Alleging discrimination against black voters, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on June 25 that the Department of Justice (DOJ) will sue the state of Georgia over its recently passed election legislation. Other Republican-led states have in recent months passed new election laws aimed at tightening rules governing how and when ballots are cast.
Georgia’s Election Integrity Act included new voter identification requirements and reduces the amount of time voters have in which to request absentee ballots, among other measures. The legislation was crafted as a response to confusion and disputes arising from the 2020 presidential election. Democrats have accused Republicans of pushing measures that will suppress the black vote. Their attempt to pass an extensive overhaul of U.S. elections recently failed in the Senate. Republicans claimed the bill amounted to a federal takeover of elections.
