Jimmy Carter Asks Republican Gubernatorial Candidate Brian Kemp To Step Down From State Office

Kemp is running in a close race against Democrat Stacey Abrams and has dismissed calls from the opposing party to step aside in overseeing the election in which he is a candidate.

“This runs counter to the most fundamental principle of democratic elections — that the electoral process be managed by an independent and impartial election authority,” Carter responded.

A Kemp resignation “would be a sign that you recognize the importance of this key democratic principle and want to ensure the confidence of our citizens in the outcome,” Carter said.

Civil rights groups sued Kemp this month, accusing his office of using discriminatory measures to verify new voter registrations after an Associated Press investigation found that Kemp’s office had placed 53,000 voter registration applications on hold if they did not precisely match information on file with the state's Department of Motor Vehicles or the Social Security Administration.