WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd November, 2018) US Federal Judge Eleanor Ross in a court filing ordered Georgia Secretary of State, Republican Brian Kemp, to allow more than 3,000 residents tagged as noncitizens to vote in the upcoming midterm elections.
In October, Georgia was sued for allegedly rejecting a disproportionate number of minority voter absentee ballots ahead of the November midterm elections in a state that includes a racially-charged contest for governor with one of the candidates being none other than Kemp himself - who currently oversees the election process as secretary of state.
"The Court declares as follows: For individuals who have been flagged and placed in pending status due to citizenship, these individuals may vote in the November 6, 2018," Ross said in the document on Friday.
Ross also said the state of Georgia's approach "raises grave concerns for the Court about the differential treatment inflicted on a group of individuals who are predominantly minorities."
The judge took issue with the state's cumbersome process for proving citizenship which seemed especially difficult for those newly naturalized.
"The election scheme here places a severe burden on these individuals," the judge said. "These individuals will suffer irreparable harm if they lose the right to vote, this harm outweighs any harm to Defendant."
According to the court document, the emergency motion filed by the plaintiff was focused on 3,141 individuals who were flagged as "noncitizens" of the United States, and therefore, ineligible to vote.
Ross said the plaintiffs have shown substantial likelihood of success on the merits of their claim that the state of Georgia is violating the right to vote of these individuals deemed noncitizens, hence she granted the emergency request to allow them to vote on November 6.
The persons potentially wrongfully tagged as noncitizens, Ross instructed, will be allowed to vote by proving citizenship before voting, at the polling location and if unable to do so shall be allowed to cast a provisional ballot and prove citizenship on the Friday following the election.
Overall, the document revealed that more than 51,000 individuals have been flagged as ineligible by state of Georgia officials due to alleged errors with voter registration information.
Kemp's opponent in the November 6 gubernatorial race - Democrat Stacey Abrams - could become the state of Georgia's first African-American governor. Abrams has repeatedly accused Kempt of mass purging blacks from voter registration lists.
On November 6, US voters will cast ballots to fill 435 seats in the US House of Representatives, one-third of the 100-member Senate and other local and state positions. The outcome of the 2018 midterms will determine if the Republican Party will maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
