Voter Suppression: Georgia ‘use it or lose it’ law purges 107,000 from voter rolls

GOP Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who has described himself as a “politically incorrect conservative,” oversaw the removal immediately after he declared himself a candidate for governor.

Ny Magee

Oct 21, 2018

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Georgia officials have enforced the state’s “use it or lose it” law, which purges people from voter rolls if they failed to vote in prior elections, and many city officials are concerned about the long-term impact.

According to The Hill, an APM Reports analysis found that 107,000 people were removed under the law, which starts a process for purging people from voter rolls if they fail to vote, respond to a notice or make contact with election officials over a three-year period

Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp, who has described himself as a “politically incorrect conservative,” oversaw the removal immediately after he declared himself a candidate for governor, according to The Hill.

I'm old enough to remember Chief Justice John Roberts saying racism and voter suppression were a thing of the past so we didn't need the Voting Rights Act in full force anymore. #inners #vote #Georgia

— Mkay (@JoyAnnReid) October 18, 2018

“We’re following the process,” Kemp said in a recent interview with public radio station WABE in Atlanta. He claims his office had not only complied with state and federal law but was registering more voters than ever, wabe.org reports.

“I’m very proud of my record on making sure we have secure, accessible and fair elections.”

Voting rights advocates view “use it or lose it” purges as another voter suppression tactic, which has become a big issue in the Georgia governor’s race, where Kemp is running against Democrat Stacy Abrams. Abrams, if elected, would become the first Black woman ever to serve as a U.S. governor.

Atlanta-based attorney named Emmet Bondurant is among those concerned about the recent impact of “use it or lose it” policies in Georgia.

“We haven’t had a black plague. We haven’t had more than the usual number of people convicted of crimes. We haven’t had a major recession like the Dust Bowl that drove the Okies to California,” Bondurant said, according to wabe.org.“The population in the state has increased and grown above the national average,” he recalled thinking. “And yet the number of registered voters [was] going down.”

Georgia reportedly adopted the “use it or lose it” law in the early 1990s while under Democratic leadership and following the adoption of the National Voter Registration Act.