SPLC Action Fund Statement on Georgia State Election Board Decision to Drop Investigation Into 2020 Line Relief Efforts

ATLANTA — The Southern Poverty Law Center Action Fund (SPLC Action Fund) issued the following statement from Seth Levi, chief strategy officer, in response to the Georgia State Election Board’s decision not to refer an investigation criminalizing line relief by volunteers in the 2020 General Election. The Secretary of State had launched a criminal investigation into volunteers and staff from Black Voters Matter that had handed out bottles of water to voters waiting in six-hour lines in 90-degree heat.

“We are glad that the State Election Board has finally decided to drop this investigation into volunteers who handed out bottles of water in 2020, before the ban on line relief was passed. It is unfortunate that such an investigation was ever undertaken, and it is even more unfortunate that this simple act of kindness to one’s neighbor was criminalized.

“When Governor Brian Kemp and the state legislature saw voters being forced to wait six hours in 90-degree heat to exercise their right to vote, they did not step in to help voters in long lines. Instead, they tried to punish the volunteers who had given water to their neighbors who were waiting in those long lines.

“There can be no excuse for such a cruel and arbitrary act other than a discriminatory attempt to deter people from voting. We must demonstrate that barriers to voting will not stop us from exercising our right to vote, making sure our friends and neighbors exercise their right to vote, and ensuring the voice of the whole community is heard.”