Georgia's Republican Gov.-elect Brian Kemp has drawn widespread condemnation for using his former position as secretary of state to engage in extreme voter suppression, intimidation, and disinformation campaigns as he oversaw his ultimately successful election over Democrat Stacey Abrams by just a single point.
However, Democrats and voting rights supporters have a critical opportunity to fight back against Kemp's efforts to undermine democracy by electing a Democrat to replace him in the Dec. 4 runoff between Democrat John Barrow and Republican Brad Raffensperger.
A Barrow victory would be key for protecting voting rights, as he has pledged to reverse Kemp's illegal attempts to suspend voters' registration applications over trivial discrepancies such as misplaced hyphens and end Kemp's mass purges of eligible voters simply because they vote infrequently.
Barrow would also advocate for same-day registration and nonpartisan redistricting. In addition, he’s vowed to replace Georgia’s paperless electronic voting machines with a more secure method that has a verifiable paper trail, something that Kemp actively fought in court even though major election security failures marred Kemp's tenure.
Barrow trailed by only a slim 49.1-48.7 deficit in the initial round of voting earlier this month, and he'll proceed to the runoff, along with a Democrat vying in a runoff for Georgia's state utility regulation commission. If get-out-the-vote organizations like Black Voters Matter and Abrams’ own New Georgia Project have the resources they need to help black voters turn out at historic levels just like they did in November, Democrats have a chance to prevail.
With Georgia shaping up to be a pivotal swing state in 2020, a Barrow victory is crucial for ensuring every eligible Georgian can exercise their right to vote and have their vote counted accurately.
Can you contribute $3 to organizations committed to helping African-Americans get out the vote in Georgia's secretary of state runoff on Dec. 4?