Protesters call for Kemp's resignation amid 53,000 unverified voters

ATLANTA - Dozens of elected officials and numerous organizations called for Secretary of State Brian Kemp to recuse himself while running for governor.

The emotional group chanted and cars blew horns of support as the group demanded Kemp step down from his state job and stop suppressing voters.

Under Georgia's "Exact Match" law that Kemp supported, 53,000 voters have not been verified to cast ballots because of identification problem. Organizers say 80 percent of that group are people of color.

"We are demanding all pending voters be returned to active status because Exact Match 2.0 violates the Constitution and violates the Voting Rights Act and continues to burden voters of color," remarked Attorney Phi Nguyen with the Asian Americans Advancing Justice Atlanta.

The group filed a federal lawsuit Thursday asking for immediate relief to implementing the law.

But Secretary of State Kemp says the law is constitutional and similar to legislation in Florida. He points to record voter registration in Georgia ahead of the midterm elections as proof of his willingness to register voters.

"The 53,000 Georgians cited in their complaint can vote in the November 6 election. Any claims to the contrary are politically motivated and utterly false," a statement from the secretary of state's office maintained.

Still, the NAACP and others say Kemp was warned this exact voter identification law would disenfranchise and suppress minority voters. They vow to see Kemp in court and vote him out on election day.

"I ask all the minorities groups and people of color to come together and defeat Brian Kemp," Senator-Elect Sheikh Rahman(D) exclaimed.

RELATED: NAACP says it is closely monitoring Georgia’s election