The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has announced on Friday a lawsuit against the state of Georgia over the state’s passage of the Election Integrity Act of 2021, which the DOJ asserts is “racially motivated.” The DOJ also vowed to prosecute any threats or intimidation of election officials.
“Our complaint alleges that recent changes to Georgia’s election laws were enacted with the purpose of denying or abridging the right of black Georgians to vote on account of their race or color, in violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a Friday speech.
According to some analysts, the DOJ is concerned that as people become aware of the scale of election fraud allegedly perpetrated upon the nation during the last presidential election, more states will begin enacting laws that will “make it easier to vote and harder to cheat.”
Strong laws that require voter ID, restrict vote-by-mail, and prohibit unsolicited absentee ballots sent by non-governmental organizations, are called “racist” or “voter suppression” by many on the left.
The lawsuit challenges the following provisions of Georgia’s new voting law:
• A provision banning government entities from distributing unsolicited absentee ballot applications.
• The imposition of costly and onerous fines on civic organizations, churches and advocacy groups that distribute follow-up absentee ballot applications.
• The shortening of the deadline to request absentee ballots to 11 days before Election Day.
• The requirement that voters who do not have identification issued by the Georgia Department of Driver Services photocopy another form of identification in order to request an absentee ballot without allowing for use of the last four digits of a social security number for such applications.
• Significant limitations on counties’ use of absentee ballot drop boxes.
• The prohibition on efforts by churches and civic groups to provide food or water to persons waiting in long lines to vote [the move is intended to give voters privacy before entering a voting booth. Polling places can still provide water to voters in line.].
• The prohibition on counting out-of-precinct provisional ballots cast before 5 p.m. on Election Day.
The next section of the lawsuit indicates that the DOJ is employing the FBI to investigate and prosecute “threats to election officials.” The FBI will also establish an intra-departmental task force to address “the rising threats.”
Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco issued a memo that directs the FBI to investigate claims of “improper influence, physical threats, or any other conducted designed to intimidate” election workers. DOJ says it will “vigorously prosecute” and send an “unmistakable message that such conduct will not be tolerated.”
The DOJ action appears to have been informed, if not influenced, by media reports about election officials resigning across several states due to what the media said was a campaign of intimidation and pressure by Republicans.
The Atlanta Journal Constitution’s Greg Buesting tweeted: “Garland credits media coverage of the death threats targeting elections workers for compelling him to prioritize the cases. He didn’t say it specifically, but he’s referring to the terrific @Reuters report documenting threats in Georgia & beyond.”
The mainstream media coverage, following the lead of President Biden and his administration, pushes the narrative of a “white supremacist” threat, implying that any complaints on election workers being allegedly engaged in fraudulent activity would be viewed as a “threat or intimidation” from “extremists.” Questioning election results may get one in trouble with the law. It is reported that “nearly every charging document filed by Joe Biden’s Justice Department in the Capitol breach probe mentions the defendant’s belief about the 2020 presidential election as evidence of wrongdoing.”
Georgia Republicans condemned the federal lawsuit.
“This lawsuit is born out of the lies and misinformation the Biden administration has pushed against Georgia’s Election Integrity Act from the start,” Governor Brian Kemp said. “Joe Biden, Stacey Abrams, and their allies tried to force an unconstitutional election power grab through Congress — and failed. Now, they are weaponizing the U.S. Department of Justice to carry out their far-left agenda that undermines election integrity and empowers federal government overreach in our democracy.”
Georgia House Speaker David Ralston said, “Georgia’s Election Integrity Act makes voting more accessible and secure. We will vigorously defend our system of free and fair elections.”
The lawsuit comes two weeks after AG Garland announced the DOJ would scrutinize a wave of new laws in Republican-controlled states that tighten voting rules, as well as post-election audits, such as that held in Maricopa County, Arizona. Actually auditing the ballots cast may get you investigated “for violating the federal law” by the DOJ, and possibly sued or prosecuted.
An Atlanta Journal Constitution poll found that nearly three-quarters of Georgia voters support additional verification of voters who cast absentee ballots. About 91 percent of conservatives and 55 percent of liberals back proposals requiring a photo ID or another type of identifying information for absentee voting. This correlates with the attitudes of American voters nationwide. A recent Just the News-Rasmussen poll found a whopping 77 percent of Americans support mandatory voter ID, including 70 percent of Democrats and 72 percent of African-Americans. Digging deeper, Rasmussen found that 82 percent of other non-white minority voters support voter ID as well.
According to the Brennan Center, as of May 2021, legislators have introduced 389 bills with election-safeguarding provisions in 48 states. Twenty-two bills have already been enacted. At least 61 bills in 18 states are moving through legislatures: 31 have passed at least one chamber, while another 30 have had some sort of committee action (e.g., a hearing, an amendment, or a committee vote).
