(The Center Square) – A legal challenge to Georgia’s authority to take over county election boards has been rejected by a federal appeals court.
The Coalition for Good Governance and other plaintiffs lack the standing to sue after failing to prove they were harmed by the provisions in the state’s 2021 election law, a panel of 11th Circuit judges unanimously ruled.
The plaintiffs had argued that allowing the state to take over county election management, banning photography at polling places and other parts of the law violate the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act.
“Thanks to the Georgia Election Integrity Act, our state remains the best, most secure state for voting. This ruling is another win in our battle to protect the integrity of our elections,” Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, said in a news release. “Rest assured, we will stand firm no matter what group tries to interfere.”
The law, passed by the Republican-led legislature after the state elected Democrats in the 2020 presidential and U.S. Senate races, overhauled the way Georgia conducts elections. It requires voters to produce identification and to request absentee ballots at least 11 days before an election, and it caps the amount of ballot drop boxes that can be used per county, among other rules.
The law received a wave of criticism and legal challenges from Democrats and voting rights groups. The League of Women Voters sued in 2021, saying it deliberately targets voters of color and gives the majority party too much control over elections.
The NAACP Georgia State Conference also sued, saying the law “restricts voting at every stage.” The group’s lawsuit took issue with provisions around early in-person voting, absentee ballots, ballot drop boxes and stricter ID requirements, among other things. Other federal lawsuits remain pending.
Supporters include Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican who signed the law, saying it expands voting access, streamlines vote-counting procedures and ensures election integrity.
