During the summer and fall seasons, Georgia has faced a surge in challenges to voter eligibility across various regions as part of an initiative led by supporters of Donald Trump. The goal behind these challenges, backed by Republican activists, is to scrutinize and potentially remove individuals they deem ineligible from the voter rolls in the state.
Despite these efforts, only a small fraction, less than 1%, of the challenged individuals have been removed from the voter lists as many counties have chosen to dismiss the challenges. Advocates claiming that Georgia’s voter rolls are bloated with ineligible voters are heightening their actions by filing lawsuits and pressuring the State Election Board, which has ties to Trump supporters, to prompt counties to take firmer actions.
Recent statistics reveal that since July 1, over 63,000 Georgians have had their voter eligibility questioned under a new law that facilitates the process of upholding challenges. This number signifies a notable increase from earlier in the year when around 18,000 voters faced challenges.
The challenges are spreading beyond Democratic strongholds in metro Atlanta, with more than 20 counties, including Republican-leaning areas, seeing over 100 voters under scrutiny. Despite the rising number of challenges, most have been dismissed by county election officials, resulting in fewer than 800 voters being removed or marked as challenged since July.
The U.S. Justice Department has taken note of the efforts to disqualify certain voters, issuing a guidance memo in September that aims to curb challenges and contest aspects of the new Georgia law. Critics argue that the reasons behind disqualification attempts are feeble, highlighting that changes in mailing addresses do not necessarily indicate a change in residency and some data sources used by challengers are outdated.
Democrats and voting rights advocates view the current spike in voter challenges as politically driven, aimed at disenfranchising voters who typically lean Democratic and seeding uncertainty about election integrity leading up to the 2024 presidential election. Concerns over illegal voting practices intensified following Trump’s baseless claims of widespread fraud after the 2020 election.
While opinions on these challenges vary, there are discrepancies between federal and state laws. Georgia’s new laws allow for unlimited challenges within counties, with specific criteria for removing challenged voters. On the other hand, federal regulations stipulate that systematic changes to voter rolls can only occur within 90 days before an election, complicating the recent surge in challenges.
The involvement in these challenges may indicate a shift in voting dynamics that could potentially influence Georgia’s political landscape, subject to court rulings and decisions made by the State Election Board, which align with Republican interests.
