Though it is not being reported much in the main stream news, a judge in Georgia on Monday said the court would not come to the aid of The New Georgia Project in reconciling the disappearance of over 40,000 (some even estimate 56,000) voter registrations from the Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s office. SOS Kemp has stated that these registration forms have been returned to the counties and all registrations have been processed. But, Kemp has also stated there is no deadline for the counties involved to process these registrations.

On September 9th Kemp had subpoenaed new voter registrations from the New Georgia Project to investigate what he believed was a conspiracy to commit voter fraud. Georgia State Representative Stacey Abrams, the organizer of the drive, was surprised at Kemp’s actions…

Abrams told the Washington Post the group was surprised by the subpoena because they reached out to the secretary of state’s office proactively in June to ensure they complied with state law.

Only 25 out of 85,000 registrations, according to the Washington Post, did not pass scrutiny. That is less than one percent.

I can bet if a Right leaning group did that good of a job getting legitimate registrations Kemp would have called them out as “Patriots.”

Secretary Kemp has publicly stated the reason for the subpoena was that he received over one hundred complaints regarding the New Georgia Project and their efforts. Public records tell another story…

An October 9th Open Records Act request shows a total of seven voter registration complaints made in 2014 to the Secretary of State’s office. Only one of them, from Butts County, complains about “individuals canvassing voters.”

“There was only one complaint related to the New Georgia Project,” said Rep. Stacey Abrams, who leads the New Georgia Project. “The rest were related to people who had tried to vote.”

“I call into question why (Kemp) took such an aggressive action based on a single complaint that he was notified about in June,” Abrams said.

A spokesman for the Secretary of State says there are more records of complaints, but they are exempt from the Open Records Act because they are part of an ongoing investigation. He claims the investigation spans 14 counties — but can’t document them now.

Comparing the state voters’ database to the New Georgia Project’s records shows at least 50,000 new registrations missing. That equals about 50,000 people that could be eligible to vote that haven’t received their voting cards and might not know what precinct they are assigned. Nearly, all of these registrations are in Chatham, Fulton and Muscogee counties, strong Democrat leaning areas of the state.
 

So, what does a person in Georgia do if they have registered and have not received their voting card? Go to the polls and cast a provisional ballot. Georgia Advocacy Office says this about provisional ballots…

If you arrive to vote at your polling place and your name is not on the list of registered voters, you can request to cast a provisional ballot. The ballot is “provisional” until your registration can be verified. The Registrars have 48 hours after the closing of the polls to determine if you were eligible to vote. You must cast your provisional ballot in the precinct in which you are registered. If you cast your ballot outside your precinct, it will not be counted. At the time you cast a provisional ballot, the poll officer will give you written information telling you how to find out (a toll-free phone number or a website) if your ballot was counted and, if your ballot was not counted, the reason why your ballot was not counted. Access to information about an individual provisional ballot will be restricted to the elector who cast the ballot.

The tricky part is determining your precinct. Ask your neighbor where they vote. Make sure you have your (approved) ID and extra documentation that shows your home address like a utility bill, bank statement, or a government document.

Casting that provisional ballot will put real pressure on the counties whose election boards have not correctly completed the process of registration. People that haven’t received their voting information should not be discouraged from voting.

Go to the voting precinct. Show up. Don’t give up. Be counted.

Cast that provisional ballot.

Democracy for America’s Night School is coming to Crooks and Liars next week, and I highly recommend it. (We’re starting with the finance sessions, but trust me, they’re all interesting — and useful.)

Campaigns aren’t just about elections. They’re about fighting your zoning board or your local school board. They’re about making good things happen where you live, and they’re about building a real progressive movement. That way, when you need someone to run for election, you have some real progressives in the bullpen.

You don’t have to sign up, either. Just drop into a session to see if you like it. But if you do register, please add “C&L” after your name so we can track how many people are taking part.

We do suggest that you register, because DFA will be sending related emails to those who take part.

Next Week’s Session: Finance

Winning campaigns cost money. Although we can protest the growing costs of campaigning, the reality for any campaign is that without these funds, there can be no staff, no office, no phones, no computers, no signs, no media coverage — no campaign. How much money the campaign will need to succeed depends on a number of factors. The sessions will cover the key skills and strategies to effectively raising and managing your campaign’s finances.

Sessions begin at 6pm PT/ 9pm ET and run for one hour.

• Monday, March 17th — Targeting your donors ;
• We will cover building your donor list, tools and systems for donor research and how to determine ask amounts.

• Tuesday, March 18th — Making the Ask
• Participants will walk through principles for making a strong ask, how to train your candidate to make strong asks and what to do after the ask.

• Wednesday, March 19th — Tactics: Calltime, Direct Mail, Event Planning
• There are three core tactics used for fundraising. This session goes through preparation, keeping the candidate on the phone, creating call sheets, setting goals, logistics, recruitment, execution and follow up.

• Thursday, March 20th — Budget & Finance Planning
• We’ll cover how to document money in & out, prepare for reports and setting quarterly goals. By the end, you’ll be able to tie it all together in one document.