The RNC has won the first major battle against the attacks on Georgia's recent election reforms. On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee denied a request to halt the enforcement of provisions of the state law relating to absentee voting. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported:
A federal judge denied an effort to invalidate parts of Georgia’s voting law Wednesday, the first court ruling upholding new rules passed after last year’s elections.
U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee wrote in his order that he wouldn’t “change the law in the ninth inning” amid ongoing runoffs for the state House. Boulee reserved judgment about future elections. . .
The judge’s order relied on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said courts generally shouldn’t change existing rules when elections are imminent. Known as the Purcell principle, based on the 2006 case Purcell v. Gonzalez, the court found that altering election rules could bewilder voters and discourage them from participating.
Big initial win for the @GOP in its defense of GA's voting reforms. The court rejected the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction in the first substantive ruling in the eight lawsuits challenging SB 202. Law will be in place for upcoming runoff elections. https://t.co/Iqd3iCwZCy
— Justin Riemer (@Justin_Riemer) July 8, 2021
The legal win came just in time for the RNC and NRSC to announce that their organizations would be intervening in the DOJ's lawsuit against Georgia.
"After failing to sell H.R.1 / S.1 to the American people, Joe Biden and Democrats are weaponizing the Justice Department by trying to strong-arm the state of Georgia into making its elections less secure. The RNC is intervening in this case because the security of the ballot is more important than Democrat power grabs. We look forward to working with the NRSC to fight this incredibly weak lawsuit, which will follow Brnovich v. DNC as another Republican win for election integrity and the rule of law." – RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel
“Democrats in Washington are fighting tooth and nail to strip states of all local election control, and Georgia is their number one target. The Department of Justice’s frivolous, politicized lawsuit looks to overturn a common sense, popular bill that would protect every Georgian’s vote, encourage more voting, and restore trust in the process. Republicans will not stand for such abusive overreach by the DOJ and the NRSC is proud to join the RNC in this worthwhile fight.” – NRSC Chairman Rick Scott
“The RNC is intervening in this case because the security of the ballot is more important than Democrat power grabs.”—@GOPChairwomanhttps://t.co/I36uE6byTi
— GOP (@GOP) July 8, 2021
While Georgia occupies much of the nation's focus on election law debates, Texas will likely soon take center stage. Earlier today, Texas Legislature convened a special session with election reforms on the agenda. Just like Georgia, the Left is labeling Texas' proposed reforms as "voter suppression," while in reality, the goal of Republican-backed election reforms is to make it easier to vote and hard to cheat.