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An investigation into Georgia’s Election Administration claims that state officials at the highest levels have engaged in a “long-term assault on voting rights.”

The report by Allied Progress – a national non-profit group – found that officials were systematically making it more difficult for minorities, the elderly, disabled, and low-income voters to cast ballots.

The scathing report accuses Georgia’s Secretary of State and Governor of pushing suppression efforts, which include:

  • Strict voter ID requirements
  • Proof of citizenship
  • Reduced early voting
  • Felon voting right restrictions

Karl Frisch, Executive Director of Allied Progress, joined Roland Martin on NewsOne Now and said, “You’ve got an election administration process from the top on down to the bottom where people have admitted to their partisan motivation and when they thought no one was looking, they sometimes say in public or on social media absolutely racially abhorrent things.”

By Frisch’s account, Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp said, “If minorities get registered to vote, they could beat Republicans.” He continued, “As if it would be a bad thing for minorities to get registered to vote.”

The Executive Director for Allied Progress even brought up Governor Nathan Deal, who while defending proof of citizenship, called elderly African-American women who wished to vote “ghetto grandmothers.”

According to Frisch, local election officials on the county boards also allegedly said, “When slavery was ended, we gave them the opportunity to go back to Africa and they stayed – they have nothing to complain about.”

Expressing outrage at the actions of Georgia GOP members, Frisch said, “These are people who are supposed to be impartially administering the elections in the state of Georgia.”

The rampant voter suppression tactics employed by Republicans in Georgia have prompted several lawsuits, one in which Secretary of State Brian Kemp blocked the voter registrations of “tens of thousands of people to be registered to vote.”

To quantify the motives of Republicans who are allegedly protecting against voter fraud, Frisch suggested these lawmakers be asked, “What was the last thing you did to make it easier for legally registered people to vote?”

Watch Roland Martin, Karl Frisch, and the NewsOne Now panel discuss Georgia Republicans’ efforts to suppress the vote in the video clip above.

PHOTO CREDIT: Getty

Watch NewsOne Now with Roland Martin, in its new time slot on TV One.

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Donald Trump’s Incredible Display Of Bigotry At The First Presidential Debate