Georgia’s Supreme Court Election

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
May 20, 2020

Sister District Project Releases Statement On Republican Override Of Court Elections In Georgia

WASHINGTON, DC – Earlier today, the Sister District Project, a national grassroots organization working to combat Project REDMAP by flipping red state legislative chambers blue, released the following statement regarding Georgia’s cancelled Supreme Court election:

Yesterday, voters in Georgia were supposed to participate in a constitutionally mandated election to fill a seat on the state Supreme Court. Instead, Gov. Kemp and Secretary of State Raffensberger cancelled the election in order to unilaterally appoint a conservative judge of their choice, bypassing both the constitution and the will of the voters.

This is a blatant power grab by Republicans to try and maintain conservative power in the state of Georgia despite what the electorate wants. In 2018, Democrat Stacey Abrams lost her race for governor by 0.4%. She got that close even though her opponent Brian Kemp, who was Secretary of State at the time, refused to resign his position so that he could use his powers to influence the election in his favor. Kemp is now the Governor, and he continues to use any means necessary to cement control for himself and his party in Georgia.

States like Georgia have a flood of progressive voices yearning to be heard, but they are being silenced by the Republican stronghold on the levers of power. To break through, Democrats must turn out in record numbers in November to elect a progressive majority to the state legislature and get a seat at the bargaining table. This is particularly important in a census year, because the leaders elected in November will be the ones overseeing the redistricting and drawing maps that last a decade.

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