Each election cycle, there are reports about the lack of voter turnout. The lack of voters reporting to the polls can be caused by a number of reasons, but not limited to lack of voter registration, work schedules, lack of faith in the political system or purely forgetting to do so. However, there are a large percentage of voters who do not vote each year because they are barred from the polls and kept from voting. To put it simply, certain entities engage in voter suppression that typically negatively effects voters of color. Nowhere is voter suppression more evident right now than the state of Georgia.
According to a recent report by APM, over one hundred thousand voters were removed from voter rolls in the state of Georgia because of the state’s “use it or lose it” law. In short, the law removes eligible voters from voter rolls if they do not vote, respond to a notice or make contact with an elected official over a three year period. Unfortunately, these laws have become more common in recent years. Today, nine U.S. states have an equivalent to the “use it or use it law”.
The use of this law in the state of Georgia has become a hot button issue because Republican Gubernatorial Candidate, Brian Kemp, is the current State Secretary of State. By default, Kemp’s office oversees elections. Kemp argues that his office has removed the one hundred thousand plus voters from voter rolls in an effort to limit voter fraud. Kemp’s opponent, Stacey Abrams, is suffering the effects of this law as it limits the number of voters who can voice their support for her on November 6th when she will look to become the first Black woman to be Governor of the State of Georgia.
