State launches fraud investigation into democratic voter registration group

[CatWoman]

ATLANTA —

Channel 2 Action News has learned Georgia's secretary of state is investigating allegations of forged voter registration applications and demanding records from a voter registration group with ties to one of the state's highest ranking Democrats.

A subpoena was sent to the New Georgia Project and its parent organization Third Sector Development on Tuesday.

The organization is a project of the nonprofit organization Third Sector Development, which was founded and is led by House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams.

The subpoena demands all documents be turned over to the State Election Board's investigators by Sept. 16.

In a memo sent to county elections officials, Secretary of State Brian Kemp said in recent weeks his office has “received numerous complaints about voter applications submitted by the New Georgia Project.”

Kemp wrote, “Preliminary investigation has revealed significant illegal activities’ including forged voter registration applications, forged signatures on releases, and applications with false or inaccurate information.”

http://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/state-launches-fraud-investigation-voter-registrat/nhJxg/

[underpants]

1. This is sooooo 2002 of them

They suck

[arcane1]

2. Hand everything over. If there's fraud, kick them out as fast as possible.

We don't need this crap!

(though I'm hoping this is just a smear campaign, and people are whining because too many Dems are being registered, and they want to invalidate any Dem victory in advance).

[Nictuku]

3. The mirror syndrome

... all too often, when republicans accuse democrats of doing something wrong, it is THEY who are doing just that thing. Pot, Kettle, Black.

[AverageJoe90]

4. This smells like a major set-up to me.

The Repugs have been getting desperate in the past couple of years, and this clearly appears to be an attempt to steer the public away from looking into their own corruption. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if they tried to pull something like this here in TX, too. Be wary, be *quite* wary, of ANY Republican claims of "Fraud" this year.

[CatWoman]

5. look at the subpoena

http://politics.blog.ajc.com/2014/09/10/fraud-investigation-condemned-as-effort-to-suppress-voters/

posted by "DS" on that site:

This subpoena contains no clues about what the alleged wrongdoing might be. It simply requires New Georgia Project (and related organizations) to hand over all their paperwork. Everything.

And it's a continuing subpoena, which means they have to keep handing over all their paper work going forward.

Clearly this is a fishing expedition. If Kemp had a specific incident in mind, he would have asked for relevant documents.

By asking for everything, Kemp has tipped his hand that he's got nothing.

Kemp just hopes that he might stumble across something he could use to shut down this voter registration project. At the very least, the burden of complying with this overly broad subpoena would be a drag on registration efforts.

[AverageJoe90]

8. Thanks for the link, CatWoman. I knew something was fishy about that.

Now we've got even more reason to suspect foul play. Thanks.

[Laelth]

6. Interesting. Thanks for posting. n/t

-Laelth

[Gothmog]

7. This is part of the GOP bag of tricks

Greg Abbott pulled this stunt in Texas. It is voter fraud when a non-white votes

[eridani]

9. Canned response from GA Secretary of State

Thank you for contacting Georgia Secretary of State Brian P. Kemp.

"In recent weeks there have been multiple reports in the media regarding the Office of the Secretary of State's investigation into The New Georgia Project and Third Sector Development, some containing false information. I am issuing the following information in order to set the record straight. Last week, the State Elections Board unanimously affirmed our intent to fully investigate these possible criminal violations. We will vigorously and thoroughly investigate this and any situation involving possible voter registration fraud. I was elected as Georgia's Secretary of State to ensure secure, accessible and fair elections. I will never retreat from that constitutional duty and obligation."

Brian P. Kemp
Georgia Secretary of State

Fact Check

Claim: The NewGeorgia project "flagged" the 25 fraudulent voter registration forms that have been confirmed as forgeries and delivered them to the Office of the Secretary of State.

Fact: Each and every one of the confirmed forgeries came to the Investigations Division from county elections officials. The New Georgia Project did not self-report any of the 25 confirmed forged voter registration forms.

Claim: The Office of the Georgia Secretary of State is refusing to process 51,000 voter registration applications.

Fact: The Office of the Secretary of State does not process any voter registration applications. Applications are processed at the county level. (OCGA 21-2-226) Any voter registration application that is received by the Office of the Secretary of State is sent to the local county election office within 24 hours. Currently, there is absolutely no backlog of applications waiting to be sent to the counties. Any backlog would need to be addressed by county election officials. The deadline for voter registration is October6th in order to participate in the November 4th General Election.

Claim: This issue has been fully investigated and only minor problems were found.

Fact: This investigation has only just begun. The State Election Board meeting yesterday was held to reaffirm a subpoena issued to continue investigating this possibly criminal situation. The presence of confirmed forgeries is not the conclusion, but rather only the beginning of this investigation.

Claim: The NewGeorgia Project has submitted 85,000 voter registration forms and only 25 have been confirmed as forgeries by the Office of the Secretary of State.

Fact: The confirmation of 25 forged voter registration applications warranted an expansive investigation and that is why a subpoena was issued to the New Georgia Project. The claim that The New Georgia Project has submitted 85,000 voter registration applications has no bearing on this investigation. Each instance of forgery can result in multiple felonies and the Office of the Secretary of State has a constitutional obligation to pursue every illegal act to the full extent of the law. (OCGA 21-2-31;21-2-50)

Claim: The Office of the Secretary of State "targeted" The New Georgia Project.

Fact: Each and every complaint regarding The New Georgia Project originated at the county level. At no time did the Investigations Division within the Office of the Secretary of State seek out any information without the specific request of a county. These complaints were investigated in the same manner that any and all complaints received by this Office have been handled in the past.

Claim: Secretary Kemp is trying to impede voter registration.

Fact: Secretary Kemp has worked hard to make voter registration as easy as possible. Since March 30th of this year, Georgians with a Georgia driver's license have been able to register to vote 24 hours a day, 7 days a week online or using the "GA Votes" mobile app on their smartphone. At no time in the history has it been easier to register to vote in Georgia than it is right now.

Claim: Forged signatures are not a cause for alarm.

Fact: Forged signatures can disenfranchise voters and lead to possible identity theft. The SOS investigation has confirmed multiple instances where citizen's personal identifying information, including social security numbers, dates of birth and driver's license numbers have been released to a private group without their consent or knowledge.

Regards,

Constituent Services Team
Brian P. Kemp
Georgia Secretary of State
404-656-2881 Main
www.sos.ga.gov