Fair Fight issues, Kemp donor under fire, Victor Hill found guilty, and other news
The Update - 10/27/2022
Welcome to my freemium newsletter by me, King Williams. A documentary filmmaker, journalist, podcast host, and author based in Atlanta, Georgia. This is a newsletter covering the hidden connections of Atlanta to everything else. For my dad, keep staying positive!
I’m hosting a Twitter Spaces today at noon!
Today at noon, I’m hosting an official Twitter Spaces (like Clubhouse, but for Twitter) conversation on local journalism. Take a listen if you can! The conversation can be found here and will be available to listen to on Twitter after the conversation ends.
1. Fair Fight, Stacey Abrams’s organization comes under scrutiny
A new article by Politico has come put the role of Fair Fight, the post-2018 voting rights organization founded by Stacey Abrams. The efforts follow a longer conservative effort to create a newer media talking point that Abrams has been using Fair Fight as a personal fundraising effort. The article claims that Abrams’s organization overpaid for services to friends of Abrams.
Fair Fight raised over $61 million dollars, of which $25 million went into defending a single, state-level case. The article also claims that Fair Fight spent $9.4 million on legal services to Lawrence & Bundy, the law firm where Abrams’s friend Allegra Lawrence-Hardy is a partner.
The release of the article also echoes the release of the 2016 James Comey report on the emails of then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Clinton, who already became a target of conservatives prior, saw firsthand how the media perception of a candidate in a tight race could sway voter opinion. The report was enough to sway would-be Clinton voters to vote for Trump, who eventually won the presidency in 2016. In the case of this release against Abrams/Fair Fight, it’s more aligned with swing voters, and dissuading would be Abrams voters at the polls.
2. Fair Fight handed ‘L’ by a judge
Fair Fight, the voting rights organization founded by Stacey Abrams in the aftermath of the 2018 gubernatorial election was dealt a defeat in court. The lawsuit claims that the then Secretary of State’s office was involved in denying people the right to vote.
Why did Fair Fight lose?
Fair Fight lost the case because sections of the state’s election laws were deemed to not violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and require a fundamental change in the system. The ruling was made by Judge Steve C. Jones, an Obama appointee. Jones had been overseeing this case for years, reducing the scope of the lawsuit. Despite a claim from Judge Jones that “Although Georgia’s election system is not perfect the challenged practices violate neither the constitution nor the [Voting Rights Act].”
The Voting Rights Act is on its way out
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a hallmark of the Civil Rights Movement. It codified the right to vote for Black Americans who were denied it during the Jim Crow era of the late 1870s until the 1960s. The law upheld the right to vote but did not make an amendment to the Constitution to protect Black Americans from legal discrimination. The VRA was supposed to last only for 25 years under the hope that racism within political bodies responsible for voting would be gone. It was extended until 2013.
Since 2013’s 5-4, Supreme Court conservative-led decision in Shelby v. Holder, which undid Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act per the US Department of Justice:
Section 5 was designed to ensure that voting changes in covered jurisdictions could not be implemented used until a favorable determination has been obtained.
More from the US Department of Justice:
Under Section 5, any change with respect to voting in a covered jurisdiction -- or any political subunit within it -- cannot legally be enforced unless and until the jurisdiction first obtains the requisite determination by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia or makes a submission to the Attorney General. This requires proof that the proposed voting change does not deny or abridge the right to vote on account of race, color, or membership in a language minority group. If the jurisdiction is unable to prove the absence of such discrimination, the District Court denies the requested judgment, or in the case of administrative submissions, the Attorney General objects to the change, and it remains legally unenforceable.
The burden of proof in all cases post-Shelby v. Holder is harder to prove
Georgia like many other Republican-led states has enacted new laws aimed at reducing voter turnout. These efforts have all happened in Republican-led legislative bodies across the US since the decision of Shelby v. Holder.
Then-Secretary of State, Brian Kemp starting in 2013, and his predecessor Brad Rafensperger have made significant changes to changing voting in Georgia. Kemp purged over 1 million people from Georgia’s rolls during his tenure, while Rafensperger is closing in on 500,000. Additionally, these Republican-led states, including Georgia, have changed existing state laws, making it harder to prove that race was the determining factor in these changes to voting. In 2021 alone, over 43 states have seen attempts at changing voting laws, and expect more coming soon.
