A federal judge has ruled against an organization founded by Stacey Abrams, the Democratic gubernatorial candidate for Georgia, saying the state’s electoral practices do not violate constitutional rights.
US District Judge Steve Jones’ decision marks the end of a four-year legal battle.
“Although Georgia’s electoral system is not perfect, the practices attacked do not violate either the constitution or the [Voting Rights Act] VRA,” Jones wrote.
“After the court held a trial without a jury and considered the evidence and arguments of the parties, the court shall rule in favor of the defendants and against the plaintiffs on the foregoing grounds.”
Fair Fight Georgia, which Abrams founded shortly after her narrow loss to Gov. Brian Kemp (R) in the state’s 2018 gubernatorial campaign, filed the lawsuit to ask the judge to make changes to the state’s electoral system, arguing that it was affecting turnout suppressed.
Abrams accused Kemp, who was then Secretary of State, of “mismanagement” of the election. She also criticized the “Exact Match” law, which states that voter registration forms will be marked as pending if the information does not exactly match information on file with the Department of Driver Services or the Social Security Administration.
The plaintiffs argued that the Georgian electoral system violated the 14th Amendment right to vote, a 15th Amendment prohibition on racial discrimination in voting, equal protections and due process under the 14th Amendment law and voting violating the Rights Act 1965.
The group argued that the state election commission and the Georgia Secretary of State had inadequately trained county election officials on ballot cancellation procedures. They also alleged that the Secretary of State mismanaged the voter registration database.
Abrams’ organization filed the lawsuit with Care in Action, a nonprofit organization that advocates for domestic workers, and was supported by several churches.
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The complaint was amended in December 2020 to appoint Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in his official capacity as the state’s chief election official.
The Associated Press reported that Abrams said she was disappointed with the decision, but added that going ahead with the trial represented a “hard-fought victory” for voters who waited in long lines and faced “onerous birth date requirements and precise gaming laws that are disproportionate.” were high,” experienced impacts on black and brown voters.”
Kemp said Abrams’ efforts are “a tool used by a politician hoping to unfairly arm the legal system to further her own political ends,” according to the AP.