(PartiallyPolitics.com) – U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee in Georgia has issued a temporary block on the state voting law provision that would block people from offering food and water to voters who were waiting in line on election day. He further determined that people would not be required to add their date of birth on absentee ballots.
However, he allowed for penalties to be issued against those who give voters food and water if they are within 150 feet of the election building. As he wrote in his decision, while the 150-foot radius was reasonable, there is no boundary to the Supplemental Zone, and under the new law, anyone within the Supplemental Zone would not be allowed to offer food or drink.
Boulee also claimed regarding the provision that would make marking the date of birth of the voter known in the outer envelopes of the absentee ballots that there is no evidence presented that absentee ballots that did not meet the Birthdate Requirement are in fact fraudulent.
State lawmakers first passed the Election Integrity Act in 2021 and it was signed by Governor Brian Kemp in the spring of 2021. The law also has provisions about identification being required to vote, longer early voting periods, and placing ballot drop boxes in all counties.
The election law followed the 2020 presidential election and has been criticized both by large corporations and Democrats. Stacey Abrams, who has failed to win the gubernatorial election in the state twice, argued that this law would limit voting access. However, the turnout in the primary and general 2022 elections in Georgia hit a record high.
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