Justice Department instructed to dismiss legal challenge to Georgia election law

ATLANTA (AP) — U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi connected Monday instructed the Justice Department to disregard a suit challenging a sweeping predetermination overhaul that Georgia Republican lawmakers passed successful the aftermath of President Donald Trump's 2020 predetermination nonaccomplishment successful the state.

The lawsuit, filed successful June 2021 nether erstwhile President Joe Biden, alleged that the Georgia instrumentality was intended to contradict Black voters adjacent entree to the ballot. Bondi said the Biden medication was pushing “false claims of suppression.”

“Georgians merit unafraid elections, not fabricated claims of mendacious elector suppression meant to disagreement us,” she said.

The instrumentality was portion of a inclination of Republican-backed measures that tightened rules astir voting, passed successful the months aft Trump mislaid his reelection bid to Biden, claiming without grounds that elector fraud outgo him victory. The fallout was swift aft Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed the instrumentality successful March 2021, with the CEOs of Atlanta-based Delta Air Lines and Coca-Cola voicing disapproval and Major League Baseball's commissioner deciding to determination that year's All-Star Game from Atlanta's Truist Park.

Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, some Republicans who drew Trump's ire erstwhile they refused to assistance overturn his 2020 predetermination nonaccomplishment successful Georgia, powerfully denounced the Justice Department suit erstwhile it was filed. Raffensperger connected Monday called Bondi's announcement “a important triumph for Georgia voters.”

“Our committedness has ever been to guarantee just and unafraid elections for each Georgian, contempt losing an All-Star crippled and the left’s boycott of Georgia arsenic a effect of commonsense predetermination law,” Raffensperger said successful a statement.

Kemp besides welcomed Bondi's announcement. He accused Democrats and others of spreading “lies and misinformation” and said, “Georgia is 1 of the apical states successful the state for aboriginal voting and experienced grounds elector turnout successful aggregate elections since the transition of the Elections Integrity Act.”

Fair Fight Action, a voting rights advocacy enactment started by erstwhile Democratic campaigner for Georgia politician Stacey Abrams, slammed the plans to disregard the lawsuit, saying the instrumentality has made it “harder — not easier — for galore Georgians to vote.”

“Dismissing this lawsuit doesn’t alteration the truth, it conscionable proves Trump’s DOJ volition not enactment to support Americans’ state to vote,” Fair Fight CEO Lauren Groh-Wargo said successful a statement.

Known arsenic SB 202, the instrumentality added a elector ID request for message ballots, shortened the clip play for requesting a mailed ballot and resulted successful less ballot driblet boxes disposable successful populous metro Atlanta counties that thin Democratic and person a important Black population. The instrumentality besides banned the organisation of nutrient and h2o by assorted groups and organizations to voters lasting successful enactment to formed a ballot.

In announcing the dismissal of the lawsuit, Bondi said Black elector turnout successful Georgia “actually increased” aft the instrumentality was passed. A December investigation by the Brennan Center for Justice recovered that portion the fig of ballots formed by Black voters accrued from 2020 to 2024, Black turnout really declined by 0.6% due to the fact that the summation successful the fig of ballots formed by Black voters did not support up with colonisation increases.

“Understanding whether, oregon to what extent, these declines are owed to restrictive voting policies specified arsenic Georgia’s S.B. 202, justifiable feelings that the authorities is not moving for them, oregon myriad different factors volition beryllium of awesome importance,” the investigation says.

In summation to the Justice Department lawsuit, astir a half-dozen different suits were filed by civilian rights and predetermination integrity groups raising claims based connected the U.S. Constitution and the national Voting Rights Act, which prohibits favoritism successful voting.