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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Georgia Tech Research Institute Hosts Secretary of Transportation

U. S. Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters toured Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) labs and questioned researchers on the latest technology that addresses transportation issues.

Georgia Tech Interim President Gary Schuster welcomed Secretary Peters and Georgia Department of Transportation Commissioner Gena Abraham to GTRI’s Cobb County research facility and was pleased to share Georgia Tech’s ongoing research with them.

“One of the broad thrust areas on which we are focused is energy and environmental sustainability, and much of our work in this arena has a direct bearing on transportation,” said Schuster. “More specifically, our work in energy focuses on efficiency, conservation and new sources, and all three of these areas have significance for transportation.”

GTRI researcher Bob Englar described his work on aerodynamics technology developed for jet plane wings and how his team is applying it to tractor trailer trucks to help them conserve fuel.
Their goal is to reduce the drag on 18-wheelers by at least a third, and perhaps even as much as half, which would improve their fuel efficiency by 12 percent or more. A 1 percent improvement in fuel economy in the U.S. heavy truck fleet conserves 200 million gallons of fuel. So a 12 percent improvement means saving more than 2 billion gallons of fuel.

Tom Fuller and his team in the GTRI Center for Innovative Fuel Cell and Battery Technology presented their research with fuel cells. The fuel cell is expected to be the next significant new energy source for transportation. Both Honda and Toyota are road-testing fuel-cell cars, which are much more efficient than today’s hybrids. And last year Georgia Tech successfully flew the largest hydrogen fuel cell-powered aircraft to date.

Coca Cola Enterprises also unveiled the company’s new hybrid Coca Cola delivery vehicles. According to Peters, Georgia Tech researchers are working hard to solve real problems affecting the transportation industry, and Coca Cola Enterprises is showing how new technology is being embraced by industry.

In addition, Secretary Peters announced a new funding plan for the U.S. Transportation Department and used Atlanta as a model for a city willing to try new ways to save and use energy efficiently.