Ailan Evans
Over 50 House Republicans signed on to an amicus brief Monday requesting a federal judge throw out the Department of Justice’s lawsuit against the state of Georgia.
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Georgia in June over the state’s Election Integrity Act, a law passed in March that imposes voter identification requirements, expands early voting, regulates absentee ballot drop boxes, and cracks down on ballot harvesting, among other provisions. The DOJ alleged the law discriminated against black voters by infringing on their right to vote, with President Joe Biden comparing the act to Jim Crow laws.
The lawmakers, who filed the brief with Jay Sekulow, chief counsel at the American Center for Law and Justice, argued the law did not infringe on voting rights and was non-discriminatory, and urged the court to dismiss the Justice Department’s complaint.
“This lawsuit presents no viable basis for overturning the will of the citizens of Georgia, expressed through their elected representatives who have been given the constitutional authority and duty to regulate elections,” the brief read. “This lawsuit is without merit and should be dismissed.”
The lawmakers also accused the Biden administration of attempting to seize power over state legislatures’ control of election procedures.
“The Biden administration’s lawsuit against Georgia is just the latest example of an ongoing effort to federalize elections, and is the same attempt that is being waged legislatively with Congressional Democrats’ For the People Act,” Georgia Rep. Rick Allen, one of the lawmakers who filed the brief, told Fox News.
The DOJ’s complaint challenges several provisions of the Georgia election law, including certain voter identification requirements, absentee voting procedures, and limits on ballot drop boxes.
Several House Republicans, led by Ohio Rep. Bob Gibbs and Georgia Rep. Buddy Carter, had sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland in July urging the Justice Department to drop the complaint.
Among the 57 Republican lawmakers who signed on to the brief are Reps. Elise Stefanik, Paul Gosar, Louie Gohmert, Andy Barr, Jim Banks, Chip Roy, and Steve Scalise.
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