The ACLU of Georgia today sent a letter to Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp and the Fulton County Board of Elections and Registration demanding an explanation for why Stacey Hopkins, a registered voter and Atlanta resident, received a notice suggesting that she would be purged from the rolls if she did not take steps to maintain her registration.
According to the Atlanta Daily World, Fulton County appears to have admitted that they have sent these purge notices to over 45,000 registered voters “who have moved within the county over the past 2 years.” Under the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, it is unlawful to issue these kinds of purge notices or require any affirmative action of registered voters who move within the same county.
The ACLU is investigating these reports and encourages any voters who received such an improper notice to file a complaint form at www.acluga.org.
“Elections aren’t fair if eligible voters can’t vote,” said Andrea Young, ACLU of Georgia executive director. “We’re concerned about these reports of improper purge notices and encourage any voter who received such a notice to let us know by filing a complaint through our website. The ACLU of Georgia will continue to defend the rights of all eligible voters, whenever and wherever they are threatened.”
“Sending out confusing and intimidating purge notices has the effect, if not the purpose, of making it harder for Georgia voters to exercise their fundamental right to vote,” said Sean J. Young, ACLU of Georgia legal director. “State and local officials should be looking for ways to make it easier for eligible voters to vote, not excuses to remove them from the rolls.”
The ACLU letter states that if both the Secretary of State and Fulton County do not provide a truthful, written and definitive explanation for why Hopkins received the purge notice, legal action will be taken on Hopkins’ behalf.
In an effort to determine why these suspicious purge notices were sent, the ACLU is also filing an open records request for documents relating to these notices and any state or county guidelines on their issuance.
The ACLU also sent a second notice to sue on behalf of the Georgia Coalition for the People's Agenda, the Georgia NAACP and Asian Americans Advancing-Justice Atlanta.