsuit
Wow.
Civil rights groups have teamed up to submit a lawsuit against the state of Georgia for voter suppression.
The suit comes in reaction to a policy in Georgia that forbids new voter registrations from being submitted if the submitted information isn't a precise match to the information in Georgia's license or social security database.
BREAKING: We have just filed a lawsuit against Brian Kemp to end #Georgia’s exact match law, which has put as many… https://t.co/yIrntQ8MwE— Lawyers' Committee ☎️866-OUR-VOTE (@Lawyers' Committee ☎️866-OUR-VOTE) 1539295464.0
As the attorneys allege, even slightly differing information would result in an application being thrown out:
“Under this ‘exact match’ protocol, the transposition of a single letter or number, deletion or addition of a hyphen or apostrophe, the accidental entry of an extra character or space, and the use of a familiar name like ‘Tom’ instead of ‘Thomas’ will cause a no match result.”
The Abrams campaign says the blame is with Brian Kemp, with a spokeswoman saying:
"As he has done for years, Brian Kemp is maliciously wielding the power of his office to suppress the vote for political gain and silence the voices of thousands of eligible voters -- the majority of them people of color,"
Scrutiny of the policy has seen a huge uptick during a competitive gubernatorial election in the state between Georgia's Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp and Democratic former Congresswoman Stacy Abrams. As a result of Georgia's policy, 53,000 voter registrations are stalled, with nearly 70 percent of those voters being African-American. In a race that's anyone's game and a candidate who would be the first black female governor of Georgia, the policy would likely be the one negatively affected.
Americans are supporting the move:
@KristenClarkeJD @LawyersComm Thank you. How can I donate?— Amy Siskind 🏳️🌈 (@Amy Siskind 🏳️🌈) 1539300565.0
@KristenClarkeJD @LawyersComm Please tell us what we can do to help! Please tell us who to call— Leocadia Toth (@Leocadia Toth) 1539306592.0
@JamilSmith @BrianKempGA Brian Kemp’s behavior so blatant and unconscionable. We’re all waiting to see what the co… https://t.co/cfnqt4T5HU— Alinkam (@Alinkam) 1539369028.0
@MaddowBlog Looks like the party is about to begin in GA. @BrianKempGA is as corrupt as they get!! GA deserves bet… https://t.co/y64uEgdGo0— Madeleine (@Madeleine) 1539309378.0
The numbers of suppressed votes in an election this close could result in a sway of the entire election.
Polls in the election have shown a pin's distance between the two candidates.
Current polls show Kemp with a 47.7 percent lead to Abram's 46.6 percent—far below the 2.8 percent margin of error.
Abrams, a lawyer and former congresswoman, has captured the hearts of Americans everywhere since the start of her campaign, with many viewing her candidacy and her possibility of winning emerging as a symbol of hope for Georgians everywhere.
Yall better go out and vote for stacy abrams— Hailey11 (@Hailey11) 1539048248.0
Also: I would be excited to vote for Stacy Abrams even if Kemp weren't a total turd. But he is. A total turd.— Jeffrey Chupp (@Jeffrey Chupp) 1539382280.0
And even Bette Midler.
STACY ABRAMS, A WORTHY AND EXCITING CANDIDATE FOR GOVERNOR OF GEORGIA! A CHAMPION FOR EDUCATION, GROWING THE ECONO… https://t.co/YSK3MUG8Y2— Bette Midler (@Bette Midler) 1539033014.0
The razor thin race and the incumbent candidate's allowance of voter suppression is yet another reason for Americans to be mindful of November 6 and America's future as a whole.