Current:Home > Contact-usA federal judge will hear more evidence on whether to reopen voter registration in Georgia-LoTradeCoin
A federal judge will hear more evidence on whether to reopen voter registration in Georgia
View Date:2024-12-24 10:54:38
ATLANTA (AP) — At least for now, a federal judge won’t order the state of Georgia to reopen voter registration for November’s elections.
U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross ruled after a Wednesday hearing that three voting rights groups haven’t yet done enough to prove that damage and disruptions from Hurricane Helene unfairly deprived people of the opportunity to register last week. Monday was Georgia’s registration deadline. Instead, Ross set another hearing for Thursday to consider more evidence and legal arguments.
State officials and the state Republican Party argue it would be a heavy burden on counties to order them to register additional voters as they prepare for early in-person voting to begin next Tuesday.
The lawsuit was filed by the Georgia conference of the NAACP, the Georgia Coalition for the People’s Agenda and the New Georgia Project. All three groups say they had to cancel voter registration activities last week. Historically, there’s a spike in Georgia voter registrations just before the deadline, the plaintiffs said.
Georgia has 8.2 million registered voters, according to online records from Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office. But with Georgia’s presidential race having been decided by only 12,000 votes in 2020, a few thousand votes could make a difference in whether Republican Donald Trump or Democrat Kamala Harris wins the state’s 16 electoral votes. At least 10 lawsuits related to election issues have been filed in Georgia in recent weeks.
The groups say the storm kept people with driver’s licenses from registering online because of widespread power and internet outages in the eastern half of the state and kept people from registering in person because at least 37 county election offices were closed for parts of last week. The lawsuit also notes that mail pickup and delivery was suspended in 27 counties, including the cities of Augusta, Savannah, Statesboro, Dublin and Vidalia.
A federal judge in Florida denied a request to reopen voter registration in that state after hearing arguments Wednesday. The plaintiffs are considering whether to appeal. The lawsuit brought by the Florida chapters of the League of Women Voters and NAACP contends that thousands of people may have missed the registration deadline because they were recovering from Helene or preparing to evacuate from Milton.
A court in South Carolina extended that state’s registration deadline after Helene, and courts in Georgia and Florida did extend registration deadlines after 2016’s Hurricane Matthew. In North Carolina, which was more heavily impacted by Hurricane Helene, the registration deadline isn’t until Friday. Voters there can also register and cast a ballot simultaneously during the state’s early in-person voting period, which runs from Oct. 17 through Nov. 2.
The Georgia plaintiffs argued that the shutdown of voter registration violates their rights under the First Amendment and 14th Amendment, which guarantee equal protection and due process to all citizens. They also say the shutdown violates a provision of the 1993 National Voter Registration Act that requires states to accept voter registrations submitted or mailed up to 30 days before an election.
At least 40 advocacy groups asked Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and Raffensperger to extend the registration deadline in affected counties before the Georgia lawsuit was filed.
veryGood! (788)
Related
- The Best Gifts for Men – That He Won’t Want to Return
- A tax increase, LGBTQ+ youth protections and more sick leave highlight California’s new laws in 2024
- Chick-fil-A rest stop locations should stay open on Sundays, some New York lawmakers argue
- Huge surf pounds beaches on West Coast and in Hawaii with some low-lying coastal areas flooding
- Mechanic dies after being 'trapped' under Amazon delivery van at Florida-based center
- Ex-gang leader’s own words are strong evidence to deny bail in Tupac Shakur killing, prosecutors say
- Chick-fil-A rest stop locations should stay open on Sundays, some New York lawmakers argue
- 15-year-old surfer dies in South Australia state’s third fatal shark attack since May
- Is Veterans Day a federal holiday? Here's what to know for November 11
- When to take your Christmas tree down, and how to dispose of it
Ranking
- Cruel Intentions' Brooke Lena Johnson Teases the Biggest Differences Between the Show and the 1999 Film
- Bill Maher promotes junk science in opposing lifesaving research tests on animals
- Out of office? Not likely. More than half of Americans worked while on vacation in 2023
- Indiana man who was shot by officer he tried to hit with car gets 16-year sentence
- Up to 20 human skulls found in man's discarded bags, home in New Mexico
- Russell Wilson and Sean Payton were Broncos' forced marriage – and it finally unraveled
- A school reunion for Albert Brooks and Rob Reiner
- This go-to tech gadget is like the Ring camera - but for your cargo bed
Recommendation
-
John Robinson, successful football coach at USC and with the LA Rams, has died at 89
-
Out of office? Not likely. More than half of Americans worked while on vacation in 2023
-
AP Week in Pictures: Europe and Africa
-
Miller Moss, Caleb Williams' replacement, leads USC to Holiday Bowl win vs. Louisville
-
Ben Foster Files for Divorce From Laura Prepon After 6 Years of Marriage
-
West Virginia's Neal Brown gets traditional mayonnaise shower after Mayo Bowl win
-
Alabama going to great lengths to maintain secrecy ahead of Michigan matchup in Rose Bowl
-
The Air Force said its nuclear missile capsules were safe. But toxins lurked, documents show