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As Georgia secretary of state, Karen Handel was, as Ian Millhiser reports, a real pioneer in Republican voter suppression.Handel didnt just push a voter ID law. She really explored the full range of options available to a Republican elections official who wants to keep peopleespecially possible Democratsfrom voting. She encouraged voters to challenge one anothers qualifications to vote, an intimidation tactic often employed by Republicans. She tried to purge thousands of new citizens from the voter rolls. And she didnt just go after voters, she went after ballot access for Democrats:

In the middle of an election cycle, Republican state Sen. Joe Carter decided to withdraw from his reelection race and run for a judgeship instead. Carter was slated to run unopposed, which meant that there would be no candidates for his soon-to-be-vacant seat.

According to the Atlanta-based alt-weekly Creative Loafing, Handel solved this problem by allowing new candidates to qualify to appear on the ballot but only if they were Republicans. Democrats, the alt-weekly reported, werent given the chance to field a candidate for the newly open seat.

And this was not an isolated incident. On the day before a primary election for a state house race, Handel ruled that the lone Democratic candidate must be removed from the ballot because he didnt qualify as a resident of the district. She also did not allow Democrats to submit a new candidate.

Its incredibly apt that Georgia officials aretrying to prevent newly registered votersfrom voting in the June run-off election.

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Karen Handel is a longtime soldier in the Republican war on voting - Daily Kos