Washington (CNN) Former President Jimmy Carter, a Georgia native, wrote a letter to GOP gubernatorial nominee Brian Kemp asking him to step down as secretary of state and hand off oversight of the state's elections to someone else since he is currently running for governor of the state.

"In Georgia's upcoming gubernatorial election, popular confidence is threatened not only by the undeniable racial discrimination of the past and the serious questions that the federal courts have raised about the security of Georgia's voting machines, but also because you are now overseeing the election in which you are a candidate," Carter wrote in a letter to Kemp dated October 22.

His letter to Kemp came as the Republican has received sweeping criticism for his oversight of the elections this year and faces accusations of suppressing the minority vote. Kemp's Democratic opponent, Stacey Abrams, has likewise called for him to resign ahead of the election this November.

Carter added, "In order to foster voter confidence in the upcoming election, which will be especially important if the race ends up very close, I urge you to step aside and hand over to a neutral authority the responsibility of overseeing the governor's election."

Carter is a former Democratic governor of Georgia and, as he noted in his letter, has observed elections around the world since the end of his presidency.

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