SPLC Responds to Voter Suppression in Georgia

The following statement was submitted by Richard Cohen, President of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). 

We've been closely following the situation in Georgia where 53,000 voter registration applications are on hold because of the state's "exact match" voter registration law. 

Seventy percent are African American, and we believe the law is an obvious voter suppression tactic aimed at voters of color.

When the state first tried to adopt the exact match law in 2008, it was rejected by the Justice Department under the Voting Rights Act. The state was only able to enact the law later, after the Supreme Court gutted the act.

We're dedicated to fighting back against any attempt at voter suppression.

That's why our voting rights project is donating $100,000 to the New Georgia Project, a group engaged in nonpartisan get-out-the-vote efforts. We picked this organization because they are nationally recognized for successfully registering and turning out voters of color and first-time voters.

If these 53,000 voters show up at the polls, they will be allowed to cast ballots if they bring proper identification — that's why mobilization is so important.

This is one of several major voter turnout efforts we are involved in this election season. In Jackson, Mississippi, we are running a door-to-door canvassing program for the Nov. 27 runoff election; all summer and fall we've been re-enfranchising voters in Alabama; and in Florida, we've invested $1.3 million to get out the vote.

And, in preparation for the 2020 election, we'll be building up our voting rights project.