Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp is using Jim Crow era tactics to disenfranchise Black voters and destroy Black political power in Georgia.
Demand Brian Kemp process the 53,000 voter registration applications he's currently blocking !
Dear friend.
Georgia’s Secretary of State, Brian Kemp is invoking some of the darkest days of the past and using Jim Crow era tactics to disenfranchise tens of thousands of Black voters.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that the Georgia Secretary of State’s office is refusing to process 53,000 voter registration applications, 70% of which are from Black applicants.1, This isn’t new or surprising coming from the current Secretary of State, Brian Kemp. Since taking over the position in 2010, Kemp has made it his singular mission to disenfranchise Black Georgians and suppress Black political power in the state.
Georgia is becoming more racially diverse, yet Brian Kemp and others in the state’s GOP are doing everything in their power to suppress Black political power. In 2010, activists in Quitman, Georgia undertook an absentee ballot push to increase Black voter turnout which resulted in Black people winning a majority of the seats on the Brooks County education board for the first time in its history. In response, Kemp’s office and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation questioned hundreds of voters and erroneously charged dozens of Black activists with numerous counts relating to voter fraud. After years of their cases winding their way through the courts, none of the activists charged were found guilty of any wrongdoing.2
This year’s election in Georgia is pivotal. Not only will voters have a chance to make history and elect Stacey Abrams as the first Black woman governor in the United States, but this election will decide control of the redistricting map to be drawn in 2020 and through that, the political future of Georgia for the next decade. Suppressing Black voter turnout would lock in right-wing control of Georgia politics for generations.
But our community has already shown that we can stand up and win against these Jim Crow voter suppression tactics. This past August, Color Of Change members and the people of Randolph County successfully beat back one of Kemp’s and the GOP’s plans to deny Black voters their rights when we stopped the Randolph County Board of Elections from enacting a brazenly racist plan to close seven of nine polling places in the majority-black county ahead of this November's midterm elections. This plan - pushed by Kemp’s “hand picked” voter suppression expert, Mike Malone - was a naked attempt to suppress Black voter turnout in Georgia's governor race.
These constant attacks on our franchise by Kemp and the Georgia GOP shows that it’s no accident that 70% of the 53,000 registrations being suppressed are from Black applicants. Furthermore, in a closed-door meeting with Republicans, Brian Kemp was caught on audio saying, “...Democrats are working hard...you know, registering all these minority voters that are out there and others that are sitting on the sidelines, if they can do that, they can win these elections in November.”3 Since 2012, Kemp’s office has canceled 1.4 million voter registrations in Georgia.4
Black Georgians’ fight for their civil and voting rights has reverberated across the nation. It’s time to ensure Black political power isn’t stomped out in Georgia. Demand Brian Kemp do his job and process the 53,000 voter registrations.
Until justice is real,
Brandi, Rashad, Arisha, Jade, Evan, Johnny, Future, Corina, Chad, Mary, Saréya, Angela, Eesha, Samantha, and the rest of the Color Of Change team
References :
- "Brian Kemp Is Blocking 53,000 Applicants From Registering To Vote, Most Of The Black", Talking Points Memo, 10 October 2018 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/98161?t=8&akid=19332%2E1942551%2EVn7HET
- "Georgia's Governor's Race Is Epic Showdown Over Voting Rights", Talking Points Memo, 10 October 2018 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/98162?t=10&akid=19332%2E1942551%2EVn7HET
- "Georgia Secretary Of State Laments That Democrats Are Registering Minority Voters", Think Progress, 11 September 2014 https://act.colorofchange.org/go/98163?t=12&akid=19332%2E1942551%2EVn7HET
- "Report : Georgia's Secretary of State Is Blocking 53,000 Voter Registrations as He Runs for Governor", TIME, 10 October 2018 http://act.colorofchange.org/go/98164?t=14&akid=19332%2E1942551%2EVn7HET
Color Of Change is building a movement to elevate the voices of Black folks and our allies, and win real social and political change. Help keep our movement strong.
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