The problem with this ruling
The problem with this ruling is that many of the challenges to voting made by Fair Fight are essentially ended. The ruling also makes any future inquiries into related challenges much harder to be successful. The case also gives conservative judges (especially the State Supreme Court) in the future the opportunity to use this ruling to reject cases making similar claims or to use it as a precedent in future judgments.
The suit against the Secretary of State has been narrowed over the last few years, reducing the scope of the lawsuit. Fair Fight also had to contend with several changes to voting in the intervening four years. Fair Fight does not likely have a path going forward as any appeals on the federal level would likely not ultimately be in their favor due to the current makeup of the US Supreme Court should the case make it that far.
The bigger picture: Kemp and Rafensperger could do a lot more to reduce oppositional power in Georgia soon
The ruling also gives Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Rafensperger the green light to continue these policies, with a potentially even greater level of cover via the US Supreme Court. The Supreme Court will be hearing key cases on voting rights from Louisiana and North Carolina, cases that will likely give states even more opportunities to reduce oppositional (Black) voting power. Both cases involve deliberate attempts to disenfranchise Black voters via gerrymandering of political districts and the ability to overturn elections via the ‘independent state doctrine’.
SB202 is just the beginning
Georgia’s SB 202 and changes in the power of the Secretary of State’s office post-2020, is an opening salvo to a likely bigger change coming soon. It’s likely the 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court will rule in favor of both Republican-led efforts in Louisiana and North Carolina. Likely signaling Georgia to do the same if it chooses. Due to the supermajorities in the state House, state Senate, and State Supreme Court, it’s possible that Georgia begins a slow decline to the Jim Crow era of political suppression. The Fair Fight ruling is likely to mount no new challenges.
3. The New Georgia Project is facing a court date as well
Stacey Abrams's other organization The New Georgia Project is currently under investigation for ethics violations. The ethics four (out of five) member, Republican-led ethics committee is looking into whether the organization illegally used funds to advocate for Abrams for Governor back in 2018. The New Georgia Project has been subject to several Republican-led ethics investigations regarding its voter registration efforts. The organization has been at odds with the state GOP since its founding.
The ethics investigation can be seen as a political strategy to delegitimize Abrams, while also taking off focus on Kemp who signed a bill that allowed him to raise unlimited funds while in session. That bill faced some pushback, as a judge intervened, temporarily pausing the fundraising. That pause lasted just a month as Kemp secured the nomination in late May of this year, defeating David Perdue.
*Full disclosure, I participated in a voter awareness campaign in 2020 with New Georgia Project to get out the vote.
4. Victor Hill was found guilty on 6 of 7 counts
Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill was found guilty of six of seven counts by a jury. Hill’s lawyer has indicated that the trial will be appealed. Hill was accused of violating the rights of detainees at his Clayton County jail by strapping them into chairs as punishment. Hill’s sentencing is still to be determined.
Hill, despite the recent ruling, has many supporters in Clayton County. Hill’s tough-on-crime stances have made him a local hero to some. Hill’s lengthy history in the county dating back to 2005, has made him a controversial figure. Hill also was acquitted of 32 counts in 2013. Since that time Hill has won two additional elections.
5. Another woman has come forward with claims on Herschel Walker attempting to force an abortion
Another woman has come out claiming that Herschel Walker attempted to get her to have an abortion. Walker, on the campaign trail, vehemently denies the accusations and has stated that he will no longer entertain questions on that matter.
6. A healthcare company with donations to Kemp and AG Chris Carr under scrutiny
A Missouri healthcare company with six-figure donations to Governor Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr is under scrutiny after a recent settlement. The company, Centene Corp’s $485 million dollar settlement came after being found to inflate the costs of prescription drugs in thirteen states.
7. A $5 billion dollar Hyundai facility is coming to Savannah
A new $5.5 billion dollar electric vehicle plant for Hyundai has broken ground in Savannah. The long-gestating plant is estimated to bring 8,100 jobs to the area and is scheduled to open in 2025. The plant opening is part of a decade+ expansion of Savannah as a hub of economic activity, including the port of Savannah’s expansion.
Atlanta can be so much more, hopefully, city leaders find the balance before it’s too late.
-KJW
Thank you for explaining the wider context for the erosion of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The independent state doctrine was new to me. <sigh> -bw