For immediate release: October 5, 2022 Press contact: Dorrie Toney, [email protected]
Today the ACLU of Georgia sent a letter to the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration in response to nearly 1,400 voter challenges that have been filed in recent weeks. We urge Cobb County to comply with state and federal law and dismiss these pending challenges, which fit a trend of third-party groups trying to disenfranchise thousands of voters in the immediate lead-up to an election.
Cobb County utilizing resources to investigate these challenges is improper because:
- These challenges do not meet the probable cause standard required to sustain a challenge to an individual’s right to vote in Georgia.
- The National Voter Registration Act prohibits systematic removals of voters within 90 days of an election.
- State law gives a clear two-step process for these challenges, which does not include election workers doing their own research into the challenges because challengers failed to do so themselves. The Board must determine whether the challenges, on their face, establish the requisite probable cause.
We encourage Cobb County to follow the example set by Gwinnett County, which voted on Monday to dismiss challenges to hundreds of voters. These challenges are unwarranted, politically motivated, and dangerous—potentially leading to the erroneous mass removal of voters in good standing.
“Challengers across the state are asking that Georgia elections officials remove thousands of voters without notice and on the eve of election,” said Caitlin May, ACLU of Georgia voting rights staff attorney. “The latest challenges filed in Cobb County are just another example of this troubling trend. Cobb County must immediately dismiss these insufficient challenges.”
The ACLU of Georgia sees these challenges for what they are—attempts to disenfranchise voters at the eleventh hour. The ACLU of Georgia will continue to actively monitor and challenge these unlawful actions in order to protect the right to vote for all eligible Georgians.
Read the letter to the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration.
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