Stacey Abrams-Founded Groups Fined $300K For Campaign Finance Breaches

 January 16, 2025

The Georgia Ethics Commission has levied a historic $300,000 fine against the New Georgia Project and the New Georgia Project Action Fund, organizations founded by political figure Stacey Abrams.

Fox News reported that this fine marks the most substantial penalty for campaign finance violations in the history of Georgia’s Ethics Commission.

The New Georgia Project, initiated by Abrams in 2013, aimed to increase voter registration among minority and youthful demographics. Abrams stepped away from the organization in 2017, passing leadership to then-CEO Senator Raphael Warnock, who served until 2019.

Senator Warnock, through a spokesperson, has stated that his role was focused on promoting voting rights and he did not participate in the compliance aspects of the organization.

Details On The Ethics Violations Unveiled

According to the commission, the organizations failed to properly disclose financial activities during the 2018 gubernatorial campaign in which Abrams was a candidate. They did not report approximately $4.2 million in contributions and $3.2 million in expenditures, which led to multiple violations under state laws.

Beyond their 2018 missteps, they also did not disclose another $646,000 in contributions and $174,000 in expenditures during 2019 while advocating for a ballot initiative. These oversight issues contribute to a total of 16 violations, including failing to register as a political committee.

The consent agreement ending the investigation has been met with mixed feelings by the involved organizations. The New Georgia Project acknowledged the completion of the case and expressed its intent to focus entirely on its voter engagement projects.

"We are glad to finally put this matter behind us," stated a representative from the New Georgia Project. They added that the group could now "fully devote its time and attention to its efforts to civically engage and register black, brown, and young voters in Georgia."

The charges and resulting fine have been recognized as a watershed moment for ethical political campaigning in Georgia.

"This represents the largest and most significant instance of an organization illegally influencing our statewide elections in Georgia that we have ever discovered, and I believe this sends a clear message to both the public and potential bad actors moving forward that we will hold you accountable," noted an official from the Georgia Ethics Commission.

The Implications Of This Unprecedented Fine

Legal experts consider this fine to be possibly the largest of its kind ever imposed in the United States concerning election and campaign finance violations.

"This certainly represents the largest fine imposed in the history of Georgia's Ethics Commission, but it also appears to be the largest ethics fine ever imposed by any state ethics commission in the country related to an election and campaign finance case," said an official from the commission.

The New Georgia Project also lamented the procedural basis for the decision to overturn a federal court ruling regarding the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Act.

They expressed disappointment but acknowledged the resolution, stating, "While we remain disappointed that the federal court ruling on the constitutionality of the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Act was overturned on entirely procedural grounds, we accept this outcome and are eager to turn the page on activities that took place more than five years ago," reflecting their readiness to move forward.

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