Georgia Is Sued by U.S. Over Overseas Voters’ Rights

Georgia was sued by the U.S. Justice Department over claims its voting procedures don’t adequately ensure that eligible military and overseas voters can participate fully in the state’s August federal primary runoff election.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Atlanta, was brought under the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act, the Justice Department said yesterday in an e-mailed statement.

The U.S. seeks a court order requiring Georgia to take all steps required to guarantee that citizens covered by the act can participate in the Aug. 21 election and all future federal elections, according to the statement.

The suit seeks to “ensure that Georgia’s military and overseas voters, many of whom are members of our armed forces and their families serving our country around the world, will be provided the opportunity” to vote, Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division, said in the statement.

Georgia and its secretary of state, Brian P. Kemp., are named as defendants in the lawsuits. The filing couldn’t be immediately confirmed from court records yesterday.

Tim Fleming, a spokesman for Kemp, didn’t immediately return a call after regular business hours yesterday seeking comment on the lawsuit. A representative of Georgia Governor Nathan Deal didn’t immediately return an e-mail seeking comment.

The case is U.S. v. The State of Georgia, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia (Atlanta).

To contact the reporter on this story: Joel Rosenblatt in San Francisco at jrosenblatt@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net