ATLANTA — New court motions were filed Wednesday against Georgia's lengthy and sweeping voting law known as SB 202.
The motions were filed as part of an ongoing lawsuit from 2021. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Georgia and other organizations are claiming the law restricts absentee voting and discriminates against Black voters.
With these newly filed motions, the ACLU's Senior Voting Rights Attorney Rahul Garabadu said they are trying to temporarily roll back restrictions for the 2024 elections.
"SB 202 was unique in the way that it targeted the methods that Black voters use to cast a ballot," Garabadu added.
The motion says SB 202 provisions such as restricting drop boxes, prohibiting the distribution of food and water to voters waiting in line, and the shortening of the absentee voting period disproportionately discards the votes of people of color.
The group is asking for those provisions to be lifted temporarily until the active lawsuit is settled, in order to make absentee voting more accessible to all voters.
"It (SB 202) attacks the ways that were successfully used by a number of voters across the political spectrum and we want to ensure that... voters have access to these methods of voting, which are reliable, which have worked," Garabadu said.
The group filed another motion two weeks ago seeking to lift the requirement for people to supply their birthday on absentee ballot applications, as well as restrictions that allegedly target voters with disabilities.
Voter rights advocates said they're doing everything they can to get relief for people before the 2024 elections.