End Citizens United // Let America Vote (ECU // LAV) today endorsed State Representative Bee Nguyen for Georgia Secretary of State and State Senator Jen Jordan for Georgia Attorney General as part of its first ever “Democracy Defenders” program for preeminent Secretary of State and Attorney General candidates in the 2022 cycle. Representative Nguyen and Senator Jordan are the Democracy Defenders program’s first challenger endorsements. These constitutional officers are critical in the fight to combat dark money-fueled restrictive voting laws being passed across the country and protect the freedom to vote. ECU // LAV will spend $7 million in key Attorney General and Secretary of State races across the country, including in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, Texas, and Wisconsin.
“From Georgia Republicans instituting one of the most egregious, un-American restrictive voter laws this year to targeting Black local election officials for removal, the ability for Georgians to make their voices heard in free and fair elections is at risk,” said End Citizens United // Let America Vote President Tiffany Muller. “That is why we are so excited to endorse State Representative Bee Nguyen for Secretary of State and State Senator Jen Jordan for Attorney General. Both of these amazing candidates will fight back against the self-serving politicians in the pockets of big money special interests trying to rig the system for themselves and against hard-working Georgia families. Electing Representative Nguyen and Senator Jordan will ensure all Georgians have the ability to make their voices heard on the issues that matter most to them. We could not be more thrilled to endorse these fantastic candidates and look forward to helping them win in 2022.”
“The future of our democracy is at stake. Georgia Republicans are doubling down on the ‘Big Lie’ and running extremist candidates at every level of government, including the Secretary of State’s race. Without a democratic system, every issue we care about is on the line. We must do everything in our power to protect the right to vote and to guarantee free and fair elections — and I am committed to doing just that,” said State Representative Bee Nguyen.
“Attorneys General are the first and last lines of defense against threats to our democracy. I’m proud to be an advocate for voting rights and transparency in the Senate, and I will continue to make it my top priority as Georgia’s next Attorney General to ensure that every Georgian has a voice in our democracy. I am honored to have the support of End Citizens United and Let America Vote in this fight,” said State Senator Jen Jordan.
State Representative Bee Nguyen has been a vocal advocate of voting rights, equity, and fighting corrupt special interests. As the first Vietnamese-American elected official in Georgia’s legislature, she was successful in overturning the “exact match” voter registration law, which restored the freedom to vote for the 53,000 Georgians impacted by the policy, was a vocal opponent of Georgia’s radical anti-voter law, and gained national recognition for refuting the ‘Big Lie’ about Georgia’s 2020 election. As Secretary of State, she will protect the freedom to vote for all Georgians and ensure that the people of Georgia have faith and trust in their elections.
State Senator Jen Jordan has been a champion in protecting the voice and vote of all Georgians. An experienced litigator with over 20 years of experience in the courtroom, she challenged Georgia’s first law to restrict the types of IDs that voters can use in 2005, successfully delaying its implementation so that thousands of voters could obtain identification. Since flipping a State Senate district in 2017, she has been an outspoken critic of partisan gerrymandering in Georgia because it stacks the deck in favor of corporate special interests and self-serving politicians, and she has fought hard against Georgia’s extremist anti-voter law. Jordan has also shined a light on the dark money polluting Georgia politics and has pledged to root out corruption as Attorney General.
ECU // LAV is a leading anti-corruption and voting rights group dedicated to combating the two biggest challenges facing our democracy: the corrosive impact of Big Money and attempts to block access to the ballot box. The group raised and spent $65.5 million in small dollar, grassroots donations in the 2020 election cycle. Its $12.5 million independent expenditure made it the 5th largest issue group spending on the Democratic side. This will be the first time ECU // LAV is making a multi-million dollar investment in AG and SOS races. The “Democracy Defenders” program is part of ECU // LAV’s Fight for Reform (FFR) project that supports candidates at the state and local level. ECU // LAV has more than four million members nationwide, including over 75,000 in Georgia.
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