Group files federal lawsuit over Georgia election

ATLANTA (FOX 5 Atlanta) - A group led by Stacey Abrams' former campaign manager announced Tuesday that they have filed a federal lawsuit over Georgia's 2018 election.

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Fair Fight Georgia, which was formed by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams after her loss to Governor-elect Brian Kemp, said in a press release that they filed the lawsuit for the "gross mismanagement of this election" as well as to "protect future elections from unconstitutional actions."

The Fair Fight Action team was joined by Sen. Nikema Williams, who is the state director of Georgia Care in Action as well as the other plaintiff in the suit.

"Not only were Georgian's constitutional rights violated, the way the elections were administered in Georgia, with Brian Kemp as Secretary of State at the helm, the Georgia state constitution was also violated," said Lauren Groh-Wargo, the CEO of Fair Fight Action and Abrams's former campaign manager.  

Groh-Wargo told reporters that her group has had over 40,000 calls to its voter hotline.

"This lawsuit is going to look broadly at all the ways the Secretary of Suppression Brian Kemp suppressed the vote: from purges, from the exact match, from the 16-year-old DRE machines – that not only malfunctioned and were vulnerable to hacking, but were also not fully and properly allocated to precincts across the street," she said.

The group acknowledged the general election was over but said the goal of the lawsuit was to fix the system for the future.  They said other lawsuits and actions could follow in the coming months.  

"We will use any type of asset we have [...] because Georgia voters demand no less," Groh-Wargo said.

A spokesperson for the Secretary of State's Office told FOX 5 that "it has never been easier to register to vote or make your voice heard at the ballot box in our state."

"Along with thousands of local elections and registration officials across our state, we remain committed to secure, accessible, and fair elections for all voters,” Secretary of State Press Secretary and Staff Attorney Candice Broce said. 

She referred any further inquiries to the Georgia Department of Law.  

While Brian Kemp is not named as a defendant in the lawsuit, it does specifically cite his policies while serving as Secretary of State.  

“This week, Governor-elect Brian Kemp is meeting with public safety and economic development leaders. He is focused on building a safe and prosperous future for Georgia families," said Georgian's First Committee Communications Director Ryan Mahoney in a statement to FOX 5 News.