Justice Department sues Georgia over voting restrictions

The Justice Department is suing Georgia over the state's voting restrictions, Attorney General Merrick Garland has announced.

The attorney general in a news conference said the DOJ will sue the state, alleging its election law changes "were enacted with the purpose of denying or abridging the right of Black Georgians to vote on account of their race or color" in violation of the Voting Rights Act.

Georgia's Election Integrity Act was passed by the Republican-led state legislature in March and imposes various restrictions including limits on the use of absentee ballots, The Washington Post writes. In March, President Biden criticized such laws as "un-American." This DOJ lawsuit, Axios noted, was the first major action the Biden administration has taken in response to the laws.

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Garland promised Friday the Department of Justice will continue to "analyze other state laws that have been passed," and "where we believe the civil rights of Americans have been violated, we will not hesitate to act." Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, meanwhile, accused the DOJ of spreading "lies" about the election law, adding, "I look forward to meeting them, and beating them, in court."