Campaign finance agency dismisses Abrams violations, fines 30 candidates for missing or late info

Caption

Stacey Abrams stands on stage with supporters clapping behind her. In July 2022, two charges against her campaign over financial disclosures were dropped.

Credit: Grant Blankenship / GPB News

ATLANTA — The Georgia Government Transparency & Campaign Finance Commission has dismissed two charges against Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams.
 
Commission attorney Joseph Cusack said on Tuesday that Abrams’ attorney, Joyce Gist Lewis, provided him with the evidence needed to clear up potential violations stemming from two transactions by the Abrams campaign.
 
In one, the commission contended that Abrams received $3,865 of in-kind contributions from Friends of Stacey Abrams and Georgia Next prior to filing paperwork declaring her intention to run. Lewis was able to produce documents that showed the campaign contributions were received after Abrams’ declaration of intent to run had been filed.  
 
Abrams also appropriately amended her contribution disclosure filings to reflect the correct information, Cusack said.  
 
The second count stemmed from a law firm invoice the commission alleged was not properly included on Abrams’ campaign contribution disclosure reports. Cusack said the Abrams campaign produced evidence that it had paid that invoice.   
 
“She’s given me every single piece of evidence I’ve asked for,” Cusack said of Lewis’ co-operation in the matter.  
 
“I think this is the perfect example of both sides working together, supplying the information that the commission needs to show that Ms. Abrams was in compliance,” commission Chairman James Kreyenbuhl added.
 
The commission upheld a slew of other charges against 30 Georgia candidates facing fines for failing to file sufficient personal financial disclosure information.  
 
A bill passed during this year’s legislative session that took effect in March requires candidates to disclose the past five years of income information, which many candidates neglected to do.  
 
The consent orders process put in place by the commission allowed the candidates to agree to the charges and pay a fine.

Four Democratic candidates who survived the recent spring primaries and runoffs agreed to pay fines for campaign violations. 
 
State Sen. Jen Jordan,  D-Atlanta, the Democratic nominee for attorney general, and Janice Laws Robinson, the Democratic nominee for insurance commissioner, each agreed to pay a penalty of $625 for omitting past years’ income details on their financial disclosure reports.  
 
Both state Rep. William Boddie, D- East Point, the Democratic nominee for labor commissioner, and Alisha Thomas Searcy, the Democratic nominee for state school superintendent, failed to file personal financial disclosure reports on time. Each agreed to a $1,000 civil penalty and a $125 late fee.  
 
Non-Democrats faced penalties as well.  
 
Kartik Bhatt, who ran for state labor commissioner in the May Republican primary, did not file his personal finance disclosure statement and also received and spent campaign funds prior to filing a declaration of intent to run. Bhatt agreed to a $5,000 civil penalty.  
 
David Raudabaugh, the Libertarian candidate for Georgia agriculture commissioner, faced a $625 fine for not including past years’ income on his personal financial disclosure report.  
 
U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, R-Greensboro, who lost to Republican incumbent Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in the primary, received a $1,000 civil penalty for failing to file his personal financial disclosure report on time.  
 
The complete list of consent orders is available on the commission’s website.

This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.