A US federal judge in Georgia Monday granted an emergency motion to block Georgia from excluding 4,185 voters from voting in the Georgia Senate runoff election. The voters were excluded based on findings that they were no longer living in Georgia.
Judge Leslie Gardner of the US District Court for the Middle District of Georgia concluded that the plaintiffs were likely to succeed in their claim that the exclusion of the voters violated both the National Voter Registration Act, as well as the First and Fourteenth Amendments. She held that Georgia could not exclude voters from the rolls less than 90 days before an election without making proper inquiries to ensure that voters were properly excluded from the voter rolls.
According to the initial complaint filed by the plaintiffs, Georgia improperly excluded voters who are in fact eligible to vote in Georgia. For example, one of the plaintiffs included Gamaliel Warren Turner Sr., a military contractor from Georgia who temporarily relocated to Georgia. His absentee ballot was marked as “challenged,” and he was not given an opportunity to challenge his ineligibility.
The defendants can seek an emergency stay from the Eleventh Circuit, although it is yet unclear whether they will do so. Early voting has already begun for the Georgia Senate elections, and voting will end on December 5. The outcome of the two races will decide which party controls the US Senate.
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