The End of Democracy: a State-by-State Voting Rights Trial in Georgia by a High-Tensor Judge

A federal judge ruled against a voting rights group founded by Georgia Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams Friday in a challenge to the state’s voting laws.

The ruling by the Court today is a loss for the voting rights community across the country. Fair Fight Action and our allies continue to work hard to support Georgia voters and mitigate obstacles they face to make their voices heard at the ballot box.

Fair Fight filed the lawsuit just after the 2018 gubernatorial election and the case went to trial earlier this year. This was the longest voting rights trial on the Eleventh Circuit according to Fair Fight.

“Stacey Abrams and her organization lost in court – on all counts. From day one, Abrams has used this lawsuit to line her pockets, sow distrust in our democratic institutions, and build her own celebrity,” Kemp said in a statement.

“As governor, I will expand the right to vote. I will defend minority voters, not bemoan their increased power or grow ‘frustrated’ by their success. The case shows how the election in 2022, can be seen as a referendum on how we treat our most marginalized voices.

In Georgia, President Joe Biden narrowly won the 2020 presidential election. Biden won the state by a mere 12,000 votes.

Georgia will vote in a battle for the US Senate. The outcome of the Senate race between Raphael and Herschel will determine which party controls the chamber next year.

Source: https://www.cnn.com/2022/10/01/politics/georgia-voting-rights-ruling-abrams-kemp/index.html

The Arizona Tortuous Case Against Right-Wing Campaigners for Prohibiting Video-Like Voting in the Light of the First Amendment

“Stolen election and voter suppression claims by Stacey Abrams were nothing but poll-tested rhetoric not supported by facts and evidence,” Raffensperger said in a statement.

The Justice Department on Monday waded into a closely watched election lawsuit in Arizona where several civic groups have accused right-wing activists of intimidating voters at ballot drop boxes.

The allegations “raise serious concerns of voter intimidation,” the Justice Department wrote, adding that “vigilante ballot security efforts” and “private campaigns to video record voters” likely violate the federal Voting Rights Act.

In a related case brought by separate groups, a federal judge declined to issue a court order prohibiting the right-wing activists from gathering near drop boxes or photographing voters near drop boxes. District Judge Michael Liburdi, who is overseeing both cases, said there were legitimate concerns about the conduct but there wasn’t enough evidence at this stage to restrict anyone’s First Amendment rights.

The League of Women Voters is trying to get a court order to ban the carrying of weapons near the drop boxes. A hearing is slated for Tuesday.

Representatives from the right-wing groups involved in the case – Yavapai County Preparedness Team, Clean Elections USA and Lions of Liberty – did not comment for CNN’s previous coverage of the lawsuit. An attorney for Clean Elections pushed back against the allegations brought in the earlier case at a hearing last week, and their website says their goal is to ensure that “every legal vote must be counted” and to make sure no “illegal votes are added to the mix.”

The Department of Justice stated that the photographer’s right to take a picture of a voter’s license plate does not make them protected from disapproving of drop-box voting.

The Justice Department further bolstered the civic groups’ arguments by saying in its filing Monday that the First Amendment’s right to assembly doesn’t allow people to assemble for the purpose of coercing voters.

Attorney General Garland stated last week that the Justice Department would not allow voters to be intimidated.