GA and Voting Rights Act

The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion on the federal Voting Rights Act on June 22 is already having an impact on Georgia voter registration. Earlier this year, the Georgia legislature passed a bill requiring new registrants to provide proof of citizenship when they register.

Under the Voting Rights Act, Georgia cannot implement that new law until the U.S. Justice Department approves it. Georgia had been hoping that the U.S. Supreme Court would invalidate Section 5 of the federal Voting Rights Act, but that didn't happen, so now the state must submit the 2009 change.

Odds are it will not be approved. Under the federal Voting Rights Act, though, Georgia is free to bring a lawsuit to approve any election law change that the Justice Department won't approve. Georgia is already thinking about doing that.

Michael H. Drucker
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