Nonprofit founded by Stacey Abrams secretly campaigned for her in 2018

The Georgia Ethics Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to fine two nonprofit organizations founded by Democrat Stacey Abrams after they admitted to violating state law by campaigning for her 2018 governor race.

At the time of Abrams's campaign, the group was led by now-Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.). He was elected to the Senate in 2020.

The groups, New Georgia Project, and its spinoff, the New Georgia Project Action Fund, admitted during the commission’s meeting that because they campaigned on Abrams’ behalf, they should have registered as a political committee but did not.

The groups were fined a $300,000 penalty, which put a cap to the six-year battle, The New York Times reported.

David Emadi, the executive director for the ethics commission, said it was the largest fine in its 38-year history and the nonprofits had asked to pay the amount in two installments.

The Hill has reached out to New Georgia Project and Abrams for comment. A spokesman for the Georgia Democrat told the Times that Abrams wasn’t involved with the group’s work “since she departed in 2017.”

A spokesperson for Warnock said while he led the organization at the time of Abrams's campaign, he was not involved in compliance decisions.

The commission found that the nonprofits raised upward of $4 million and spend more than $3 million to help Abrams and other 2018 candidates.

The groups did not file as a campaign committee before receiving donations and failed to file campaign finance reports before the election, the commission found.

New Georgia Project was founded in 2013 by Abrams and intends to register more younger voters of color and urge them to vote in elections. It’s a charity that can accept tax-deductible donations, The Associated Press reported.

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