by Chris White
Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, a Republican running for governor, is opening an investigation into the state’s Democratic Party for allegedly attempting to hack the state’s voter registration system.
Kemp’s office made the announcement in a Sunday morning news release but did not provide any details on why it is investigating the Democratic Party for the failed hacking. The party is being probed for engaging in a possible cyber-crime.
“While we cannot comment on the specifics of an ongoing investigation, I can confirm that the Democratic Party of Georgia is under investigation for possible cyber-crimes,” press secretary Candice Broce said in the release. She also said the secretary of state’s office alerted both the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI.
Kemp’s Democratic opponent, Stacey Abrams, told CNN Sunday that the investigation is an attempt to distract voters two days before the election. Kemp is leading Abrams – 49 to 47 percent – in the most recent RealClearPolitics poll.
“I’ve heard nothing about it, and my reaction would be that this is a desperate attempt on the part of my opponent to distract people from the fact that two different federal judges found him derelict in his duties and have forced him to accept absentee ballots to be counted and those who are being held captive by the exact match system to be allowed to vote,” Abrams said.
Neither Kemp nor the FBI have responded to The Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment in time for the publication of this article.
Poll numbers are tightening as the midterm election draws to a close. Abrams has repeatedly accused Kemp and his office of suppressing minority voters because of the exact match voter ID law that flags voter registrations that are found to have discrepancies, including dropped hyphens, among other issues.
The law ensnared roughly 50,000 Georgia voters, prompting civil rights groups to sue Kemp in October over the voter clearing process that required the flagged individuals to prove their identities to a deputy registrar.
The lawsuit concluded Friday after a federal judge issued a ruling allowing roughly 3,100 individuals to prove their citizenship out of the roughly 50,000 who were flagged as possible non-citizens.
High-profile figures have stumped for both candidates recently, with celebrities from Oprah Winfrey to comedian Will Ferrell joining Abrams on the campaign trail. Vice President Mike Pence, meanwhile, voiced support for Kemp in Dalton, Georgia, on Thursday.
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Chris White is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation. Follow Chris White on Facebook and Twitter.
