Group founded by Stacey Abrams fined $300,000 by ethics commission over 2018 campaign spending

The New Georgia Project has been fined $300,000 after agreeing to settle long-running ethics allegations that the group illegally campaigned in 2018 for then-candidate for governor Stacey Abrams and other Democrats running for statewide office that year.

The fine is the largest for an ethics violation in Georgia history, according to the commission’s executive secretary David Emadi, who has led the probe since it started in 2019.

The voting rights group, which was founded by Abrams, and the affiliated New Georgia Action Fund were accused of illegally spending $3.2 million, which Emadi said essentially amounted to “dark spending” on Abrams’ behalf.

The fine represents about 10% of the money illegally spent. Half of it must be paid within 30 days and the rest over the course of a year. Emadi said the fine could be the largest state fine for an ethics violation in the country.

“It’s also a significant enough number that I think it sends a message that there will be serious consequences to these types of actions,” Emadi said of the fine. “I think this sends a pretty clear message to the parties, to the public and to potential bad actors moving forward that if you break the law to influence our elections, we’re going to be diligent in our pursuit, and we’re going to hold you accountable for what you’ve done.” 

The groups have admitted to 16 campaign finance violations, including failing to register as an independent committee and file campaign disclosure reports. Overall, they did not disclose about $4.2 million in contributions and $3.2 million in expenditures, according to the consent order unanimously approved by the state ethics commission Wednesday.

Some of the violations were also tied to an unsuccessful MARTA expansion ballot initiative in Gwinnett County. 

The money was used for canvassing activities, campaign literature promoting Abrams and other statewide candidates, social media engagement and field offices, according to the consent order. During a presentation Wednesday, Emadi cited invoices, checks and other evidence that he argued showed the organization crossed a line.

The New Georgia Project had long derided the investigation as politically motivated and a “fishing expedition.” 

Emadi, who was tapped by Gov. Brian Kemp to head the commission, has previously been criticized by Abrams supporters for his ties to Kemp as a donor to his campaign.

“I don’t care if you’re a Republican, a Democrat, a Libertarian, Green Party, if people are breaking the law and illegally influencing an election, particularly the extent they did, that should upset you, and you should want to see something done about it,” Emadi told reporters.

David Fox, an attorney representing the New Georgia Project, said his clients may disagree with some of the investigation’s findings but are “eager to put the matter behind them.”

“We believe that this is a reasonable resolution of this long-standing dispute that will enable everyone to move forward,” Fox, who appeared virtually, said during the meeting.

Aria Branch, counsel to the New Georgia Project, echoed that sentiment in a statement Wednesday. The group unsuccessfully fought the case in federal court, arguing it violated their constitutional rights.

“We are glad to finally put this matter behind us so the New Georgia Project can fully devote its time and attention to its efforts to civically engage and register black, brown, and young voters in Georgia,” Branch said.

“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,” she added.

Abrams created New Georgia Project to focus on registering more Black and other non-white Georgians to vote, earning her national recognition for her work for growing the state’s electorate and boosting engagement among disaffected voters.

She has not been affiliated with New Georgia Project since shortly before her 2018 campaign, when she narrowly lost to Kemp. Abrams lost by a wider margin in a 2022 rematch with Kemp.

James D. Kreyenbuhl, chairman of the commission, said the case should have been resolved years ago.

“I want to thank commission staff, the Attorney General’s Office, for not giving up on this, for sticking with it for a period of more than five years and getting the result that we’ve gotten here today,” Kreyenbuhl said during the meeting.

Rick Thompson, vice chairman, went much further in his criticism of New Georgia Project. He said he was supporting the consent order only because the commission lacks the authority to pursue criminal charges.

“You guys stuck in there,” Thompson said. “However, I think actions like this should be criminal, because of the significant impact secret money can have on elections. Organizations attempting to keep their election spending secret is shameful and does a disservice to our elections and voters. To continually stall and not cooperate with our investigation is extremely disheartening.”

A separate complaint alleging illegal coordination between the Abrams’ campaign and outside groups is still open and under investigation, Emadi said.