ATLANTA -- Former President Jimmy Carter is wading into the Georgia governor's race by way of a letter sent to GOP candidate and current Secretary of State Brian Kemp.
In the letter, Carter urged Kemp to resign from his office, saying that there is a conflict of interest to holding the secretary's office and campaigning at the same time, and that by doing so, he removes the presence of an independent and impartial election authority.
"In Georgia's upcoming gubernatorial election, popular confidence is threatened not only by the undeniable racial discrimination of the past and the serious questions that the federal courts have raised about the security of Georgia's voting machines, but also because you are now overseeing the election in which you are a candidate," Carter said.
"This runs counter to the most fundamental principle of democratic elections - that the electoral process be managed by an independent and impartial election authority. Other secretaries of state have stepped down while running for election within their jurisdiction, to ensure that officials without a direct stake in the process can take charge and eliminate concerns about a conflict of interest."
Carter urges Kemp to step aside as secretary during the remaining days of the campaign, and to allow a neutral party to oversee the election of governor as a "sign that you recognize the importance of this key democratic principle and want to ensure the confidence of our citizens in the outcome."
Legally, under Georgia's constitution, Kemp is permitted to continue to hold office as secretary of state while he runs for governor.
In Article II, Section II, Paragraph V of the Constitution of the State of Georgia, entitled Vacancies created by elected officials qualifying for other office, the text indicates, "The office of any state, county, or municipal elected official shall be declared vacant upon such elected official qualifying, in a general primary or general election, or special primary or special election, for another state, county, or municipal elective office or qualifying for the House of Representatives or the Senate of the United States if the term of office for which such official is qualifying for begins more than 30 days prior to the expiration of such official's present term of office."
That portion of the paragraph indicates that an elected official may continue to hold office while seeking another office, provided once he is elected, he immediately resigns.
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Customarily, elected officials in Georgia resign their present office while running for other offices, if for nothing else, than to ensure total transparency and to focus entirely on their campaign as opposed to dividing their attention.
When Kemp first became Georgia's secretary of state in 2010, Karen Handel - in the same scenario - resigned from office as secretary of state in order run for governor. At the time, Handel said she wanted to focus on her campaign. But no law required her to resign.
Kemp has continued to defiantly insist that he has no plans to resign from office. During a debate between Kemp and Democratic challenger Stacey Abrams last week, when asked, Kemp indicated that if the governor's race is forced into a runoff, he plans to remain in office and oversee that process as well.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Here are helpful links for Georgia Voters:
Register to vote online: sos.ga.gov/elections
Change voter registration address: sos.ga.gov/elections
Check registration status: www.mvp.sos.ga.gov/MVP/mvp.do
Election offices by county: http://sos.ga.gov/cgi-bin/countyregistrarsindex.asp
