Did you know Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has opened an investigation into whether Georgia’s Democrat Party violated a state statute prohibiting electioneering? With so much news about protecting election integrity, it has gone virtually unnoticed that Raffensperger’s investigations division is examining whether a Democrat campaign office in Sandy Springs is within the legal-minimum distance of 150 feet from a nearby polling place.
The field office, first discovered by Fox News and confirmed by InsiderAdvantage, is a few doors down from Sherwood Event Hall— a polling place used during the June 21 party primary run-offs and slated to be used again.
Georgia state statute prohibits any person from soliciting votes “in any manner” or displaying any campaign literature of any kind within 150 feet of the outer edge of a building where voting is taking place. And “the law in question in Georgia is pretty plain,” says the executive director of the election integrity group Honest Elections Project. Jason Snead says, “At the very least what they’re doing is bending the rules — or maybe taking a tape measure and saying, ‘we’re 151 feet away.'”
The office’s storefront windows display signage with messages like “vote for Dems!” and touts party candidates Stacey Abrams and U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock. (Both attended the office’s recent grand opening.)
Snead believes the deliberate location of the Democratic office will cause confusion for people voting at Sherwood Event Hall. He also notes Georgia prohibits electioneering within 25 feet of a voter who is standing in line at a polling location. “The intent of the law is to preserve polling places as a sanctuary where voters do not have to worry about last-minute campaigning, attempts at confusion or coercion or anything else. It’s designed to help improve the election process,” Snead emphasizes.
InsiderAdvantage will report on the conclusion of the Secretary of State’s probe.
