December 17, 2020 10:38 a.m.
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Georgia does not have to restore nearly 200,000 voters to the rolls for the runoff, though he admitted that there may be “discrepancies” in records used to show that those voters had moved out of the state.
Advocacy groups including the Black Voters Matter Fund brought the lawsuit against Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in early December.
Judge Steve Jones of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, an Obama appointee, found that the advocacy groups both lacked the standing necessary to sue, and that they failed to prove that the rolls were purged with a discriminatory aim.
Last week we told you about a lawsuit to reinstate over 200k Georgia voters before the January 5th run-off, which had been purged from the voter rolls in 2019. And that the judge, and Obama pick, would decide on the case soon. Well now we have his decision:
11ALIVE – A federal judge on Wednesday denied a lawsuit seeking to restore 200,000 people to Georgia’s voter rolls ahead of the Jan. 5 Senate runoffs, though he acknowledged “there may be discrepancies” in the records relied on to cancel those registrations in December 2019.
The suit had been brought by a coalition of groups that advocate on behalf of voters of color, including Black Voters Matter Fund and the Rainbow Push Coalition.
Judge Rejects Effort to Restore 200,000 Georgia Voters Before Runoff
A federal judge on Dec. 16 rejected an effort to restore nearly 200,000 names to Georgia voter rolls before next month’s U.S. Senate runoff elections.
“Plaintiffs have shown that Georgia’s list maintenance process may not be accurate in identifying voters who have actually moved. But they have not shown, or even alleged, that the process is applied differently to any class of voters,” Judge Steve Jones of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia wrote in his ruling.
“Here, there is no evidence at this stage that the list maintenance process is not uniformly applied.”
Ga. Judge Won t Register Purged Voters For Senate Runoffs By By
Rosie Manins Law360 (December 16, 2020, 5:12 PM EST) A Georgia federal judge on Wednesday said he will not restore the eligibility of almost 200,000 voters purged from the rolls in 2019 so they can vote in the Jan. 5 runoff elections for the state s two U.S. Senate seats.
U.S. District Judge Steve C. Jones said four multi-state voter advocacy groups that
made the request have not proven a likelihood of success on their claims necessary for a preliminary injunction, while also raising issues with their standing and failure to provide defendant Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger with a statutorily required notice.
Judge denies lawsuit s request to have 200,000 people restored to Georgia voter rolls before runoff
Groups argued the voters removed from the rolls a year ago had their registrations canceled in part on the basis of inaccurate records. Author: Jonathan Raymond (11Alive) Updated: 5:34 PM EST December 16, 2020
ATLANTA A federal judge on Wednesday denied a lawsuit seeking to restore 200,000 people to Georgia s voter rolls ahead of the Jan. 5 Senate runoffs, though he acknowledged there may be discrepancies in the records relied on to cancel those registrations in December 2019.
Judge Steve C. Jones of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia wrote in his decision that he strongly encourages the Parties to meet and determine the explanation, if any, for the alleged inaccuracies.