ACLU of Georgia Statement on the Secretary of State’s Recommendation to Arrest Voter Registration Workers

ATLANTA – The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia issued the following statement regarding the Secretary of State’s recommendation to arrest voter registration workers with the New Georgia Project.

In the last two years, the New Georgia Project registered more than 215,000 Georgians who can now exercise their right to vote, the cornerstone of our democracy.

“The Secretary of State should be the last person to lecture others about following election laws. Just this summer, the Secretary of State’s Office violated state and federal law 160,000 times when he threatened to remove nearly 160,000 voters from the active voter rolls simply because they moved within the same county,” said Andrea Young, executive director of the ACLU of Georgia. “Instead of wasting taxpayer dollars on voter intimidation, the Secretary of State should focus on protecting the sacred, fundamental right to vote.”

On Monday, September 18, 2017, the ACLU of Georgia wrote to the Secretary of State outlining six steps needed to cure the voter intimidation and confusion the Secretary of State caused when he threatened removal of nearly 160,000 Georgians from the active voter rolls. The Secretary has yet to respond to the organization’s letter.