- A judge ruled that the conservative group True the Vote violated the Voting Rights Act by challenging the eligibility of more than 360,000 Georgia voters ahead of the 2021 runoff elections for two U.S. Senate seats. It was ruled that no.
- U.S. District Judge Steve Jones issued a 145-page ruling in favor of True the Vote, saying the evidence did not show voter intimidation.
- Despite the ruling, Jones expressed concerns about the reliability of the group's list of challenged voters, saying it “completely lacked credibility.”
On Tuesday, a judge announced he was challenging the eligibility of more than 360,000 Georgia voters just before 2021 runoff elections for two key U.S. Senate seats, but the Voting Rights Act ruled that there was no violation. But he expressed concerns about the group's approach.
U.S. District Judge Steve Jones issued a 145-page ruling in favor of Texas-based nonprofit True the Vote. Fair Fight, a group founded by former Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, is suing True the Vote and several other individuals, alleging their actions are part of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which prohibits voter intimidation. He was accused of violating the provisions of the law.
Jones concluded that the evidence presented at trial did not show that True the Vote's actions “caused (or attempted to cause) intimidation, coercion, or intimidation of voters in voting.” But he wrote that the list of dissenting voters compiled by the group was “totally lacking in credibility” and “bordering on recklessness.”
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“The court heard no testimony and saw no evidence of significant quality control efforts or expertise guiding data processes,” he said.
Fair Fight sued True the Vote for violating the Voting Rights Act's prohibition on voter intimidation, but a judge found no evidence to support this claim. (Fox News)
In the weeks following the November 2020 general election, then-President Donald Trump and his allies promoted false claims of widespread voter fraud that cost the election. In Georgia, two Senate races that will ultimately determine control of the Senate are heading for runoff elections in early January.
True the Vote announced the voter challenge shortly after early in-person voting for the runoff began. The group said there was good reason to believe the voter does not live in the district where he is already registered and is not eligible to vote there.
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Georgia election officials rejected just a few dozen ballots cast in the runoff elections, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The two Democratic challengers defeated the Republican incumbents by tens of thousands of votes, securing the Republican Senate majority.
Jones said that in order to successfully prove a violation of the Voting Rights Act, Fair Fight and the individual voters who brought the lawsuit with it must prove that True the Vote's actions caused “threat, intimidation, or intimidation” to someone. He wrote that he would have needed to prove that he caused or may have caused the incident. being forced to vote or attempt to vote;
Fair Fight's claims “suggest that a collective challenge of voters so close to an election constitutes intimidation or attempted intimidation (especially when done carelessly or recklessly),” Jones wrote. He added that he disagreed. He noted that once a challenge is filed, the county election board will ultimately decide eligibility. The law does not limit the number of voter challenges or the proximity of the election, he wrote.
“In reaching this conclusion, the court is in no way condoning TTV's conduct in promoting a plethora of seemingly frivolous challenges,” Jones said in a footnote. “But the court cannot say that these actions violate Georgia law based on the actual legal framework (which the plaintiffs do not dispute).”
Fair Fight had argued that public statements made by True the Vote on the issue amounted to voter intimidation. But Jones disagreed, noting that the statement was not directed at any particular voter and that none of the challenged voters who testified said they had seen the statement.
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Real Vote President Katherine Engelbrecht praised the ruling, saying in an emailed statement that it “sends a clear message to those who seek to control the course of our country through legal action and intimidation.” Stated.
In an emailed statement, Fair Fight Executive Director Sianti Stewart-Reed said that over the past two years, other groups have “taken inspiration from True the Vote's anti-voter strategy and created their own mass voter challenges.” It started its activities and continues to this day,'' he said, expressing his disappointment. She vowed that Fair Fight would continue to rise to the challenge.
