ATLANTA—Today, the ACLU of Georgia sent a letter to members of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners warning them of the danger posed to democracy if they elect candidates to the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections who embrace mass voter challenges that disenfranchise eligible voters.
Since December 2020, local elections officials have been plagued with baseless voter challenges that often disproportionately affect voters of color, students, unhoused voters, and active military members serving outside of Georgia. Less than 5% of the challenges filed last year have been upheld as of October of 2022. And a 2022 analysis showed that 63% of voters targeted in a mass voter challenge in September of 2022 in Cobb County were voters of color. This is significantly higher than the proportion of active voters of color in the county as a whole. The investigation of these almost always unjustified challenges divert critical resources away from tasks such as mailing absentee ballots, certifying election results, and preparing polling locations for in-person voting.
We hope that Fulton’s Board of Commissioners will take the considerations of our letter into account and work to support, not undermine, voters in one of Georgia’s most diverse counties. Fulton County voters deserve election administrators who work to make voting more accessible.
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