What you need to know about Georgia’s 53,000 pending voters

As Georgia’s election approaches, more than 53,000 people who tried to sign up to vote haven’t been added to the state’s list of active voters.

These potential voters are in limbo because election officials couldn’t verify information submitted with registration applications.

But they will still be allowed to cast ballots this year if they show photo ID that proves they’re eligible to vote.

The news that these Georgians’ registrations are on hold created a controversy in the race for governor this week, with Democrat Stacey Abrams accusing Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp of trying to suppress votes, and Kemp calling it a “manufactured crisis.” A lawsuit filed Thursday by civil rights groups seeks to add pending voters to the state’s list of registered voters.

Here are some facts about Georgia’s 53,000 pending voters:

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is partnering with the national Electionland project to monitor any prob- lems with this year’s election, from long lines to voter registration issues.

Georgia voters may report obstacles to voting either online or through cellphone apps as part of Electionland, a collaboration of newsrooms around the country working to involve more people in finding election difficulties.

We’re looking for problems including purged voter registrations, malfunctioning voting machines, incorrect ballots, voter intimi- dation and changed voting locations.

Voters will be the key sources of information about challenges to casting a ballot in Georgia, and their tips will result in news articles shining light on these problems.

You can sign up to participate and report tips through your phone or computer:

■ Send a text message with the word “VOTE” or “VOTA” (for Spanish language) to 81380

■ Use Facebook Messen- ger by visiting m.me/electionland.

■ Send a Tweet to @elec- tionland.

■ Use WhatsApp by send- ing the word “VOTE” or “VOTA” (for Spanish language) to 1-850-909-8683.

In-person early voting begins across Georgia on Monday, and Election Day is Nov. 6.