OAKLAND – California Attorney General Rob Bonta joined a coalition of 22 attorneys general in an amicus letter today in support of U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit against Georgia’s Senate Bill 202 (SB 202). Fueled by election misinformation, SB 202 – also known as Jim Crow 2.0 – threatens to have a disproportionate impact on the ability of black voters to vote in Georgia in violation of the 1965 Suffrage Act. Georgia, the coalition urges the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia to fully review the demand made by the federal government and to reject the partisan attempt by Georgia to reject the case without any factual development.
“Make no mistake: the voting rights in this country are attacked in a coordinated way,” said Attorney General Bonta. “We cannot afford to go back to an era when government officials are licensed to prevent black Americans from making their voices heard. The right to vote is an integral part of our personality and the basis of our democratic institutions. We must reject these partisan attacks on our fellow Americans. We ask the court to let the federal government bring their case to the table. “
Following the November 2020 election and the January 2021 runoff election, Georgia issued SB 202 on the premise of promoting “uniformity” in state electoral laws in its counties in order to increase “voter confidence.” In its complaint, the US Department of Justice alleges that SB 202 was instead issued with the discriminatory purpose of denying or restricting black Georgians access to the political process. The 98-page bill supposedly does this by targeting voting methods that have historically been predominantly used by colored voters. SB 202 introduces new identification requirements for postal votes; restricts the use of mailboxes for out-of-office messages; Prohibits third parties, including voter organizations, from collecting postal votes; limits early voting; and in particular, it prohibits all non-electoral workers from giving food or drink, including water, to voters in queue.
In the Amicus letter, the coalition claims:
- The properties of SB 202 increase the likelihood of pretexts;
- Contextual and circumstantial evidence are sufficient to assert covert discriminatory intentions; and
- The evolution of the facts will clarify whether SB 202 is an ostensible attempt to restrict the voting rights of Black Georgians.
Attorney General Bonta campaigns for the right to vote here in California and across the country. Earlier this month, Attorney General Bonta urged Congress to take immediate action to protect voting rights nationwide through federal laws that guard against both voter suppression and electoral subversion. In July, he filed an amicus briefing asking the California Supreme Court to maintain and strengthen the protection guaranteed under California’s Voting Act. In June, the Attorney General issued a call to action calling on state decision-makers and criminal justice leaders to oppose voting restrictions that are being considered and enacted by state lawmakers across the country.
In filing the amicus brief, Attorney General Bonta joins the Attorney General of the District of Columbia, New York, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, at, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia and Washington.
You can find a copy of the Amicus briefing here.