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House Democrats probing Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp for voter suppression

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman, Elijah Cummings, (D-Md.)
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee chairman Elijah Cummings. Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call

House Democratic leaders asked Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) and the state’s top election official on Wednesday to turn over documents relating to last year’s midterm election as part of an investigation into alleged voting irregularities.

Why it matters: Kemp pulled off a narrow victory over Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams in the 2018 midterms and came under fire for overseeing his own election as secretary of state. The fiercely contested gubernatorial race was clouded by allegations of voter suppression after Kemp’s office purged hundreds of thousands of voters from the rolls, placed tens of thousands of registrations on hold and oversaw a chaotic voting process on Election Day.

Details: Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger have until March 20 to submit documents relating to:

  • The cancellation registrations of inactive voters (about 1.4 million reportedly removed since 2012).
  • The tens of thousands of registration applications on hold.
  • The shuttering of more than 200 precincts since 2012.
  • Kemp’s 11th-hour investigation into the Democratic Party of Georgia for an alleged “failed” attempt to hack into the state’s voter registration system.

Go deeper: Report finds protections for minority voters have plunged since 2013

Voting rights