New Yorker Investigation Finds Further Cronyism Between Brian Kemp & Voting Machine Lobbyists

ATLANTA – Today, a New Yorker investigation found yet another reason for Georgia voters to distrust the recommendations of known voter suppressor Brian Kemp and his hand-picked “SAFE” Commission.

Not only is Kemp’s deputy chief of staff a former voting machine lobbyist for Elections Systems and Software (ES&S), but his chief of staff as Secretary of State – and executive counsel as Governor – has been in bed with ES&S for years, including attending their events in Las Vegas:

“Among the recipients of this largesse, according to an investigation by McClatchy published last year, was David Dove, the chief of staff to Georgia’s then secretary of state, Brian Kemp. Kemp, the new governor of Georgia, made news in the midterm elections for his efforts to keep people of color from voting and for overseeing his own election. In March of 2017, when Dove attended an E.S. & S. junket in Las Vegas, Kemp’s office was in the market to replace the state’s entire inventory of voting machines.”

These revelations come barely a week after the commission put forward final recommendations that notably ignored both cybersecurity experts and 55% of Georgians by prioritizing expensive ballot marking devices over the more secure and verifiable hand marked paper ballots.

In the next few weeks, the General Assembly will make their own recommendations for Georgia’s voting system. It’s time for our lawmakers to strongly stand on the side of Georgians – not roll over for lobbyists, like Brian Kemp.

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