Georgia Republicans have given state Democrats a powerful rallying cry with voter fraud allegations and opposition to Sunday voting.
Last week, state Secretary of State Brian Kemp leveled the fraud claims against the New Georgia Project, a voter registration effort led by Democratic State Rep. Stacey Abrams. Republican State Sen. Fran Millar drew fire for criticizing DeKalb County’s announcement that it would allow early voting on Sunday, Oct. 26.
The GOP actions received intense national media attention, including articles on progressive Web sites Salon and Slate and MSNBC commentator Rachel Maddow’s Facebook page. The pieces, by writers ranging from Salon’s Joan Walsh to Esquire’s Charles Pierce, accuse Kemp and Millar of voter suppression efforts to thwart strong Democratic campaigns by Michelle Nunn for the U.S. Senate and Jason Carter for governor.
The national articles saw Kemp and Millar’s actions as part of a national GOP effort to suppress minority voting. AJC columnist Jay Bookman took a similar stance, calling Kemp’s efforts politically motivated and without foundation.
Targeting a project of Abrams, one of the Democrats’ top black women, also gives the GOP “bad optics,” matching perceptions that Republicans oppose women.
According to reports by WSB-TV and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Kemp sent a subpoena to the New Georgia Project and its parent nonprofit, Third Sector Development, seeking voter registration records by Tuesday. Kemp reportedly said the investigation resulted from complaints in 12 counties.
Abrams said that fewer than 25 voter applications out of 85,000 registered were part of the investigation, and that the group had been working closely with Kemp’s office to ensure that legal procedures were followed.
“The abrupt release of this subpoena saddens me as I know the efforts of this organization have been done with the mission of increasing voter registration and engagement in the most disadvantaged and underserved groups in the state,” Abrams said in a statement to Channel 2. “The New Georgia Project team has worked directly with the Secretary of State’s Office every step of the way, seeking to address any concerns raised by their office or by the counties, to share information and be transparent on our work.”
Millar blasted interim DeKalb CEO Lee May’s initial plan to open Sunday voting in South DeKalb Mall, saying “this location is dominated by African American shoppers and it is near several large African American mega churches.” He concluded “I’m sure Michelle Nunn and Jason Carter are delighted with this blatantly partisan move in DeKalb.” May later extended Sunday voters to other county locations. Republican Gov. Nathan Deal also opposed the Sunday voting as favoring Democrats.
The Republican moves brought protests from the Rev. Raphael G. Warnock, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.’s home church. Warnock joined other civil rights leaders in delivering Kemp a letter protesting the voter-fraud allegations, the AJC said. Warnock also engaged in a heated exchange with Millar.
With voter turnout essential for Nunn and Carter, Democrats are likely to use the Republican actions to galvanize supporters. While Kemp’s subpoena could tie up the New Georgia Project’s campaign as Abrams explores legal options, the Democrats now have a strong anti-GOP message to rally supporters.
The national liberal media’s attention likely will bring more contributions from outside Georgia to Nunn and Carter’s campaigns. Nunn’s race, seen as likely to decide whether the U.S. Senate remains Democratic, had already received strong national attention.
A common theme of the national articles is that Georgia could switch from red to blue, or at least purple, with the registration of an additional 100,000 Democratic voters. They see Kemp and Millar’s efforts as desperate moves to stop that changeover.
If the national articles make Democratic supporters see Georgia voter registration efforts as threatened, that could bring a rush of money into the state.
On the local level, the Kemp investigation highlighted the growing influence of Better Georgia, an Athens progressive group. Begun by former journalist and public relations professional Bryan Long, the fund-raising organization has mainly supported Carter’s campaign, although it had not made financial contributions, according to Carter’s latest financial statement.
Better Georgia released an audio of Kemp speaking to a GOP group in July in which Kemp cites the New Georgia Project’s efforts and asks Republicans to match them through online registration, the AJC reported. Long has not returned calls from Insider Advantage Georgia seeking information about the group.
