voter purge Archives - Democratic Party of Georgia

Friends,

As the summer winds down, we see continuing attacks on our voting rights. Whether due to actions by the Justice Department, the Commission on Voting Integrity, our own Secretary of State, or our counties, we must remain vigilant to protect these rights. So, with this message we reach out to you to find out if you have been contacted in connection with the on-going purge of inactive voters or the moving of active voters to inactive status. We would appreciate it if you would fill out the form through the link below if you have been contacted for either of these purposes. In addition, if you have friends who have received communications of this type, please pass on this form to them so we can gather this information from as many sources as possible. This information is important for us to have as we monitor the Secretary of State.

Voter Roll Form

If you received communication that you would be placed on the inactive list that means they need to hear from you or with the passage of enough time you will be taken off the voter role, i.e., you will be “purged.” You are still authorized to vote if you are on the inactive voter list. So long as you either vote in the next federal election or contact the superintendent of elections in your county you will be returned to active voter status. You should have received a form to complete. Please do that. If you do not still have the form, reach out to us through the link we have above and we will get you the appropriate information to contact your county superintendent of elections so you will be placed back into active status.

If you received a notification that you were removed from the voting list, you must re-register. Please use this link to register again or go into a Driver’s License Bureau or other location for voter registration. Unfortunately, once taken off the voting rolls this is the only effective way of being sure you are registered. If you re-register online you will be required to show photo identification for registration when you vote. If you register in person, be prepared with those materials. Photo identification requirements can be found here.

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. The efforts to suppress our vote are real. We must fight back.

Sincerely,

Pinney Allen

Chair, Voter Protection Committee

Release: Thursday, May 5, 2016

Department of Justice Looking in to SoS Kemp’s Elections Failures

Atlanta, GA – Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp just attracted the interest of the Department of Justice for his pattern of failure to properly administer Georgia’s voter registration system. On May 4, The United State Department of Justice filed a “Statement of Interest of the United States” with the Federal Court to probe Kemp’s purges of legitimate voters from Georgia voter rolls. The Department of Justice pointed to specific violations of the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act. NVRA governs voter registration and the maintenance of voter lists used in federal elections. HAVA establishes minimum standards to be used in federal elections.

“Time and again, Brian Kemp has proven to be unqualified to run a six foot extension cord, much less Georgia’s elections,” said Democratic Party of Georgia Chair DuBose Porter in statement. “This year, Georgia—and the rest of the country—will cast their ballots in the first major election since the gutting of the Voting Rights Act. There’s just too much at stake to trust a sloppy partisan like Kemp to administer our electoral process.”

Over the course of his career, Kemp has attracted attention for his partisan gimmicks to undermine the integrity of Georgia’s elections. The Secretary of State’s website has a well-documented history of inadequacy. Just last year, Kemp’s office violated and undermined the economic security of Georgia voters by publishing private information—including Social Security numbers—of registered voters. Last year’s data breach forced him to spend our tax dollars to recover the disks and provide security services for voters whose privacy was violated.

This year, Kemp admitted to inaccuracies in his own voter registration database that forced an unknown number of voters to vote in districts other than where they actually lived. Kemp has thus far refused to reopen qualifying House District 151, while allowing the Georgia Republic Party to open qualifying in state house primary three times.

Find the DOJ Statement of Interest at this link.