Demand Letter Issued by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the Georgia ACLU on Behalf of Georgia Organizations
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, voting rights advocates sent a letter to members of the DeKalb County Board of Elections demanding answers regarding the immediate purging of voters at the Peer Support, Wellness, and Respite Center in the City of Decatur, Georgia, which raises concerns under Georgia state law and the federal National Voter Registration Act of 1993.
The letter, written by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and the Georgia ACLU on behalf of the Georgia Coalition for the Peoples’ Agenda and the New Georgia Project, challenges the purges, which election officials asserted was based on the assumption that the address is a “business,” even though the Center’s website states that people can stay there up to seven days at a time, potentially at 30-day intervals. The demand letter points out that stable housing is not a prerequisite to voting and neither state nor federal law grant election officials the authority to assess the adequacy of a voter’s residence or determine where voters may or may not live for voting purposes.
“Our democracy depends on the ability of all voters to participate in the political process,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. “Purges based on old-fashioned notions of what constitutes a ‘residence’ not only violate the law but have a particularly onerous effect on minorities and the poor. DeKalb County election officials should stop using such error-ridden and discriminatory purge criteria immediately.”
According to county election officials, the purge was initiated by the City of Decatur, which is slated to hold municipal elections this coming November. Under state law, only individual voters (an “elector”) can file challenges to a voter’s qualifications, not municipalities. Neither county election officials nor the city have identified who initiated the challenges with the City of Decatur.
In addition to raising red flags, today’s demand letter seeks access to public records to obtain an understanding of the processes employed by the DeKalb County Board of Elections in conducting the purge.
A copy of the letter is available here
About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law (Lawyers’ Committee), a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination. Now in its 55th year, the Lawyers’ Committee is continuing its quest to “Move America Toward Justice.” The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice for all, particularly in the areas of voting rights, criminal justice, fair housing and community development, economic justice, educational opportunities, and hate crimes. For more information, please visit https://lawyerscommitee.org.
Contact:
Stanley Augustin │ press@lawyerscommittee.org │ 202-662-8327
