NEW: Controversial Voter Turnout Groups Linked To Stacey Abrams Close Doors

Two Georgia voter turnout groups that were widely credited with boosting Democrat success in the Peach State in 2020, when the state was carried by Joe Biden and elected two Democrat senators, announced Thursday that they will be shutting down.

Founded by two-time failed gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams in 2013, the Georgia Voting Project, along with its affiliated New Georgia Project Action Fund were founded to boost turnout among non-white voters to counter what Abrams, without evidence, described as “voter suppression.” On Thursday, the groups announced that they would be shutting down due to unsustainable costs.

“We recognize that the work of building a just and truthful world remains urgent,” directors said in a statement released by the Rev. James Woodall, who chaired the board of the New Georgia Project Action Fund. “This moment calls for strong and courageous leaders to step forward, guided by principles and purpose.”

The closures are largely linked to massive legal costs due to a massive fine that was levied against the network earlier this year. In January, the Georgia Ethics Commission imposed a $300,000 fine on the Georgia Voting Project and its sister entity, for breaches of state campaign finance regulations during the 2018 elections.

These organizations were penalized for not registering as independent campaign committees and for failing to report around $4.2 million in contributions and $3.2 million in expenditures, primarily benefiting Abrams’ run for governor, according to a report from the Associated Press. The penalty stands as the largest in the history of the Georgia Ethics Commission.

Fair Fight Action, another organization founded by Abrams in 2018, has also been the subject of controversy due to allegations of financial mismanagement. Like the New Georgia Voting Project, Fair Fight Action was founded to combat alleged “voter suppression,” Abrams’ term for purging inactive voters from rolls, voter ID requirements and the state’s “exact match” voter registration system, which flagged applications for discrepancies.

Groups linked to Abrams received tens-of-millions of dollars in funding ahead of the 2020 presidential election and runoff Senate races.

Fair Fight Action paid $9.4 million in 2019 and 2020 to Lawrence & Bundy, a law firm led by Allegra Lawrence-Hardy, Abrams’ close friend and campaign chairwoman, for a largely unsuccessful voting rights lawsuit against the state. Legal fees for the case topped $39 million in total between 2019 and 2021.

By 2024, Fair Fight Action faced financial difficulties, with $2.5 million in debt and only $1.9 million cash on hand, leading to layoffs of 75 percent of its staff. The drain of finances followed significant spending on legal fees in a number of cases against the state and election integrity organizations.

The questionable conduct of Abrams’ organizations and her past failures as a candidate reportedly have Georgia Democrats panicked as they seek to hold onto the state’s Senate seat held by Democrat incumbent Jon Ossoff in 2026. Greg Bluestein of the Atlanta Journal Constitution quoted multiple Democrats who feared another Abrams run would further sink the party’s reputation in the state.

“Interviews with more than three dozen Democratic officials, party leaders and activists suggest she may not have the same unified support she enjoyed after her first defeat to Kemp in 2018,” Bluestein reported.

Some of those quoted in the story spoke on the condition of anonymity while others were more direct. “I do believe there might be another charismatic Democrat that can take us all the way in 2026,” said Monroe County Democratic Party chair Yvonne Stuart.