A federal judge has stopped Republicans in Georgia from illegally rejecting mail-in ballots under the state’s exact match law.
The federal judge ruled that GOP gubernatorial candidate and Secretary of State Brian Kemp must notify voters of problems with their ballots and giving them the opportunity to verify their eligibility to vote. Kemp had been not counting mail-in ballots and not notifying voters of problems with the ballot or giving the opportunity to verify that they are eligible to vote.
Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the national Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. said in a statement to PoliticusUSA, “The court’s order helps ensure that thousands of voters who stood the risk of being disenfranchised this election cycle will have their voices heard. This important ruling helps send a strong message to election officials across Georgia that they will be held accountable for undertaking action that impairs the rights of voters. Our evidence showed that, particularly in Gwinnett County, the mass rejection of absentee ballots was a scheme that disproportionately impacted African American and other minority voters. As we near Election Day, we remain vigilant and stand prepared to challenge other 11th hour attempts to disenfranchise voters.â€
The court has issued an injunction and ruled that voters must be notified and given a remedy process that will allow them to verify their eligibility to vote.
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Kemp had been caught on a secret recording worrying about the number of minorities who had been organized by the Stacey Abrams campaign to vote by mail-in ballot. Republicans had been disqualifying votes from counties where minority Democratic voters reside. The ruling is a big win Democrats and voting rights, as tens of thousands of voters that Republicans tried to get disqualified will be counted.
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Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
