Georgia NAACP to sue secretary of state over report on voter registration holds: report

The Georgia NAACP is reportedly preparing to file a lawsuit against Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp (R) over a report that thousands of voter registration forms are on hold just a month before the general election. 

Politico, citing two people with knowledge of the move, reported on Thursday that the chapter is set to file an injunction with the goal of reopening voter registration in Georgia. The last day to register to vote in the state was Tuesday. 

{mosads}The move from NAACP comes a day after a report surfaced that more than 53,000 voter registration applications, a majority of them from black voters, were on hold. 

Georgia Democratic governor candidate Stacey Abrams (D) and voting rights groups cast blame on Kemp for the holds.

Abrams’ campaign has also called on Kemp to resign over the issues, with a spokeswoman saying in a statement that Kemp, the Republican nominee for governor, should step down “so that Georgia voters can have confidence that their Secretary of State competently and impartially oversee this election.”

But Kemp’s office has aggressively pushed back against the accusations and said Abrams and other groups were playing political games. 

A spokeswoman from Kemp’s office told The Hill on Wednesday that the holds were caused by the state’s “exact match” law, a policy that requires an applicant’s information to match exactly what is listed by the state’s Department of Driver Services or the Social Security Administration.

She also said that voters whose registration status is put on hold can resolve the issues at polling locations.

“This is a publicity stunt that the media falls for year after year,” the spokeswoman added on Thursday when asked for comment about the NAACP prepared lawsuit. “Their claims are bogus. It is a complete waste of our time and taxpayer dollars. This so-called ‘exact match’ law was passed by the legislature and signed by Governor Deal.

“It mirrors a Florida law recently upheld in the 11th Circuit. The 53,000 Georgians cited in their complaint can vote in the November 6th election. Any claims to the contrary are politically motivated and utterly false.”

Abrams and Kemp are engaged in a tight race to replace GOP Gov. Nathan Deal. The most recent public survey showed Kemp leading by two points, within the margin of error.

Abrams would become the first black woman to serve as a U.S. governor in U.S. history if elected.