ATL Standard

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has urged the General Assembly in Georgia to promptly enact a constitutional amendment prohibiting noncitizens from voting. His call is based on concerns about potential foreign interference and ongoing legal disputes that jeopardize citizenship verification in the state's elections. Additionally, he advocated for measures to prevent liberal groups from challenging this security provision through the courts.

According to a press release by Raffensperger's office, he said: "With open borders, citizenship verification for voter registration is more important than ever. Organizations like the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda are currently suing to end critical citizenship verification in our registration process, potentially exposing our elections to foreign interference, and diluting the power of legally registered voters. I’m calling on the General Assembly to take immediate action and pass a constitutional amendment ensuring that no liberal group can leverage the courts to add noncitizens to our voter rolls."

The same press release revealed that approximately 80% of new voters in Georgia are automatically registered when they obtain or update their driver's license. This process is facilitated by the Department of Driver Services (DDS), which is certified with REAL ID and verifies citizenship status. Raffensperger initiated a comprehensive audit of Georgia's voter rolls for citizenship and worked with Governor Kemp’s DDS to maintain exclusive participation of American citizens in state elections.

Raffensperger's office also noted that 'liberal activists' are pursuing legal action aimed at eliminating citizenship verification prior to voter registration.

In another statement, Raffensperger said: "Our system works. Failed candidates like Stacey Abrams, and the organization she founded, Fair Fight, have fought in court to eliminate citizenship verification for Georgia voters and they continue to fail in court."

Georgia was highlighted as being the first state to implement automatic voter registration, offer at least 17 days of early voting, and allow no-excuse absentee voting according to Raffensperger's office. The state has seen significant increases in voter turnout in recent elections and recorded substantial in-person early voting turnout in 2022 using a secure paper ballot voting system. Furthermore, several organizations have commended Georgia for its election integrity, voter accessibility, and administration.