[7][8][9] In his first term as governor, Kemp opposed face mask mandates and stay-at-home orders during the COVID-19 pandemic, and prohibited localities from implementing stricter public health measures than the state as a whole.

[30] In a 2017 interview, he denounced the effort as an assault on states' rights, saying, "I think it was a politically calculated move by the previous administration" and "I don't necessarily believe" Russia had attempted to disrupt the elections.

[30] In December 2016, Kemp accused the Department of Homeland Security of attempting to hack his office's computer network, including the voter registration database, implying that it was retribution for his previous refusal to work with DHS.

A DHS inspector general investigation found there was no hacking, but rather it was "the result of normal and automatic computer message exchanges generated by the Microsoft applications involved.

[41] Kemp denied responsibility, instead saying researchers at Kennesaw State University, who managed the system, had acted "in accordance with standard IT procedures" in deleting the data.

[46] Republican State Senator Renee Unterman said that there "appears to be a direct connection between campaign support from Massage Envy franchisees in exchange for non-action and suppression" and asked U.S. Attorney B.J.

Pak to investigate "what seems to be a quid pro quo scheme being perpetrated through the secretary of state's office and the Kemp for governor campaign.

[48] In response to the accusations, a spokesperson for Kemp's campaign asserted that Unterman was "mentally unstable" and suggested she "seek immediate medical attention before she hurts herself or someone else".

[52][53][54] Political scientists Michael Bernhard and Daniel O'Neill described Kemp's actions as the worst case of voter suppression in that election year.

[62] Political scientists and news outlets have rejected these claims; The Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote, "no evidence emerged of systematic malfeasance – or of enough tainted votes to force a runoff election between Republican Brian Kemp and Democrat Stacey Abrams".

[63] Political scientist Charles S. Bullock III told The Washington Post that claims of a stolen election were "not based on fact but will continue to be articulated by Abrams since it helps mobilize her supporters", while Richard Hasen took issue with Kemp's job performance but said that he had seen "no good social science evidence that efforts to make it harder to register and vote were responsible for Kemp’s victory over Abrams in the Georgia gubernatorial race".

[62] A USA Today fact check noted that the actions Kemp's office took during the election "can be explained as routine under state and federal law".

[64] Hasen told PolitiFact, "I have seen no good evidence that the suppressive effects of strict voting and registration laws affected the outcome of the governor’s races in Georgia and Florida" and suggested Democrats "cool it" with claims the election was stolen.

"[67] In a 2010 explanation defending the practice to the Department of Justice, Kemp's office said the policy was "designed to assure the identity and eligibility of voters and to prevent fraudulent or erroneous registrations.

[73] After changes to the Voting Rights Act in 2012 gave states with a history of voter suppression more autonomy,[74] Kemp's office oversaw the closing of 214 polling locations, 8% of the total in Georgia.

[78] Kemp denied knowledge of the plan, but a slide from a presentation given by the consultant read, "Consolidation has come highly recommended by the Secretary of State and is already being adopted by several counties and is being seriously considered and being worked on by many more.

[84][60][83][85] An investigative journalism group run by Greg Palast found that, of the approximately 534,000 Georgians whose voter registrations were purged between 2016 and 2017, more than 334,000 still lived where they were registered.

[87] Kemp's office denied any wrongdoing, saying that by "regularly updating our rolls, we prevent fraud and ensure that all votes are cast by eligible Georgia voters.

[89] The sequestration of machines disproportionately affected counties that favored Kemp's opponent[90] and caused voters in some locations to have to wait in line for hours in inclement weather.

"[96] In a separate 2018 recording made by a progressive group he said, "Democrats are working hard ... registering all these minority voters that are out there and others that are sitting on the sidelines.

"[105] On December 4, 2018, U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings, the incoming chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, announced that he would like to call Kemp before Congress to testify about the fairness of his actions during the 2018 elections.

[109] On March 6, 2019, it was revealed that both Kemp and his successor as secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, were under investigation by the House Oversight and Reform Committee for alleged voter suppression in the 2018 elections.

During the general election campaign, Kemp provoked controversy with multiple ads, including one in which he posed with rifles and a shotgun that he jokingly pointed at a teenager who "wanted to date his daughter",[111] and one in which he said his truck was for "rounding up criminal illegals".

Senator David Perdue, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump after Kemp refused to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.

Kemp appointed Carla Wong McMillian to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court of Georgia caused by the retirement of Robert Benham.

[146] As he issued the order, Kemp said he had become aware the coronavirus could be spread by asymptomatic people only that day, despite warnings from health officials made months earlier.

[144][147] At the end of April, Kemp lifted the stay-at-home order over the opposition of mayors[145] and against the advice of public health experts and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

[165] The same month, attorney Lin Wood, acting separately from the Trump campaign, called for both Kemp's and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger's imprisonment.

In response Kemp asked Trump on social media to cease "engaging in petty personal insults" and to "leave my family out of it".

[185] In October 2018, Atlanta television station WAGA-TV reported that companies Kemp owned had owed more than $800,000 in loans to a community bank where he is a founding board member and stockholder.