A nonprofit founded by Stacey Abrams has agreed to pay a $300,000 fine for spending in support of Georgia Democratic candidates during the 2018 gubernatorial campaign, violating the Campaign Finance Laws.

The Georgia Ethics Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to impose penalties after it found that the New Georgia Project, which Abrams founded in 2013, and its affiliated New Georgia Project Action Fund, failed to disclose their support after supporting Abrams' campaign. She lost to Gov. Brian Kemp in campaign donations and spending.

“These expenditures include, but are not limited to, canvassing activities, literature explicitly advocating for candidates for election, social media engagement, and field offices with paid staff in the locations where these campaign events are organized,” the consent order states.

The commission found that the nonprofits failed to register with the commission as independent committees in 2017 and 2018, as required by state law because of their campaign work for Abrams.

David Emadi, the commission's executive director, said at Wednesday's meeting that the organizations had admitted to 16 violations.

"While this is a substantial fine, I think it is appropriate given the scope," Emadi said.

The commission said the penalty was the largest in its history.

According to a signed copy of the consent order, the groups failed to disclose $4.2 million in donations during the 2018 election and those used to support Abrams’ campaign for governor and to promote other candidates for statewide office during the primary and general elections. The $3.2 million payout was handled by attorneys for each group.

A spokesman for Abrams did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday. A spokesperson told the New York Times that Abrams "has not been involved with the organization since leaving in 2017."

Aria Branch, an attorney for the groups, said they were "pleased to finally put this matter behind us" and focus on building civic engagement.

“While we are disappointed that a federal court’s ruling on the constitutionality of the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Act was overturned solely on procedural grounds, we accept the outcome and are eager to turn the page on events that occurred more than five years ago. page. ," Branch said.

The New Georgia Project at the time was led by Raphael Warnock, who later became the state's Democratic senator. The organizations were first accused of wrongdoing in a complaint in 2019, before Warnock was elected.

Warnock spokesman Michael J. Brewer said in a statement that when he led the New Georgia project in 2018, "compliance decisions were not part of the job."