Georgia GOP lawmakers' flaws could be exposed in DOJ lawsuit

The U.S. Department of Justice's lawsuit against Georgia could place the state's Republican lawmakers under a microscope to unveil their biased intent where voting restrictions are concerned.

A new piece published by The Daily Beast outlines the details of the complaint, the DOJ's options, and the legal path it could take. On Friday, June 25, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and the DOJ filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of Georgia.

The lawsuit, which was also filed before Trump-appointed Judge J.P. Boulee, alleges that some provisions of the Georgia law SB-202 "violate Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965."

In a nutshell, the lawsuit is accusing Georgia Republican lawmakers of strategically designing targeted provisions to negatively impact Black voters. The basis of the DOJ's argument focuses on how Republican lawmakers were displeased with the outcome of the presidential election and Senate races so they opted to "quickly institute changes" that would decrease Black voters' ability to cast votes which would subsequently tilt election outcomes in their favor.

Per the publication:

"According to the DOJ, the legislature designed those provisions to negatively impact Black voters. In addition to setting out the likely effects of the law on Black voters at the statistical level, the complaint also goes into detail about the context in which the Georgia law passed, including discussing at length the presidential election; threats and racist statements made to various candidates; deviations from usual legislative procedure during the passage of SB202, and the actions and statements of specific Georgia lawmakers involved in the process."

Shedding light on Georgia lawmakers' flaws could ultimately change the state's political landscape for decades to come.

According to the publication, the DOJ's lawsuit seeks three things: "First, it wants the Court to prohibit Georgia election officials from enforcing the problematic provisions of the Georgia law, effectively nullifying those provisions. Second, it is asking the court to authorize federal observers, who would have access to any poll site during Georgia's elections and would report their observations to the Attorney General. Finally, it is asking the Court to require Georgia to obtain preclearance of any new voting changes, that is, require Georgia to file any future proposed changes with the Court and provide the DOJ an opportunity to comment and object to the changes."

In order to win the lawsuit, some courts insist that the DOJ must be able to show examples of the "negative, disparate impact" the Republican-led effort has on minority voters.