Georgia Absentee Ballot Application Deadline To Remain In Place Despite Voting Rights Act Challenge
Georgia’s absentee ballot application deadline will remain in place despite an attempt from theater workers to block the state’s short application window.
Today, a Trump appointed judge declined to temporarily block the state’s absentee ballot deadline that was shortened as part of the state’s omnibus voter suppression law, Senate Bill 202. Under the Voting Rights Act, voters may cast absentee ballots in presidential elections if they applied seven days before the election. In Georgia however, state law only allows a voter to apply for an absentee ballot up until 11 days before the election.
Last year, the International Alliance of Theater Stage Employees, a chapter of the largest union representing workers in the entertainment industry, filed a lawsuit challenging Georgia’s absentee ballot application deadline for presidential elections. The theater workers asked the court to temporarily block the deadline for upcoming elections.
Despite these seemingly incongruent laws, the judge is allowing the deadline to stand, writing that the theater workers likely do not have standing.
The court also wrote that even if the plaintiffs did have standing, the Purcell Principle — the notion that courts should not make changes too close to an election — would have precluded the court from granting the plaintiffs’ requested relief. Although, theater workers did not get the relief they requested at this stage, the lawsuit challenging the state’s absentee ballot application deadline will continue.
Previous update, June 13
A case challenging Georgia’s absentee ballot application deadline under the Voting Rights Act will only continue against Fulton County election officials after a federal court dismissed claims against the state election board.
Last year, the International Alliance of Theater Stage Employees, a chapter of the largest union representing workers in the entertainment industry, filed a lawsuit challenging Georgia’s absentee ballot application deadline for presidential elections. The theater workers argue that the shortened absentee ballot application violates the Voting Rights Act and makes it more difficult for them to vote as they are often traveling for work and have to be in different parts of the state on short notice.
Today, a federal judge found that the alliance should not have sued the state election board and dismissed them from the case. However, the case will continue against the Fulton County defendants. Fulton County is the state’s most populous county and is home to Atlanta, Georgia.
Original post, Oct. 26, 2023
On Thursday, Oct. 26, the International Alliance of Theater Stage Employees (IATSE) Local 927, a chapter of the largest union representing workers in the entertainment industry, filed a lawsuit challenging Georgia’s absentee ballot application deadline for presidential elections.
In Georgia, under Senate Bill 202, the latest a voter may apply for an absentee ballot is 11 days before the election. IATSE Local 927 argues that this deadline violates Section 202(d) the Voting Rights Act (VRA), which mandates that voters must be able to cast absentee ballots in presidential elections if they applied seven days before the election. Since Georgia’s absentee ballot application cutoff is before the cutoff mandated by the VRA, the plaintiffs ask the court to block Georgia’s deadline and order that Georgia comply with the VRA’s prescribed deadline.
The theater workers argue that Georgia’s absentee ballot application deadline is burdensome because “their work requires them to frequently travel around and outside of Georgia, often on short notice.” The lawsuit explains that members of the union are required to travel during the election, but will not know if they will need to vote absentee until right before Election Day. “By shortening the timeframe for requesting absentee ballots, Georgia’s new application deadline deprives IATSE’s members of full lawful access to absentee ballots and the rights conferred by the Voting Rights Act when voting for President and Vice President,” the complaint reads.