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Voter verifying system cleared
ATLANTA - The U.S. Justice Department has given Georgia approval to again verify new voters' identity and citizenship, Secretary of State Brian Kemp said Monday.
Federal officials have "pre-cleared" a modified program designed to ascertain that new voters are U.S. citizens. The Justice Department's Civil Rights Division had repeatedly rejected similar versions of the Georgia program.
It has been mired in legal challenges since 2008, which Republican supporters argue has opened the state's elections up to possible fraud.
Kemp, a Republican, had filed a lawsuit two months ago, seeking a court order to approve the voting verification system and arguing that the Justice Department was "playing politics" by refusing to approve the initiative.
On Monday, Kemp suggested that lawsuit had forced the Justice Department's hand.
"When we filed the lawsuit, I was criticized by some because they believed it would be too time-consuming and expensive," Kemp said. "After the litigation was filed, it took less than two months for the DOJ to consent to pre-clearance of the verification process."
Both sides now have filed a joint request to dismiss the lawsuit.
In their legal filing, Justice Department officials made clear that the state had modified its plan so that it finally passed muster with the federal Voting Rights Act.
Justice Department officials had no additional comment.
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