ATLANTA (CN) – Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger sued the U.S. Department of Justice in federal court on Wednesday to force compliance with a request for documents which he believes will reveal the political machinations behind the government’s challenge to the Peach State’s controversial new election law.
Filed by Raffensperger and state Attorney General Chris Carr, both Republicans, in Washington federal court, the lawsuit demands that the government turn over any communications, if they exist, between Department of Justice officials and dozens of political opponents, including some groups which have been involved in voting rights lawsuits against Raffensperger’s office.
Raffensperger filed a Freedom of Information Act request in August seeking communications discussing the controversial voting restriction law between DOJ officials and 62 individuals and organizations, including Democrat Stacey Abrams, her organization Fair Fight Action, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, the Black Voters Matter Trust Fund, the Coalition for Good Governance, Latino Community Fund Georgia and other groups.
The eight-page complaint alleges that the failure to produce the documents deprives the public of information necessary to uncover whether the DOJ is “colluding or conspiring with outside entities to carry out a political agenda” in suing Georgia over the passage of Senate Bill 202, also known as the Election Integrity Act of 2021.
The government filed suit over the new law in June, alleging that provisions which reduce access to absentee voting, add identification requirements for absentee ballots, and ban food and water in voting lines will have a “cumulative and discriminatory effect” on Black voters.
In Wednesday’s complaint, the state and Raffensperger defended S.B. 202 as “reasonable, non-discriminatory, and well within the mainstream of election laws across the country.”
"To what extent did DOJ coordinate with outside entities when it decided to bring a lawsuit against Georgia, but not other states with similar voting laws, under Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act? The answer to that question will help clarify the extent to which DOJ is pursuing a transparent political agenda in its lawsuit against Georgia,” the complaint states.
The FOIA request also sought communications between DOJ officials and members of Congress related to the election law, and “all internal guidance documents” that the DOJ uses to determine when a state election law violates the Voting Rights Act.
Raffensperger said in a statement Wednesday that the records are crucial to understanding the motivation behind the government’s lawsuit.
“Considering how blatantly political the Biden lawsuit against Georgia’s commonsense election law was from the beginning, it’s no surprise they would stonewall our request for basic transparency,” he said. “I will always fight for truth and integrity in Georgia’s elections.”
Raffensperger made national headlines for refusing former President Donald Trump’s request to “find” enough votes for him to win Georgia in the 2020 election, a decision that has likely doomed Raffensperger's chances for a second term as the state’s elections chief. He is staring down a May 2022 primary challenge from Trump loyalist Congressman Jody Hice.
Hice, who objected to Georgia’s Electoral College votes immediately following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, has been openly critical of the state’s electoral processes and is running on a platform to “aggressively pursue voter fraud” and “renew integrity.” According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Hice sent a three-page letter to fellow conservatives in May calling Raffensperger a “back-stabbing” Republican for rejecting Trump’s demand to overturn the election results.
Trump endorsed Hice in March, calling him a “steadfast fighter for conservative Georgia values.”
The Department of Justice acknowledged Raffensperger’s FOIA request in September but said it needed more time to fulfill it due to "unusual circumstances" and the wide scope of the demand. By law, federal agencies are required to respond to FOIA requests within 20 business days unless unusual circumstances exist. Sixty-six weekdays have elapsed since the document request was filed.
A DOJ representative declined to comment on the lawsuit Wednesday afternoon.
Experts say Raffensperger’s decision to sue is not surprising.
Mark Zaid, a national security attorney and FOIA expert, said in an email Wednesday that the lawsuit is “a routine example of not only the standard FOIA process but the necessary step to take in litigation.”
“The passage of 66 days is by no means unusual or even unexpected given the FOIA backlog at DOJ,” Zaid said. “That said, whether or not there is any legitimate ‘stonewalling’ going on, I would not have hesitated to file this lawsuit after 21 working days and would not have even waited for as long as these plaintiffs did to enforce their rights. I would never have expected a timely response from DOJ as a matter of course.”
David Cuillier, an associate professor at the University of Arizona School of Journalism, also said the period of time Georgia officials have been waiting for documents is “not out of the ordinary for the Department of Justice.”
Referencing the DOJ’s 2021 FOIA report, Cuillier said in an email that simple requests can take an average of 64 days. More complex cases can take even longer.
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