The Georgia State Election Board will continue an investigation into Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock for his work with a voter registration group founded by Stacey Abrams.
The board voted on Wednesday to refer the case to the attorney general’s office regarding the allegation that the New Georgia Project failed to submit voter registration applications by the necessary deadline in 2019. Republican Attorney General Chris Carr’s office will investigate the allegations and can bring charges or impose fines.
The state election board voted 3-0 to move the case forward, with the lone Democrat David Worley recusing himself from the vote. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is the chairman of the board, but he generally does not vote unless he needs to act as a tie-breaker.
The New Georgia Project has been accused of failing to deliver 1,268 voter registration applications to the Gwinnett County elections office within the 10-day window required by state election rules.
Warnock served as the chairman of the organization at the time of the alleged infraction, although he resigned in January after he was sworn into office.
Raffensperger announced the beginning of several investigations in December 2020, including one into the New Georgia Project for allegedly trying to register “ineligible, out-of-state, or deceased voters” before the state’s Jan. 5 Senate runoff elections, which Warnock and Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff won. Their victories in the Jan. 5 runoff gave Democrats a 50-50 split in the Senate, allowing for Vice President Kamala Harris to act as a tie-breaker should one be needed.
Warnock is up for reelection in 2022 because that’s when Sen. Johnny Isakson’s term is up. He resigned from the seat in 2019 citing health concerns. Sen. Kelly Loeffler was appointed to the vacancy in December 2019 and ultimately lost to Warnock in the runoff in January.
Abrams, who is widely credited for helping Warnock and Ossoff’s campaigns, started the New Georgia Project in 2014. She has become a rising force within the Democratic Party despite her 2018 loss to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, whom she accused of engaging in voter suppression to win the race.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Warnock and the New Georgia Project for comment.