Friend,
Burdensome. Unjustified. Unnecessary. The new restrictions that
Georgia placed on its voters this week are an outrage - so
we're suing to overturn them.
You may have already heard about the sweeping new law in Georgia, SB
202, which was passed by the state Legislature and signed by Gov.
Brian Kemp in under seven hours last Thursday. Its restrictions make
it much harder for all Georgians to vote, particularly voters of
color, new citizens and religious communities.
The 2020 presidential election and the 2021 Senate runoff elections in
Georgia - which saw record voter turnout, especially among Black
voters - have been celebrated for their integrity. Georgia
election officials have praised these elections as safe and secure.
But now, rather than capitalizing on those successes and working to
expand participation in the political process, Georgia leaders are
citing baseless allegations of voter fraud and moving to restrict
access to the ballot.
This is far from the first time in Georgia's history that
lawmakers have acted to limit voter participation, particularly for
voters of color and other historically disenfranchised communities.
This time, the state will have to answer in court.
The details: We filed a federal lawsuit in partnership with the
American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Georgia, the NAACP Legal
Defense and Educational Fund, Inc., and law firms WilmerHale and Davis
Wright Tremaine, on behalf of the Sixth District of the African
Methodist Episcopal Church, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Georgia
Muslim Voter Project, Women Watch Afrika and Latino Community
Fund of Georgia.
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Why? Our lawsuit, Sixth District of the African Methodist Episcopal
Church v. Kemp, challenges multiple provisions of S.B. 202 that
violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and infringe on
Georgians' rights under the 14th and 15th Amendments, including:
* a severe restriction on the use of mobile voting units;
* new, burdensome identification requirements for requesting and
casting absentee ballots;
* a delayed and compressed period for requesting absentee ballots;
* restrictions on secure ballot drop boxes;
* the disqualification of provisional ballots cast outside a
voter's home precinct;
* a drastic reduction in early voting in runoff elections; and
* a ban on "line warming," where volunteers provide
water and snacks to Georgians, disproportionately those of
color, who wait in needlessly long lines to cast their vote.
(Our lawsuit charges that this ban on the free distribution of
food and water also violates the First Amendment.)
Learn more: You can read the full complaint here or the press release
announcing the filing here.
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You can also make a donation to support our work for equity, justice
and liberation for all by clicking here.
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In solidarity,
The Southern Poverty Law Center
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