Secretary of State Kemp Announces Victory in Long Fight to Secure Georgia’s Voter Rolls

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp today announced that following the State’s June 22, 2010 lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), the DOJ consented to preclearance of the State’s voter verification process, including verification of U.S. citizenship. After the DOJ consented to the process, the State filed for and received administrative preclearance from the DOJ. The State and the DOJ therefore have now filed a joint request to have the lawsuit dismissed.

“After nearly two years, we can now verify that voter registration applicants are who they say they are and that they are U.S. citizens,” said Secretary Kemp. “When we filed the lawsuit, I was criticized by some because they believed it would be too time-consuming and expensive. However, after waiting for nearly a year and a half for a final administrative decision from the DOJ, I was certain that litigation was the only way to put Georgia in a position to obtain final approval from the federal government of our voter verification procedures. After the litigation was filed, it took less than two months for the DOJ to consent to preclearance of the verification process.”

Under Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, Georgia must obtain federal preclearance of any change affecting voting by bringing a declaratory judgment action in federal court or, in the alternative, by submitting the change to the DOJ for administrative preclearance. In October 2008, the Secretary of State’s Office first submitted the verification process to the DOJ for administrative preclearance. After extended administrative review and numerous discussions with representatives of the State, the DOJ denied administrative preclearance of the State’s voter verification process and later refused to withdraw that denial. During the administrative process, the State provided substantial amounts of information about its verification process, sometimes providing the same information several times.

In June of this year, Secretary Kemp announced that the State of Georgia filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the DOJ to obtain preclearance of the voter verification process. After the lawsuit was filed, the DOJ determined that the verification process did not have a discriminatory effect or purpose and expeditiously consented to the federal approval of the verification procedure. Georgia was previously the only state in the country barred from complying with the federal Help America Vote Act’s voter verification requirement.

Secretary Kemp added, “I am glad the DOJ ultimately recognized the importance of ensuring a secure elections process in Georgia and consented to the Section 5 approval of Georgia’s voter verification process. As Georgia’s Chief Elections Officer, my job is to ensure secure, fair, and accessible elections for every Georgia citizen who is eligible to vote. Every ballot cast by a non-citizen erases a ballot cast by an eligible Georgia voter.”

Under the Help America Vote Act, states are required to verify the information provided by first time voter registration applicants with information currently on file in state or federal databases. In Georgia, the applicant’s first name, last name, date of birth, driver’s license or identification number, last four digits of his or her Social Security number, and United States citizenship status are verified with the Department of Driver Services or Social Security Administration databases to ensure that the information matches.
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State of Georgia Submits Voter Verification Process to U.S. Department of Justice for Reconsideration

Secretary of State Handel Calls on DOJ to Approve Georgia’s Critical Voter Roll Protections

Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel today announced that the State of Georgia has asked the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to reconsider its May 2009 objection of preclearance for two critical voter verification processes utilized in the November 2008 General Election.

As part of the process for seeking preclearance, a state can ask the DOJ for reconsideration of a submission that has been denied, or request preclearance before the Federal District Court of Washington, D.C.

“I do not believe there is anything discriminatory in verifying voter information and citizenship,” Secretary Handel said. “I strongly disagreed with the Department of Justice’s decision to deny preclearance. It is my hope that the Department of Justice will review this request, with the information and data provided, and grant preclearance to the State of Georgia for these verification processes.”

“It is absolutely critical that Georgia protects the integrity of its voter registration rolls by having a mechanism to verify the identification and eligibility of applicants to participate in our elections,” Secretary Handel said. “We also look forward to utilizing these common sense processes that give the State the ability to verify the identity and citizenship status of applicants who previously indicated to DDS that they were not U.S. citizens.”

The State’s voter verification process checks five criteria provided by new voter registration applicants with information in the Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS) database or the Social Security Administration database. These criteria include first name, last name, date of birth, driver’s license number, or last four digits of the applicant’s Social Security number. Additionally, if the applicant previously reported to DDS that he or she is not a U.S. citizen, that person is asked by their county registrar to provide proof of citizenship. As required by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, the State of Georgia must receive DOJ preclearance prior to making any change in election law or procedure.

In October 2008, a number of activist organizations, including MALDEF and the ACLU, filed a lawsuit to prevent Georgia from verifying the eligibility of applicants to register and vote in the November General Election, including whether those individuals were citizens of the United States.

A U.S. District Court judge and a federal three judge panel denied motions by MALDEF and ACLU; directed the State to continue the verification process; and acknowledged the State’s requirements to verify information under the Help America Vote Act.

The full voter verification process, which included citizenship, was in place prior to the 2008 General Election, and no eligible voter was denied their right to cast a ballot. The 2008 General Election was the largest in Georgia’s history, and featured record turnout among even minority voters with the citizenship verification program in place. Turnout among Hispanic and African-American voters increased 140 percent and 42 percent, respectively, over the 2004 General Election.

