The ruling by Judge Steve Jones, summarizing years of litigation, says that many of the claims were dismissed earlier under summary judgment, some of them on the merits. "Although Georgia's election system is not perfect," the judge says, "the challenged practices violate neither the Constitution nor the VRA."
The “Exact Match” Argument
- Georgia’s practice of cross-checking new voter registrations with information from other databases.
- If “Jonathan William Smith registers to vote as Billy Smith,” his record is automatically flagged and he is sent a letter advising him of the mismatch, yet he is still considered a registered voter, and can vote.
The judge says no.
- Though mismatches could result from mere typos or bad penmanship, the burden on voters is "relatively low."
- Judge Jones says the plaintiffs gave no evidence that anyone flagged this way was "unable to vote" or otherwise meaningfully inconvenienced.
- Georgia, on the other hand, showed that the compelling interest in preventing voter fraud is tied to the challenged practice.
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