A coalition of civil rights groups led by the N.A.A.C.P. have filed a federal lawsuit against Georgia officials arguing that a new law severely curtailing voting access represents “intentional discrimination” against the state’s Black voters. The suit, dated March 28 and filed in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia, is the second case brought since Georgia’s Republican governor, Brian Kemp, signed the bill (not the third case, as an earlier post said). The G.O.P.-backed measure that drastically limits the use of drop boxes, requires proof of identity for absentee voting, and makes it a crime to provide food or water to voters forced to line up outside of polling locations. Civil rights groups and progressive activists are looking increasingly to the courts as the best chance to stop the voting restrictions that Republican-controlled legislatures in many states are considering or passing.

Source: New York Times March 30, 2021 16:06 UTC