With Elections Over, Voter Suppression Lawsuits to Push Forward

While Georgia’s contentious gubernatorial election may be over, the string of litigation targeting the state’s alleged voter suppression efforts will continue to linger for months as voting rights advocates attempt to repair by 2020 what they say is a deeply flawed election system.

When Democrat Stacey Abrams formally stepped aside for Republican Brian Kemp to become governor, she made clear that she believes her opponent used his office as secretary of state to systematically disenfranchise voters. Kemp held the post until two days after the election.
Abrams promised her organization, Fair Fight Georgia, will file a lawsuit as early as next week to reform what she called “gross mismanagement” of an election that left her about 17,000 votes shy of a mandated runoff.

Seven federal voter rights lawsuits already pending over the November midterms that could affect future elections, including the Dec. 4 runoff. The plaintiff civil rights groups are represented by attorneys with Lawyers’ Committee and the Campaign Legal Center in Washington, D.C., Atlanta attorney Bryan Sells and Gregory Farrell with Vilia Hayes of New York’s Hughes Hubbard & Reed.

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