Jimmy Carter urges Georgia GOP gubernatorial candidate to step down as state's top election official

(Image credit: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

published 29 October 2018

Former President Jimmy Carter doesn't just want Georgia voters to choose Stacey Abrams for governor this fall. He wants her GOP opponent, Georgia's Secretary of State Brian Kemp, to resign entirely.

As poll after poll show Kemp with a tiny lead over Abrams, concerns over Kemp's role as Georgia's top election official have taken hold. Even more controversial is how he's stymied 53,000 voter registration applications, especially for black voters, and that he was recorded voicing his "concern" over Abrams' voter registration push.

But Carter, a former Georgia governor himself, is more concerned about Kemp's electoral oversight. In an Oct. 22 letter obtained by The Associated Press, Carter doesn't mention his endorsement of Abrams and instead tries to reason Kemp out of his current job. He explained to Kemp that "popular confidence is threatened not only by the undeniable racial discrimination of the past ... but also because you are now overseeing the election in which you are a candidate." Therefore, Kemp should "step aside and hand over to a neutral authority the responsibility of overseeing the governor's election," Carter writes.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.

Subscribe to The Week

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox