- The Dustin Inman Society Blog - https://www.thedustininmansociety.org/blog -

The road to Georgiafornia: Republican SoS, Brian Kemp, spent $48,119.00 on videos in foreign languages to help non-English speakers vote in Georgia, 2016

To the astonishment of many Georgia conservatives and to the glee of the illegal alien lobby [1], Georgia’s Secretary of State, Brian Kemp [2], produced *five videos in foreign languages ( Spanish, Vietnamese, Hindi, Korean, and Mandarin) to help non-English speakers “on voter registration, absentee voting by mail, advance in-person voting, and Election Day voting.”

“These new resources will help voters who are non-English speakers [3] know how to register to vote and prepare to cast their ballot” says Kemp. “Georgia is not a ‘covered jurisdiction’ under the federal Voting Rights Act to offer election information in other languages,” Kemp’s press release [4] told us (*the release says “four” – we count five foreign language videos).

Insider Advantage Georgia took note [5] of Kemp’s surprising move and I wrote it up in several Georgia newspapers, including the Macon Telegraph [6]. I noted that Kemp had also lent his name and the prestige of his office to the GALEO Inc. illegal alien lobby [7] at at fundraiser gala last year.

Also in the Macon Telegraph today ( “Time to make English the official language of Georgia” [8] ) State Senator Josh McKoon reminded Georgians that while there is an “an extremely weak and all but ignored 1996 law says that English is Georgia’s official language” on the books. “But with 10 foreign languages used for our driver’s license exam and foreign language videos for voter registration, it is obvious that more must be done to insure the commonsense unity and voting security that official English provides.” McKoon writes. We agree. After passing the state senate with the required two-thirds majority, Senator McKoon’s effort to allow all Georgia voters to consider a ballot question on amending the state constitution to official English in this year’s election was killed in the GOP House. Hello, state Rep Wendell Willard. [9]

Quanto costa?

The question on many minds around the state was about the monetary cost of these videos to taxpayers – or as they may say in the Georgia Secretary of State’s office “quanto costa?” [10]

Our friend, Ye Sun Whiltse sent an open records request to the SOS office asking that very question. But in English. Ye Sun’s letter:

October 11, 2016

Open records request

To: Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp
214 State Capitol
Atlanta, GA 30334
404-656-2881

Secretary Kemp,

As an active Republican voter, a proud naturalized American citizen and retired U.S. Army veteran, I am disappointed to learn that you have spent tax dollars to produce multiple foreign language videos aimed at potential voters who do not speak or understand the English language. Most school children and all naturalized Americans understand that with very few exceptions, the ability to speak, read and understand simple English is a requirement for naturalization, and that it is a crime for non-citizens to vote in Georgia elections.

I am requesting all documents that discuss or illustrate the cost of the video production of recently released voter registration assistance videos done in the Hindi, Korean, Spanish, Mandarin and Vietnamese languages under Georgia’s open records law.

I may expand this request in the near future, but for the time being, I look forward to your timely reply as set forth in state law.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.

Thank you,

Ye Sun Wiltse

Evans, Georgia 30809

Yesterday, Ye Sun received a timely reply, complete with two invoices from the video production contractors. [11]

Unless my math has gotten even worse that it was in school, Republican Brian Kemp spent $ 48,119.00 on videos in foreign languages to help non-English speakers vote in Georgia. Huh…