Peach Tree Times

U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee recently rejected an attempt to invalidate sections of new Georgia voting law SB 202, which marks the first time that a court has officially upheld Georgia’s comprehensive changes to promote election integrity, reported The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Boulee wrote in his order that he wouldn’t “change the law in the ninth inning,” as there are ongoing runoffs for the state House, The AJC reported.

The AJC said the lawsuit was brought by the Coalition for Good Governance, which objected to new requirements that voters request absentee ballots at least 11 days before election day – limiting the time available to vote by mail in the runoffs. The group also asked the court to prevent restrictions on election observation.

The group's lawsuit differs from the U.S. Department of Justice lawsuit announced June 25 by Attorney General Merrick Garland. The DOJ suit opposes voter ID requirements, ballot drop box limits, provisional ballot rejections and a ban on volunteers handing out food and water to voters waiting in line, according to The AJC.

According to a breakdown of the bill’s provisions from Townhall, GA SB202 protects absentee voting with a voter ID requirement, mandating requests for absentee ballots, utilizing security paper for absentee ballots, securing drop boxes, prohibiting private funding of the election process, updating voter rolls, allowing ballot observers to have greater access to the election process, and mandating that ballot tabulation occur all at once instead of in segments.

The Heritage Foundation recently responded to the four main criticisms of SB 202, namely that it suppresses votes generally, suppresses the African American vote specifically, uses voter ID to suppress votes, and bans voters from accessing water in line. 

Jason Snead, executive director of the Honest Elections Project, responds to the first claim by stating, “Overall, the Georgia law is pretty much in the mainstream and is not regressive or restrictive. The availability of absentee ballots and early voting is a lot more progressive than what’s in the blue states.” In response to the second claim, Heritage clarifies that SB 202 makes no distinctions based on race in any way, shape or form. Responding to the third claim, Georgia’s ballot ID claim allows for many forms of ID, including driver’s license, any state-issued ID, or one’s social security number. Finally, voters are allowed to bring water and drink from water fountains, but politically biased solicitors cannot exchange gifts with voters within 150 feet of a voting building.

“This is just another in the line of frivolous lawsuits against Georgia’s election law based on misinformation and lies," Georgia Secretary of State's office said.

"We will continue to meet them and beat them in court."

The Supreme Court’s decision in Brnovich v DNC to uphold a similar election integrity law in Arizona makes it doubtful that the DOJ’s lawsuit against Georgia will be successful, given that the highest legislative authority in the nation disagrees with their premises.