The federal government has at last stopped blocking the state of Georgia from making sure that people who register to vote are who they claim to be – and are U.S. citizens.
For years, Georgia’s voter verification procedures have been under attack, with the U.S. Justice Department claiming that the state was discriminating against minorities. Georgia has repeatedly jumped through legal hoops in an attempt to satisfy the Justice Department, all to no avail.
But finally, after the state filed a lawsuit in frustration a couple of months ago, the Justice Department has cleared Georgia to confirm that would-be voters truly are eligible to vote. The feds are dropping their legal challenges.
Georgia’s voter verification rules are reasonable. There ought to be no fear on the part of legal Georgia voters that non-citizens or people who are otherwise ineligible to vote will cast ballots. What’s more, Georgia has taken great pains to ensure that it does not disenfranchise legitimate voters.
It is appalling that it took a lawsuit and years of federal delays before Georgia was cleared to protect the integrity of its elections.