Two of Georgia’s most well-known voter engagement groups, both of which were founded by former state Rep. Stacey Abrams, a Democrat, who ran for governor in both 2018 and 2022, failing both times, are closing their doors. The New Georgia Project and the New Georgia Project Action Fund released a statement this week that both groups will be dissolved.
Abrams founded both of the organizations in 2013. The New Georgia Project was a big player in getting voters mobilized and registered, especially in minority communities all over the Peach State. The group was controversial to say the least, facing serious financial scrutiny during its existence.
Particularly problematic was the New Georgia Project, which was hit with a massive $300,000 fine from the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission for violating state campaign finance law. Neither of the two groups has provided exact details on why they are shutting down or the fate of remaining staff or operations.
According to the Associated Press, the group’s mission was to help increase voter turnout among minorities, and at the time it was active was considered to be both powerful and influential. And these aren’t the only groups founded by Abrams that have been taking a beating. Another organization, Fair Fight, also sustained a number of legal losses.
Combined, this series of failures is raising serious questions about the sustainability of Abrams’ model of voter organizing and is particularly pressing for Democrats in Georgia, as it comes alongside Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff fighting to be re-elected to his seat, while his party attempts to win the governor’s race in 2026. If Democrats do manage to win the gubernatorial election, it would be the first time Georgia has had a Democratic governor since 1998.
“We recognize that the work of building a just and truthful world remains urgent,” directors went on to say in a statement released by the Rev. James Woodall, board chair of the New Georgia Project Action Fund. “This moment calls for strong and courageous leaders to step forward, guided by principles and purpose.”
The New Georgia Project and its affiliate group are believed to have registered tens of thousands of voters, with Abrams establishing the organization on the belief that those not consistently active in voting at the polls needed to become steady Democrat voters casting ballots for those who support progressive policies.
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Abrams’ voter strategy won accolades from the Democratic Party in 2018, which saw the Democrat run for governor against the GOP’s Brian Kemp, a race which she lost. In 2020, former President Joe Biden won the state during the presidential election, which helped Ossoff get elected and radical leftist Raphael Warnock win a Senate seat in a run-off in January 2021. Control of the upper chamber to the left.
The New Georgia Project’s organizers were often seen around towns and cities, especially in inner-city Atlanta neighborhoods and a few rural areas, focusing their efforts on places that traditionally suffered from low voter turnout. According to Jackson Ali, the group knocked on a staggering 4 million doors in 2020.
Abrams left the groups in 2017, stating she no longer had a role with them from that point forward. Warnock, one of Abrams’ allies, and so-called “Baptist minister,” was listed as the organization’s CEO on corporate filings for 2017-2019. In response to the issues the New Georgia Project faced, Abrams expressed disappointment, but made it clear she will “never stop believing in the mission of ensuring every Georgian can make their voice heard.”
Ethics Commission Executive Director David Emadi revealed the groups paid the fine and “fully complied with the order. Ali went on to say it was heartbreaking to see the organization struggle to raise funds for its operation. “We just had such a large apparatus, that as soon as funding slowed, we couldn’t be sustained.”
The group was found to have illegally engaged in election work and helped raise money for Abrams’ 2018 gubernatorial campaign, failing to register to take campaign contributions and failing to file required finance reports. After getting slapped with a $300,000 fine, the organization laid off workers.