Groups threaten federal lawsuit over Georgia's new voter challenge law

A person stands at a window to receive mail.
Because they have no residential address, many who are homeless in Atlanta register to vote at places like First Presbyterian Church. Voting rights groups have warned they're uniquely vulnerable to voter challengers under the new law. (Matthew Pearson/WABE)

Voting rights groups argue that a new Georgia law violates the National Voter Registration Act because it discriminates against people with unstable housing.

The ACLU, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, among others, provided written notice to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in a letter on Wednesday.

Senate Bill 189, which went into effect this month, created guidelines for voter challenges — when one citizen challenges another voter’s registration. The law says if a voter is found to have a nonresidential address, that would be a sufficient reason to sustain the challenge.