Georgia judge strikes down last-minute voter challenges

An Oconee County judge ruled Thursday to restore the registration status of any county voter challenged within the state-mandated voter challenge quiet period.

The ruling came after Western Judicial Circuit Chief Judge Lisa Lott rejected a lawsuit filed by Suzannah Heimel, a conservative candidate running for a seat on the Oconee County Commission, that attempted to force the county to reconsider more than 200 dismissed voter eligibility challenges.

“The public has a strong interest in the right of its qualified citizens to vote without unnecessary encumbrances,” Lott wrote in her decision.

The decision ended one of several cases across Georgia where conservative activists have asked the courts to force county election boards to remove voters from the rolls who the activists believe are not eligible. Rather than winning these lawsuits, some legal experts say the goal may be to sow doubt in Georgia’s election system.



https://www.ajc.com/politics/judge-strikes-down-voter-challenges-considered-within-a-challenge-quiet-period/NZ22HL4VM5HBHM4N2IQAIEGE4Y/