Social Media Links Raise Questions About Ga. Secretary Of State App

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The homepage of the Georgia Secretary of State's app on 7/31/18. Social media links at the bottom redirect to Brian Kemp's social media pages, which are primarily being used to promote his campaign for Georgia's governor.

UPDATE 10:26 a.m. Aug. 2: The "GA SOS" app has been updated to remove all social media links to Brian Kemp from the app. 

UPDATE 6:10 p.m. July 31: Brian Kemp's campaign says the secretary of state's office will remove the links on the official app. Campaign Spokesman Ryan Mahoney: “This practice is legal and common for elected officials who value accessibility and citizen engagement. However, the links will be removed so we can focus on important issues like Stacey Abrams failing to pay her taxes."

ORIGINAL STORY:

Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s office has an official app where you can check your voter registration, register a business and see election information.

It also links to his Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, which prominently feature his campaign for Governor.

That has some ethics experts wondering if it's allowed.

GPB's Stephen Fowler speaks with Atlanta All Things Considered anchor Rickey Bevington about the Secretary of State's app that links to Brian Kemp's campaign social media pages.

There are many questions bouncing around social media, such as why Kemp, who has been secretary of state since 2010, is able to oversee his own election.

Edward Queen is at Emory University’s Center for Ethics. He says the biggest question would be whether it looks like taxpayer money is endorsing Kemp’s campaign, since that is mainly what is on Kemp’s social media feed.

"To what extent were state resources used in producing an app that clearly is engaged in campaign work for the secretary of state?” Queen asked.

The Office of the Inspector General has confirmed there are open complaints surrounding the social media links being on the app and did not comment further.

The secretary of state's office did not comment either, referring questions to the Kemp campaign.

In a statement, campaign spokesman Ryan Mahoney said, “The Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram pages are used by Kemp for official, political, and personal content. The same is true for many elected officials including Gov. Deal."

Mahoney is right — many politicians do run everything through a single Facebook or Twitter account. But those politicians also often resign from their current elected offices or aren't in a high-profile position like the secretary of state.

And this scenario is not unique. Cathy Cox was a Democratic secretary of state who ran for re-election and for Governor while overseeing elections, and Brian Kemp has run for re-election without much fanfare.