The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit will determine whether to continue blocking provisions of Georgia’s 2021 election law overhaul that civil rights groups say discriminates against Black and disabled voters.
The Georgia Republican Party and national GOP political committees are backing state officials in their request that the appellate court overturn the Aug. 18 decision of District Judge J.P. Boulee, who granted preliminary injunctions on voting rules connected to the controversial Republican-backed Senate Bill 202 that passed in the wake of the 2020 presidential election.
The attorney general’s office filed an appeal with the Atlanta-based circuit court on Sept 18.
Boulee’s temporary order makes it legal, for now, for food and water to be given out to voters as long as they are not within 150 feet of a polling place. Additionally, it rejects SB 202’s requirement that an absentee ballot with an incorrect birth date on the outer envelope is automatically rejected by the county clerk.
Boulee, however, declined the plaintiffs’ request to suspend provisions limiting absentee drop boxes access and who can assist voters with returning mail-in ballots.
The state is appealing Boulee’s injunction on the two rules that as of now would be in place for the 2024 election.
A day-long evidentiary hearing in Boulee’s courtroom was held on Friday between attorneys for plaintiffs and defendants.
Special Assistant Attorney General Gene Schaerr said that the plaintiffs are trying to rehash old arguments that Republican lawmakers were discriminatory when they passed a bill that they argue better regulates how elections operate statewide.
“Granting this motion this close to election would create some confusion and doubt that SB 202 was trying to resolve,” Schaerr said in court. “The only way you can grant any relief on this motion is for the court to find that the majority in the General Assembly is racist.”
This lawsuit is the consolidation of several…
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