Groups threaten federal lawsuit over Georgia's new voter challenge law
Voting rights groups argue that a new Georgia law violates the National Voter Registration Act because it discriminates against people with unstable housing.
The ACLU, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, among others, provided written notice to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in a letter on Wednesday.
Senate Bill 189, which went into effect this month, created guidelines for voter challenges — when one citizen challenges another voter’s registration. The law says if a voter is found to have a nonresidential address, that would be a sufficient reason to sustain the challenge.
“This provision treats some Georgia voters differently based on their lack of access to a residential address,” the letter said.
Specifically, the groups said the law puts a disproportionate burden on unhoused voters, who may have to provide additional information to election officials in order to participate in elections. They said the National Voter Registration Act requires the impact of voter roll maintenance to be uniform.
This week, WABE explored in greater detail the effects of the law on people who are homeless in Atlanta.
The letter also highlighted a separate section of SB 189, which requires that homeless voters change their mailing address to the county registrar’s office. In Fulton County, that office is located at the southern end of the county in Fairburn.
That portion of the law doesn’t go into effect until January 2025 but the groups said it is also discriminatory because it limits homeless voters’ ability to receive election mail and to vote by absentee ballot.
The letter states that the groups may pursue litigation if the state does not resolve the alleged violations to federal law within 20 days.
The Secretary of State’s office declined to comment on the letter.
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