A federal appeals court has upheld parts of Georgia’s 2021 voting law that allow state takeovers of county election management and prohibit ballot photography.
The ruling by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is the latest decision that supports the election law passed in the wake of the 2020 election, when Democrat Joe Biden narrowly defeated Republican Donald Trump in Georgia.
A unanimous three-judge panel found that the plaintiffs, which include election security advocates, lacked standing to sue because they couldn’t show they suffered an injury or that the defendants, including the State Election Board and Gov. Brian Kemp, were responsible for potential harms. The court didn’t rule on the merits of the lawsuit.
“Thanks to the Georgia Election Integrity Act, our state remains the best, most secure state for voting. This ruling is another win in our battle to protect the integrity of our elections,” said Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, one of the defendants. “Rest assured, we will stand firm no matter what group tries to interfere.”
The decision leaves in place the ability for the State Election Board to take over underperforming county election boards. The board declined to take over Fulton County’s election board in 2023, finding it had made significant improvements.
The court also sustained a ban on photographing ballots in polling places while voting was underway.
Other federal lawsuits against Georgia’s 2021 voting law remain pending.
The law limited drop boxes, required additional forms of ID for absentee voting, prevented mass mailings of absentee ballot application forms and banned handing out food and water to voters waiting in line.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat, an initiative of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.