Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is turning up the heat on the Justice Department over its lawsuit challenging controversial election law changes the General Assembly adopted last March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Raffensperger announced Wednesday he has filed a Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA) with the federal agency to release any records of contacts it may have had with civil and voting rights organizations in light of the lawsuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe believe there\u2019s potential they\u2019ve been following orders from [2018 Democratic gubernatorial nominee] Stacey Abrams<\/a> and others,\u201d Raffensperger said. \u201cWe think something is going on.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The FOIA request calls for the release of communications between the Justice Department<\/a> and 62 individuals and organizations, including Fair Fight Action, a voting rights group Abrams founded; the American Civil Liberties Union; the Southern Poverty Law Center; and Perkins Coie, a law firm that represents Democrats in voting cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lawsuit, filed in June, accuses Georgia of violating the federal Voting Rights Act by denying or abridging the right of Black Georgians to vote based on their race or color by, among other things, reducing access to absentee voting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The law, which the Republican-controlled legislature passed along party lines, replaces the signature-match verification process for absentee ballots<\/a> with an ID requirement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Raffensperger accused the Justice Department of unfairly singling out Georgia. For example, the new law\u2019s requirement that Georgians wishing to vote by absentee ballot submit a driver\u2019s license number or some other form of identification is the same provision imposed by the state of Minnesota, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\nRelated Stories<\/h2>\n\n\n\n