Democracy Alerts – Federal judge declines to block two provisions of Georgia’s voter suppression law SB 202

WASHINGTON, D.C — On Friday, August 18, a federal judge declined to temporarily block two provisions of Georgia’s omnibus voter suppression bill, Senate Bill 202.

One provision, the “ballot return provision,” makes it a felony for anyone other than a family member, household member or caregiver to return a mail-in ballot for another person. The second provision, the “Drop Box Provision,” significantly limits the availability of drop boxes in the state by requiring that drop boxes be located indoors (rather than outdoors) and only be used during early voting hours.

A group of plaintiffs in the consolidated lawsuit challenging SB 202 argued that these provisions violated the Americans With Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act by denying voters with disabilities equal access to absentee voting. The plaintiffs asked the court to block these provisions for the upcoming 2024 elections, but the judge refused.

In declining to temporarily block the voting and drop box provisions, the judge acknowledged “the challenges that people with disabilities must overcome to exercise their right to vote” but concluded that the availability of alternative voting methods “is a strong counterargument.” represents”. Plaintiffs’ argument that voters with disabilities in Georgia were denied meaningful access to absentee voting. Therefore, the judge ruled that the plaintiffs had not demonstrated a likelihood of success with their claims challenging SB 202’s restrictions on absentee ballot returns and drop boxes.

These restrictions — along with the other restrictive provisions of SB 202 — are still the subject of critical litigation. Also on Friday, Georgia voters were granted some relief when two different key provisions of SB 202 — part of the line-warming ban and the birthdate match requirement — were temporarily blocked.

Read the order here.

Find out more about the case here.

Learn more about the recently blocked provisions of SB 202 here.