Karen Handel was sworn in as Secretary of State in January 2007. The Secretary of State's office offers important services to our citizens and our business community. Among the office’s wide-ranging responsibilities, the Secretary of State is charged with conducting efficient and secure elections, the registration of corporations, and the regulation of securities and professional license holders. The office also oversees the Georgia Archives and the Capitol Museum.
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Civil Rights Digital Library Wins Award for Archival Excellence

The Civil Rights Digital Library is the 2008 winner of an Award for Excellence in Archival Program Development conferred by the Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board. Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel and GHRAB chairperson Ross King presented the award as part of the GHRAB Awards ceremony at the Georgia Archives in Morrow on Oct. 6. The CRDL is a GALILEO initiative based at the University of Georgia.

The Civil Rights Digital Library is an archive of news film and related historical materials from educational institutions across the U.S. According to P. Toby Graham, director of the Digital Library of Georgia, it is the most ambitious and comprehensive initiative to date to provide educational content on the Civil Rights Movement via the Web.

“The University Libraries have been proud to play a leadership role in developing the Civil Rights Digital Library,” said William Gray Potter, university librarian, “and we are pleased that GHRAB shares our enthusiasm for this important initiative.”

The CRDL promotes an enhanced understanding of the movement through its three principal components: a digital video archive delivering 30 hours of historical news film; a civil rights portal providing drawing together holdings from more than 90 libraries and allied organizations across the nation; and instructional materials to facilitate the use of the video content in the learning process.

The Civil Rights Digital Library receives financial support from a National Leadership Grant for Libraries awarded to the University of Georgia by the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

The CRDL will continue to grow through its partnerships with allied organizations across the U.S.

The Georgia Historical Records Advisory Board (GHRAB) works to promote preservation, access, and educational use of Georgia’s documentary heritage. Its twelve members are appointed by the governor.

See the Civil Rights Digital Library online at http://www.civilrightslibrary.org.

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Georgia Secretary of State Applauds Decision Denying Photo ID Injunction

Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel today applauded the decision by Fulton Superior Court Judge Tom Campbell to deny an attempt to block the implementation of the photo ID requirement in the November 4 General Election.

“I applaud Judge Campbell’s decision to uphold Georgia’s commonsense photo ID requirement which safeguards our elections against voter fraud,” said Secretary Handel.

Georgia’s photo ID law has been in place for 14 elections without incident. The Democratic Party of Georgia filed the lawsuit, the organization’s second attempt to block the use photo ID. To date, opponents of Georgia’s photo ID law have failed to produce one voter who has been unable to cast a ballot due to the requirement.

Judge Campbell’s decision comes a day after the Secretary of State’s Office was sued by MALDEF, ACLU and other organizations for conducting a legally mandated verification check on new voter registration applicants. Judge Camp declined to immediately grant injunctive relief and is expected to rule next week.

Voters will be required to show one of the following six forms of photo ID when voting in-person in the General Election:

· A Georgia driver’s license, even if expired;
· Any valid state or federal government issued photo ID, including a free Voter ID Card issued by your county registrar or Georgia Department of Driver Services (DDS);
· Valid U.S. passport;
· Valid employee photo ID from any branch, department, agency, or entity of the U.S. Government, Georgia, or any county, municipality, board, authority, or other entity of this state;
· Valid U.S. military photo ID; or
· Valid tribal photo ID.

Karen Handel was sworn in as Secretary of State in January 2007. The Secretary of State's office offers important services to our citizens and our business community. Among the office’s wide-ranging responsibilities, the Secretary of State is charged with conducting efficient and secure elections, the registration of corporations, and the regulation of securities and professional license holders. The office also oversees the Georgia Archives and the Capitol Museum.
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Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel Responds to Activist Lawsuit (to prevent verification of voter eligibility)

Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel issued the following statement regarding the lawsuit filed in the United States District Court to prevent the Secretary of State from verifying the eligibility of voter registration applicants:

“On the same day that activist organizations filed a lawsuit in Georgia to prevent our state from verifying the eligibility of applicants to register and vote in our November 4 General Election, a federal judge has ruled that the Ohio Secretary of State must follow federal law and implement the exact same verification procedures.

“In fact, U.S. District Judge George C. Smith of Ohio stated, “It is hard to imagine a public interest more compelling than safeguarding the legitimacy of the election of the president of the United States.”

“The lawsuit filed in Georgia appears to be an orchestrated and well organized effort to dismantle our state’s identification laws and verification process. The safeguards we have in place help to ensure that only those applicants and voters who meet all eligibility factors are permitted to cast a ballot in our elections. Unfortunately, the organizations appear to want to open the door to allow non-citizens to register and vote in the General Election. If the plaintiff prevails, thousands of non-citizens in Georgia could be allowed to vote.

“The Georgia Secretary of State’s office and Georgia’s county registrars and election officials have an obligation to ensure that only U.S. citizens and Georgians who meet all the eligibility factors are allowed to register and vote. The process to verify an applicants’ eligibility to register and vote is required by federal law, and we have followed the law.

“Georgia’s county election officials still have over 100,000 voter registration applications to process. My office will continue its close work with our state’s county election officials to ensure that all applications are processed and verified, and that all preparations are in place for Election Day.

“I have a sworn duty to protect the integrity and security of our state’s elections, and will fight any attempt to breach Georgians’ trust in our electoral process.”


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