Court Declines to Block Portions of Georgia’s Voter Suppression Law
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, a federal judge declined to block several provisions of Georgia’s Senate Bill 202. The plaintiffs in VoteAmerica v. Raffensperger, one of several lawsuits challenging S.B. 202, had filed a motion asking the court for a preliminary injunction blocking three provisions relating to the ability of third-party organizations to distribute absentee ballot applications: 1) a penalty for every application sent to a voter who has already requested, received or cast an absentee ballot; 2) a disclaimer organizations must add to any application they distribute and 3) a prohibition on prefilling some information on applications.
In denying the plaintiffs’ request for a preliminary injunction, the court ruled they did not meet the standards required to warrant relief. In particular, the judge found the plaintiffs did not substantially prove they would succeed on the merits and “that the balance of the equities and the public interest weigh against entering a preliminary injunction in this case.” While the three provisions of S.B. 202 are still being challenged, the court’s decision means they will be in effect during this November’s general election.