So many frivolous lawsuits clog our legal system that it’s sometimes hard to remember that some lawsuits are necessary.
For example, the state of Georgia has a legitimate grievance against the Obama administration over protecting the integrity of ballots cast by voters, so the state intends to sue in federal court.
In 2009, Georgia enacted a law requiring proof of U.S. citizenship of those who register to vote. As you may know, voting rights are reserved to citizens, so the law was certainly reasonable. And that’s especially true in Georgia. The state has nearly half a million illegal aliens, according to a recent report by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, plus many legal immigrants who are ineligible to vote because they are not yet citizens. When ineligible voters are not weeded out by the registration process, they may unjustly dilute the voting rights of citizens.
But the U.S. Justice Department has blocked the Georgia law from taking effect, claiming it may be “discriminatory.” In response, Georgia officials are going to seek approval of the law through federal court.
“The state of Georgia will no longer watch the Obama Justice Department play politics with our election processes and protections,” Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp said in a recent statement.
It is unfortunate that it will take costly litigation to put a commonsense law into effect.