In response to allegations of voter suppression by gubernatorial candidate and current Secretary of State Brian Kemp, the NAACP Georgia State Conference filed a lawsuit to protect the vote of 53,000 Black voters in Georgia on Thursday, Oct. 11.

The NAACP expressed that they are closely monitoring the gubernatorial race in Georgia and will continue to through the midterm election. 

NAACP President Derrick Johnson called it a “stain on our system of democracy when less than a month before an election which could produce the first African-American female governor in our nation’s history.”

“We are seeing this type of voter suppression scheme attempted by a state official whose candidacy for the governorship produces an irremediable conflict of interest.”

According to multiple reports, Kemp’s office has refused to process over 53,000 voting registration applications. He has also been accused of purging millions of voter registrations, specifically 1.4 million since 2012 and 670,000 in 2017 alone, according to NBC News.

“It’s about protecting our democracy, the integrity of the vote and the political power of the Black Community,” NAACP Georgia State President Phyllis Blake.

“We are asking for the eyes of the nation to pay attention to Georgia because if this can happen here, our vote is in danger everywhere.”