New Georgia voting law faces federal suit
Justice Department alleges intent to deny equal access
The Justice Department is suing Georgia over the state’s new election law, alleging Republican state lawmakers rushed through a sweeping overhaul with an intent to deny Black voters equal access to the ballot.
“Where we believe the civil rights of Americans have been violated, we will not hesitate to act,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said Friday in announcing the lawsuit.
Republican lawmakers in the state pushed back immediately, pledging a forceful defense of Georgia’s law.
The Biden administration’s move comes two weeks after Garland said his department would scrutinize new laws in Republican-controlled states that tighten voting rules. He said the federal government would take action if prosecutors found unlawful activity.
The suit also comes as pressure grows on the Biden administration to respond to Gop-backed laws being pushed in the states this year. A Democratic effort to overhaul election laws was blocked this week by Republican senators.
As of mid-may, 22 restrictive laws had passed in at least 14 states, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, which researches voting and supports expanded access. Justice Department officials hinted that prosecutors were looking at other voting laws across the United States.
The increased enforcement of voting rights laws also signals that President Joe Biden and Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke are making good on a promise to refocus the department around civil rights. Clarke was one of the nation’s leading civil rights attorneys before her nomination to lead the department’s civil rights division.
Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, said he would contest the suit. Raffensperger largely supported the new law and faces a primary challenge from a congressman backed by former President Donald Trump.
“The Biden Administration has been spreading lies about Georgia’s election law for months,” Raffensperger said in a statement. “It is no surprise that they would operationalize their lies with the full force of the federal government. I look forward to meeting them, and beating them, in court.”
Gov. Brian Kemp, RGA., called the Justice Department’s lawsuit “legally and constitutionally dead wrong ” and said the accusations made by prosecutors were baseless and “quite honestly, disgusting.”
While much of the more controversial aspects of Georgia’s new voting law were dropped before it was passed, it is notable in its scope and for newly expansive powers granted to the state over local election offices.