Gwinnett Daily Post

DULUTH -- Secretary of State Brian Kemp said he will fight "all the way to the Supreme Court" to protect Georgia's voter rolls.

Kemp spoke to the Duluth Rotary Club about the issue just hours before announcing that the American Civil Liberties Union have intervened in a state lawsuit to obtain "preclearance" for a voter verification process.

The process, Kemp said, is required by federal law, and enacted in other states, but the federal government is stalling.

Kemp, who was sworn into office in January after Karen Handel resigned the position to run for governor, said the protection of the state's voter rolls is his most sacred responsibility.

"I feel it's my duty to make sure we don't have noncitizens getting on our rolls and basically nullifying somebody's vote," he said at the Rotary meeting.

Speaking less than two weeks before a hotly contested primary with candidates lining the ballot, Kemp assured the Rotarians that electronic voting machines are safe, encouraging people who don't trust the technology to vote absentee. But he noted, "paper is the easiest way to have fraud."

After his speech, Kemp declined to speculate on voter turnout, but said that early voting has been slow across the state, despite major races for governor and every other statewide office.

He recommended people go to www.sos.ga.gov to learn more about their polling location and the candidates who will be on the ballot.