US courts rule against Georgia on voter suppression cases

WASHINGTON: Two federal courts on Friday issued rulings that order Georgia to allow some 3,000 naturalized U.S. citizens to vote in elections next week and prevent the state from throwing out some absentee ballots. The rulings are a rebuke to Secretary of State Brian Kemp, whose office oversees the voter rolls and who is the Republican candidate in the state’s hotly contested guberNatorial race.

The issue of voter suppression has been central to the governor’s race in Georgia, where Kemp is facing Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams, who is seeking to become the country’s first female, black governor. The rulings are a rebuke to Secretary of State Brian Kemp, whose office oversees the voter rolls and who is the Republican candidate in the state’s hotly contested guberNatorial race.

The issue of voter suppression has been central to the governor’s race in Georgia, where Kemp is facing Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams, who is seeking to become the country’s first female, black governor.

The rulings are a rebuke to Secretary of State Brian Kemp, whose office oversees the voter rolls and who is the Republican candidate in the state’s hotly contested guberNatorial race. The issue of voter suppression has been central to the governor’s race in Georgia, where Kemp is facing Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams, who is seeking to become the country’s first female, black governor.

Civil rights groups celebrated the ruling on naturalized citizens as a major victory.

“With respect to Tuesday’s election, we deem this a total victory in our fight against Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s exact-match scheme,” said Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. The ruling on absentee ballots stems from a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union and others against Kemp and county registrars. A District Court judge granted the temporary restraining order last week, prompting the state to appeal the decision. “Once again, a court has blocked Georgia’s attempt to obstruct voters,” said Sophia Lakin, staff attorney with the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project. “This ruling is a huge victory as we round the final turn to the midterms.”