ATLANTA (AP) – A federal judge on Thursday ordered Georgia officials to reopen voter registration in a suburban Atlanta congressional district ahead of a heated special election that’s seen by many as a test of President Donald Trump’s influence.
U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten ruled in favor of civil rights advocacy groups who argued that Georgia violated federal law by preventing more new voter registrations before the June 20 runoff.
Georgia had set the registration deadline on March 20, 30 days before the first round of voting in April. Democrat Jon Ossoff and Republican Karen Handel, the top two vote-getters, advanced to a runoff in the conservative 6th District. Democrats hope Ossoff, who came within 2 percentage points of outright victory in the first round, can upset Handel in the tight race. Trump raised funds for Handel in a recent Atlanta visit.
Batten, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush in 2005, ordered the state to extend the deadline to May 21 and to allow any district resident registered by that day to cast a ballot in the runoff. He said he wouldn’t order the state to publicize the change but that he expects the Secretary of State, Georgia’s top elections official, to update his website with the new information.
Candice Broce, a spokeswoman for Secretary of State Brian Kemp, said the state will comply with the judge’s order.