U.S. District Court Judge Steve Jones has ruled against Fair Fight Georgia, a voting rights organization founded by Stacey Abrams, in a four-year legal battle. Despite the arguments put forth by Fair Fight Georgia, Jones ruled that the state of Georgia’s election process does not violate the rights of voters.
“Although Georgia’s election system is not perfect, the challenged practices violate neither the constitution nor the [Voting Rights Act] VRA,” Jones stated, per The Hill.
“Having held a non-jury trial and considered the evidence and arguments of the parties, for the foregoing reasons, the Court finds IN FAVOR of Defendants and against Plaintiffs.”
Abrams founded Fair Fight Georgia in 2018 after falling short in her bid to become the state’s governor. The nonprofit organization alleged that the state did not provide adequate training regarding absentee ballot cancellation procedures. The lawsuit also claims that the secretary of state mismanaged the voter registration database. Most prominently, Fair Fight Georgia argued that the state’s “exact match” law violates the 14th Amendment.
“Judge Jones’ ruling exposes this legal effort for what it really is: a tool wielded by a politician hoping to wrongfully weaponize the legal system to further her own political goals,” Georgia Governor Kemp stated, per the Associated Press.
“While the Court’s actions are not the preferred outcome, the conduct of this trial and preceding cases and legislative actions represent a hard-won victory for voters who endured long lines, burdensome date of birth requirements and exact match laws that disproportionately impact Black and Brown voters,” Abrams countered, per the Associated Press.
Abrams and Kemp may be done in court, but they are far from done at the ballot box. The two will battle in the state’s gubernatorial race this November.
