Stacey Abrams-founded group slapped with historic fine for campaign finance violations

A pair of voting advocacy groups founded by Stacey Abrams, the failed Democrat Georgia gubernatorial candidate, have been slapped with a historic fine by the Georgia Ethics Commission for violating campaign finance laws in support of Abrams’ 2018 election campaign.

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Georgia State Ethics Commission announced that a consent agreement had been reached with the New Georgia Project and the New Georgia Project Action Fund, resulting in a hefty fine of $300,000. This fine is said to be the largest ever imposed by the Georgia Ethics Commission and possibly the largest ethics fine in the country related to an election and campaign finance case.

The New Georgia Project was established by Abrams in 2013 with the aim of registering more minority and young voters. The organization operated as a charity that could accept tax-deductible donations, while the New Georgia Project Action Fund served as its fundraising arm.

According to the commission’s consent order, the groups admitted to failing to disclose approximately $4.2 million in contributions and $3.2 million in expenditures that were utilized during Abrams’ election efforts in 2018. They were found guilty of a total of 16 violations, including the failure to register as a political committee and the failure to disclose millions of dollars in political contributions.

The groups were also accused of engaging in similar activities in 2019, where they reportedly failed to disclose $646,000 in contributions and $174,000 while advocating for a ballot initiative.

Abrams, who ran for governor of Georgia in both 2018 and 2022 but lost to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp on both occasions, stepped down from the New Georgia Project in 2017. Senator Raphael Warnock took over as the CEO of the organization from 2017 to 2019 before being elected as a U.S. senator from Georgia in 2020.

A spokesperson for Warnock’s Senate office stated that he was not aware of any campaign violations and that compliance decisions were not within the scope of his work. The spokesperson added that Warnock had long been a champion for voting rights.

In response to the fine, the New Georgia Project expressed relief at being able to move forward and focus on their mission of engaging and registering black, brown, and young voters in Georgia. Despite the setback, the organization remains committed to its goals.

As the controversy surrounding the ethics violations comes to a close, the New Georgia Project is eager to put this chapter behind them and continue their important work of empowering voters in Georgia.