The New Georgia Project, a prominent voting rights organization founded by Stacey Abrams, has been fined $300,000 by the state ethics commission of Georgia for illegally campaigning for Abrams and other Democratic candidates during the 2018 election cycle.
The consent order ends a years-long investigation that the voting rights group had broken state campaign finance laws by raising and spending millions in support of candidate without proper registration and disclosure.
The fine is the largest in Georgia history, according to the state ethics commission.
During the 2018 election cycle, the Rev Raphael Warnock – now a US senator for Georgia – was chairman of the organization’s board.
The organization was also cited for illegally campaigning for a transit referendum in the Atlanta-area suburb of Gwinnett county.
“They have to disclose the money they raise and the source of that money – where they are bringing in their dollars from.
While this finding applied to state law, federal law also forbids organizations designated as charities like the New Georgia Project from campaigning directly for candidates. »
