53,000 Applications Are On Hold in Georgia, But The Applicants Can Still Vote

https://www.wabe.org/53000-applications-are-on-hold-but-can-the-applicants-still-vote/

Emma Hurt • Oct 11, 2018

The 53,000 voter registration applications pending with the Georgia Secretary of State’s office don’t mean the applicants can’t vote, according to Brian Kemp’s campaign.

“They’re in a pending status,” Ryan Mahoney, communications coordinator for Georgia Secretary of State Kemp’s gubernatorial run, said. “They have 26 months to present additional information, or they can just show up and vote and present their photo ID as required by Georgia law. That information will be taken on the spot, and they’ll be able to vote. Not a provisional ballot.”

Mahoney also said these voters are informed of their status by mail when they receive information about their polling location.

The applications are pending due to Georgia’s “exact match” policy. That’s a law passed by the General Assembly last year, which requires registrations match exactly with data from the Department of Driver Services or from the Social Security Administration. When registrations don’t match, they land on the “pending list,” and voters have 26 months to provide additional information.

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