Trial over 2018 Georgia gubernatorial race begins

A lawsuit backed by Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams went to trial on Monday over the state’s alleged mismanagement of the 2018 election. 

In the case, the voting rights group founded by Abrams, Fair Fight Action, accused state officials of mismanaging the election in a manner that led to voter suppression. The lawsuit specifically claims that the election violated the First, 14th and 15th Amendments in the U.S. Constitution, as well as the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

“In 2018, Georgia voters encountered obstacles attempting to make their voices heard. That is why we are going to court to defend our freedom to vote,” Fair Fight said in a tweet on Monday. 

One policy specifically in question is Georgia’s “Exact Match” requirement, which mandates that voters provide additional identification if their registration information does not match other databases such as one for the Department of Driver Services. 

The policy historically disproportionately targeted voters of color, according to the nonpartisan nonprofit Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law.

“Under the ‘exact match’ policy, inconsequential typographical mismatches were used to deny Georgians their right to vote,” the complaint read.

“Before a federal court halted the practice, the ‘exact match’ policy suspended tens of thousands of new voter registrations,” it added. 

The complaint also cites issues with polling places being closed or relocated, absentee ballots that were requested but never arrived and a voting system officials left “knowingly” vulnerable to potential hacking.

“I will continue to secure Georgia’s elections from noncitizens attempting to register to vote and cast ballots in the Peach State,” Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who is the primary defendant in the case, said in a Monday statement. 

“While Stacey Abrams and her allies are suing to eliminate citizenship checks despite overwhelming support for citizens-only voting, I will never stop fighting to uphold the integrity of Georgia’s elections,” he added. 

Judge Steve C. Jones will rule over the case, which is expected to last until at least next month.

The case was initially filed in November 2018, after Abrams’s first attempt to serve as the state’s governor. She is now running for the position again in the 2022 election.