Two new court decisions have blessed mass voter purges in two swing states, #Georgia and #Wisconsin. This could be the launch of a new system for purging voters of color and young people that's expected to spread before the 2020 Presidential election. gregpalast.com/hunting-season…
In Atlanta on Friday, Federal Judge Steve Jones ruled against @StaceyAbrams’ #VotingRights organization @FairFightAction in its suit to immediately restore nearly 100,000 Georgians to the voter rolls. #VanishingVoters gregpalast.com/federal-court-…
@staceyabrams @fairfightaction #Georgia’s Secretary of State was using a method we call #PurgeByPostcard. Under the guise of “voter list maintenance,” Georgia sent out postcards that look like cheap junk mail. When a voter fails to return the card, they lose their vote. gregpalast.com/federal-court-… #VanishingVoters
@staceyabrams @fairfightaction Yes, the cancelled voter can re-register. But, as we have uncovered in our film, The Best Democracy Money Can Buy, most people don’t know they were purged from the voter rolls until it’s too late. #VanishingVoters amazon.com/Best-Democracy…
@staceyabrams @fairfightaction Judge Jones made the decision not to restore the Georgians to the voter rolls, calling on @FairFightAction to bring its case in state court where GOP appointed judges predominate. gregpalast.com/hunting-season… 
@staceyabrams @fairfightaction The Court also ruled that Fair Fight did not do enough to prove that the postcard purge was unconstitutional and unfair. However, Judge Stevens did not give Fair Fight a chance to present testimony from our experts that the purge list was almost entirely erroneous and biased.
@staceyabrams @fairfightaction We've given Fair Fight the files from our six-year investigation of racist #VoterPurges in #Georgia including a list of 340,134 Georgians whom the prior Secretary of State, now-Governor Brian Kemp, wrongly removed from the voter rolls. #VanishingVoters gregpalast.com/georgias-brian…
@staceyabrams @fairfightaction #StaceyAbrams’ non-partisan #VotingRights group, @FairFightAction, has retained the Palast team experts to update the list — and have discovered tens of thousands more wrongly purged. But the judge refused to take the evidence. #VanishingVoters gregpalast.com/stacey-abrams-…
@staceyabrams @fairfightaction In an ominous note, Judge Jones cited Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s opinion in Crawford v. Marion Cty. Election Bd., in which the Court allowed Indiana to force voters to obtain photo voter ID if they did not have a current drivers’ license. gregpalast.com/voter-id-laws-…
@staceyabrams @fairfightaction The now-deceased Justice ruled that “Ordinary and widespread burdens, such as those requiring nominal effort of everyone, are not severe.” Lawyers representing the plaintiffs complained the average office where the ID could be obtained was 17 miles from the typical resident.
@staceyabrams @fairfightaction Maybe 17 miles was no burden for Scalia. The Judge, we discovered, drove a BMW in which he (or his chauffeur) could cover 17 miles in a few air-conditioned minutes. gregpalast.com/scalias-black-…
@staceyabrams @fairfightaction However, the plaintiffs noted that those seeking the voter ID did not have drivers licenses, which is why they needed non-driver ID. For non-drivers — Black, poor, students — the average trip required three busses in each direction and a full day off from work or school.
@staceyabrams @fairfightaction Fair Fight CEO Lauren Groh-Wargo said: “We are exploring additional legal options to compel the Secretary of State to follow House Bill 316,” passed after the scandal of mass purges of half a million Georgians before the 2018 gubernatorial election. gregpalast.com/gops-brian-kem…
@staceyabrams @fairfightaction The Court also noted that “in light of the immediacy of the situation,” it is within the authority of the Secretary of State to return any cancelled voters. The likelihood of the Republican Secretary of State returning these voters to the rolls is nonexistent. #VanishingVoters
@staceyabrams @fairfightaction The Palast Fund experts will testify in another federal suit brought by Fair Fight seeking to overturn the #Georgia law that authorized the #PurgeByPostcard operation. #VanishingVoters lawandcrime.com/civil-rights/s…
@staceyabrams @fairfightaction But with the purge-by-postcard operation moving into an estimated 20 states, we need to perform the same investigation and expert dive into each state’s purge list. This requires funding we don’t yet have. Can YOU help? palastinvestigativefund.org/?StopThePurge2…
@staceyabrams @fairfightaction Moreover, we need to get our team back on the ground in Wisconsin, Michigan, Florida, North Carolina, and beyond so we can document and film our investigations. Make an end-of-year tax-deductible donation to support our work: palastinvestigativefund.org/?StopThePurge2… #VanishingVoters
