WASHINGTON (AP/WSAV) — 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.
"Let me be clear. The DoJ lawsuit announced today is legally and constitutionally dead wrong," said Gov. Brian Kemp in Savannah. "Their thoughts and baseless accusations are quite honestly disgusting. But I can’t say that I’m surprised."
“SB 202 ensures Georgia elections are secure, accessible and fair," he added.
Other state officials are weighing in on the announcement:
The Biden Administration continues to do the bidding of Stacey Abrams and spreads more lies about Georgia’s election law. Their lies already cost Georgia $100 million and got the President awarded with four Pinocchios. 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.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R)
Brian Kemp and Georgia Republicans’ discriminatory anti-voting law violates Georgians’ civil rights, plain and simple. It makes it harder for all Georgians to vote, and disproportionately harder for people of color and low-income voters to cast a ballot. On behalf of all Georgia voters, we commend the Department of Justice for pursuing legal recourse to correct these injustices and fight back against egregious attempts to suppress voters in Georgia.
The department did not arrive at this decision lightly — asserting that SB202 violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, erects unjust barriers to the ballot box, and targets voters of color in the process. From restricting voters’ ability to access absentee ballots to banning the distribution of food and water on hours-long lines, several sections of SB 202 were designed with discriminatory intent and passed with reckless disregard for the rights of minority voters. Governor Kemp and Georgia Republicans knew this, but still hastily passed this bill into law, all with the support of Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.
Georgia Democrats will be watching this litigation closely, and remain committed to defending the right to vote. We will not rest until all Georgia voters can make their voices heard in our democracy.
Rep. Nikema Williams (D-Ga.), chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia
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.
The increased enforcement of voting rights laws also signals that Biden and Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke — who was one of the nation’s leading civil rights attorneys before her nomination to lead the department's civil rights division — are making good on a promise to refocus the department around civil rights after a tumultuous four years during the Trump administration.
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.
Under the bill, the GOP-dominated legislature gave itself greater influence over a state board that regulates elections and empowered that board to remove local election officials deemed to be underperforming.
That has raised concerns that the state board could intervene in the operations of Democratic-run county election offices in metro Atlanta, the state’s Democratic power center.
The bill also adds a voter ID requirement for mail ballots and will result in fewer ballot drop boxes in metro Atlanta.
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