Judge Says Georgia Can Remove Thousands Of Voters, But Some Cancellations Could Be Reversed
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says his office is obligated to keep the records up to date.
Mike Stewart / Associated Press
A federal judge has set a hearing for Thursday as to whether the removal of more than 120,000 Georgians from voting rolls is legal.
The voters are being taken off the rolls because they haven’t cast a ballot since before 2012 and haven’t responded to mailings from the Secretary of State’s office. It’s part of a larger group of more than 300,000 voters set to be removed before Christmas Day.
Judge Steve Jones ruled Monday that the cancellations could move forward, but that the state would obligated to reinstate the voters if he finds they were removed illegally.
Fair Fight Action, a group founded by Democrat Stacey Abrams, has sued over the removals.
“Georgians should not lose their right to vote simply because they have not expressed that right in recent elections, and Georgia’s practice of removing voters who have declined to participate in recent elections violates the United States Constitution,” said Lauren Groh-Wargo, chief executive of Fair Fight.
Fair Fight also points to House Bill 316, passed earlier this year, which extends the time voters can go without casting a ballot before they are subject to removal. Lawyers for the state argue that the legislation did not effectively “reset” the clock on all voters who haven’t been participating.
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says his office is obligated to keep the records up to date.
“We’re not trying to hassle anyone, but the federal law requires us to update the voter rolls, and so we’re just complying with federal law,” he said.
He cites statistics that say 13 percent of Georgians move each year, making the voter list maintenance necessary.
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