News

Federal Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner, Sister Of Stacey Abrams, Reverses Decision To Purge 4,000 Voters In 2 Georgia Counties

A federal judge in Georgia ordered two counties on Monday to reverse their decision to purge more than 4,000 voters ahead of the Jan. 5 Senate runoff races.

The ruling judge is Leslie Abrams Gardner, the sister of former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams who was largely credited for her initiatives to increase voter registration and turnout through Fair Fight.

The case involved about 4,000 votes in Muscogee County, which President-elect Joe Biden easily won in November, and another 150 from Ben Hill County, which Trump won by a wide margin.

The initial challenge in Muscogee County was brought Dec. 14 by local voter Ralph Russell, who said he cross-analyzed voter registration databases which showed those 4,000 voters had moved out of the state.

Subscribe to our free weekly newsletter!

A week of political news in your in-box.
We find the news you need to know, so you don't have to.

“I believe that each of the individuals named … as a result of registering their name and change of address to a location outside of Muscogee County, removed to another state with the intention of making the new state their residence,” Russell told the county board. “Thus, each individual has lost their residence in Muscogee County, and consequently, each individual is ineligible to vote in Muscogee County.”

The board met on Dec. 16 and backed his motion 3-1, despite him not attending the meeting nor providing further evidence. The voters named would be required to vote by a provisional ballot and present evidence of Georgia residency.

The Ben Hill County challenge brought by a Fitzgerald City Councilmember was similar, though it relied on unverified change of address records.

The Muscogee board filed a motion on Monday requesting Gardner’s recusal from the case due to her relationship with Abrams.

“Abrams’ involvement in the Fair Fight Litigation … is sufficient to satisfy the standard for mandatory judicial recusal,” the board’s attorneys wrote. “Abrams has a clear interest in the outcome of this proceeding and other similarly situated litigation in Georgia due to her voting advocacy through projects such as Fair Fight and the New Georgia Project.”

Gardner noted the board’s request in her ruling but said the court found “no basis for recusal.”

“An Order detailing the Court’s reasoning is forthcoming,” she added.

Katherine Huggins

Share
Published by
Katherine Huggins

Recent Posts

Trump Orders Strict Rules To Discourage Clean Energy Projects In Nod House Conservatives

Following the recent passage of the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” President Donald Trump has instructed the…

9 hours ago

Andrew Yang Reaches Out To Elon Musk About Forming Third Political Party

After Elon Musk announced plans to create a third political party, the Tesla and SpaceX…

10 hours ago

Trump Administration Sues California Over Transgender Athlete Policies, Threatens to Pull Federal Funding

The Trump administration sued California’s Department of Education last week over the state’s policy permitting…

11 hours ago

Trump Urges Supporters To Move On From Epstein Case As MAGA Base Claims A Coverup

On Saturday, President Donald Trump urged his supporters to move on from the controversy surrounding…

15 hours ago

Biden Physician Kevin O’Connor Refuses To Testify In Probe Of Ex President’s Mental Competence, Citing Fifth Amendment

Kevin O’Connor, who was former President Joe Biden’s physician during his time in office, refused…

15 hours ago

Whistleblower Says Trump Nominee For Federal Judgeship, Emil Bove, Told Justice Department Attorneys To Defy Court Orders

A whistleblower has provided text messages and emails alleging that Emil Bove, a senior Justice…

1 day ago