ATLANTA - On the eve of a final court date, Secretary of State Brian Kemp has finally agreed to comply with state and federal law that require him to update automatically the addresses of Georgia voters who move within the same county.
Last July, Stacey Hopkins received a government notice in the mail informing her that she would be removed from the active voter rolls if she did not respond within 30 days. Ms. Hopkins had recently moved within Fulton County. On behalf of Ms. Hopkins, the ACLU of Georgia immediately filed a lawsuit to protect her sacred, constitutional right to vote. State and federal law requires election officials to update automatically the addresses of registered Georgia voters who move within the same county and without requiring any action from the voters.
Soon after the ACLU of Georgia filed its lawsuit, the Secretary of State admitted that nearly 160,000 Georgians in the same position as Ms. Hopkins had also received the notice. While Kemp agreed to retain them on the active voter rolls, he refused to update their addresses.
With this settlement, Kemp has now agreed to update the addresses of voters who had moved within the same county in the last 2 years, mail them new precinct cards, and create a system to ensure that this never occurs again.
"Ms. Hopkins' tenacity and dedication to our shared American principles has protected nearly 160,000 Georgians' sacred, constitutional right to vote," stated Sean J. Young, Legal Director for the ACLU of Georgia. "She proves that one person can make a difference. The ACLU of Georgia remains vigilant against any threat to our democracy."