A law implemented by Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp is over-stringent, many think. As it affects Georgia voter registration, several applications have simply been put on hold for the least inconsistency with data on file with government agencies. For example, a missing hyphen in a name is sufficient to place an eligible voter on the waiting list.

A coalition of civil rights groups may seek an emergency relief on the matter in a bid to prevent thousands of voters from being thrown off the voter lists for the upcoming midterms. ABC news has the story, reporting that:

“In a federal lawsuit filed on Thursday, the coalition claimed that a law implemented by Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp put over 50,000 new voter registration applications on hold because the registration forms did not exactly match data on file with government agencies.

Under the new law, even a missed hyphen or a nickname inconsistency can stall an application.

The plaintiffs called the law discriminatory, claiming that according to a preliminary review by the Georgia secretary of state’s office, 80 percent of stalled applications were from African-Americans, Latinos and Asian-Americans, and only 9.8 percent were submitted by applicants identifying as White.”

Thanks to Election Law Blog for the link.