[The Hill] A federal judge issued a ruling Friday removing barriers to voters flagged as non-citizens by Georgia's "exact match" rules, easing their ability to vote in next week's midterm election.It's a victory for Democrats, who had worried the rule could keep some of their voters away from the polls during Tuesday's midterm elections. Democrats had been particularly worried the rule could hurt absentee and early voters from their party.
They cast the decision as a win for Democrats and a defeat for the Georgia secretary of state, Brian Kemp, who is also the Republican candidate for governor.
"Another day, another major defeat for Brian Kemp’s voter suppression efforts," Rebecca DeHart, executive director for the Democratic Party of Georgia, said in a statement.
Voting rights has become a major issue in Kemp's race against Democrat Stacy Abrams, who would be the nation's first African-American woman elected governor if she wins. The two are locked in a tight race.
Kemp's office largely shrugged off the decision.
In a statement, Candice L. Broce, press secretary and staff attorney at the office, called it "a minor change to the current system."
Eleanor L. Ross, U.S. district judge from the Northern District of Georgia, ruled that if the exact match rules were kept in place, it could cause people with suspended voter registration applications "irreparable harm if they lose the right to vote."
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