Group launches $10M campaign against legislators who back ‘suppression of voting rights’

The left-leaning group iVote, which focuses on voting rights and election administration, on Wednesday announced a new campaign aimed at state legislative races, specifically to unseat legislators who “led or supported the suppression of voting rights.”

The group will first target the $10 million campaign in Georgia, focusing on the 2022 elections, according to a statement on the campaign obtained by The Hill.

Politico first reported on the new campaign.

This development comes just days after Georgia Gov. Brain Kemp (R) signed a sweeping voting bill into law, which tightens a number of voting procedures in the state. The tenets of the bill include voter identification requirements for absentee voting, limits on the use of ballot drop boxes, and giving state lawmakers control over elections.

The bill also shortens the time frame for runoff elections in the state, which in turn will allow for less time for early and mail voting. It makes it a crime for people other than poll workers to distribute water or food to those standing in line, arguing that they are a form of a gift that should be banned.

“Republican legislators in Georgia know they can’t win votes with their radical ideas, so they’ve chosen to hold on to power by making sure people can’t vote at all,” Ellen Kurz, the group’s president, said in a statement.

“Legislators in Georgia and across the country should know that if you use the power of your office to make it harder for people to vote, we’ll make sure you no longer hold office,” Kurz added.

Republicans hold control of both houses of the state legislature in Georgia. Republicans hold a 12-seat majority in the Senate, and a 26-seat majority in the House.

The group, which in the past has focused largely on secretary of state races and ballot access issues, says it is still “assessing individual races” to contribute to, but that it plans to include “significant public opinion and opposition research,” in addition to paid advertising across platforms.

Updated at 1:15 p.m.