The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mass-mailing of absentee forms at issue
Groups have sued, saying mailing restrictions are illegal.
The first trial over Georgia’s 2021 election law began Monday in federal court with a case about restrictions on mass-mailing absentee ballot request forms to voters.
The courts will decide the legality of the contentious voting law, passed in the wake of Republican Don- ald Trump’s loss to Democrat Joe Biden amid conservatives’ complaints about election rules.
The weeklong trial focuses on a part of the law that curtails nonprofit organi- zations from repeatedly send- ing absentee ballot applica- tion forms to voters, as they did ahead of the 2020 elec- tion during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A broader case contesting the law still is pending and won’t go to trial anytime soon. That case includes the law’s limits on drop boxes, regula- tions on absentee voting and a ban on handing out food and water to waiting voters.
The plaintiffs in this week’s trial, two organizations that mailed a total of 9.6 million absentee ballot applications to Georgia voters in 2020, said the law limits free speech rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution. About 550,000 voters responded to the mail- ings and received absentee ballots, the plaintiffs said.
But the state contends that the law was needed to address confusion among voters who repeatedly received applications after they already had returned their ballots, along with vot- ers who told legislators that they thought the applications were actual ballots.
“There’s really no dispute that speaking about elec- tions and absentee voting is a form of political speech that is protected,” Valencia Richardson, an attorney for the plaintiffs, said during her opening statement. “... The restrictions don’t serve elec- tion integrity and don’t curb voter confusion.”
Under the law, Senate Bill 202, groups are allowed to send absentee ballot applications only to Georgians who haven’t already requested a ballot or voted. They face a $100 fine for each duplicate absentee ballot application that’s processed by county election offices.
The mass mailings pro- moted absentee voting in 2020 with forms that partially were filled out to include vot- ers’ names and addresses. About 25% of Georgia’s 5 mil- lion voters in the 2020 pres- idential election returned absentee ballots.
“Voters worried about fraud after receiving absen- tee applications in the mail from the plaintiffs,” Gene Schaerr, an attorney for Sec- retary of State Brad Raffen- sperger, said in his opening statement. “Voters were con- fused when they received multiple absentee applications that they thought were themselves absentee ballots.”
U.S. District Judge J.P. Bou- lee, who was appointed by Trump, previously ruled against an attempt by the plaintiffs to stop the law. Boulee denied a motion for an injunction in 2022, but a trial will give the judge a more comprehensive review of the facts.
The plaintiffs are the Voter Participation Center and the Center for Voter Information, which has substantially reduced its direct mail absentee ballot application program in Georgia because of the voting law. Tom Lopach, the president and CEO of the two organizations, testified that sending absentee applications is a way of speaking directly to voters and encouraging them to participate in the democratic process.
“We are saying to the recipients: ‘We are speaking to you. This form is for you,’” Lopach said.
Several Republican organizations intervened in the case in support of Georgia’s election law, including the Republican National Committee and the Georgia Republican Party.
An attorney for the Republican defendants questioned whether the act of sending absentee applications amounts to protected free speech. “Are they expressing a message, or are they encouraging conduct?” Conor Woodfin asked in his opening statement.
This is the third trial over Georgia election laws heard in federal court this year.
Georgia’s citizenship verification requirements for new Americans were upheld last week. And there no has been no ruling after a 17-day trial in January in a case focusing on the security of Georgia’s voting system.