Clean voter rolls are an important safeguard that protects the integrity of the electoral process. However, one federal judge in Georgia has ruled that several thousand voters who were scheduled to be removed from 2 counties' voter rolls should remain on the rolls ahead of Georgia's Senate runoffs. The catch — the ruling was handed down by U.S. District Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner, the sister of one-time gubernatorial candidate and liberal activist Stacey Abrams.
As reported by Fox News:
A Georgia judge who is the sister of Democratic politician Stacey Abrams refused to recuse herself from a crucial election case, instead ruling against the purge of 4,000 voters from state rolls before Senate runoffs.
U.S. District Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner's ruling comes after two counties voted to remove a tranche of voters' names from their rosters after two separate complaints alleged that publicly available voter registration data matched unverified change-of-address records by the U.S. Postal Service.
There has been speculation that Judge Abrams Gardner could be a contender for a Supreme Court seat under President-elect Biden's administration should a vacancy occur.
The decision of whether to remove someone from voter rolls should be taken with great care. However, it is disconcerting to consider how liberal activists, like Stacey Abrams, may have influenced the decision of the case.
Unsurprisingly, liberal attorney Marc Elias claims that the counties cleaning up their voter roles is "voter suppression:"
After Gardner’s ruling, Elias hailed the decision as a “blow to GOP voter suppression.”
“We continue to monitor how other Georgia counties respond to the suppression scheme,” he added. “Where necessary, we will sue and we will win.”
Republicans tried to disenfranchise over 300,000 Georgia voters. This victory means 4000 voters in 2 counties are protected.
— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) December 29, 2020
We continue to monitor how other Georgia counties respond to the suppression scheme. Where necessary, we will sue and we will win. https://t.co/bcIYjkZwp8
Decisions like the one issued by Judge Abrams Gardner show the importance of the Senate runoffs that are already underway in Georgia. A Republican Senate is the firewall needed to protect against Democrats' efforts to add liberal activist judges to the U.S. Supreme Court.