Federal judge declines to block Georgia’s voter line food and water ban

Georgia has a ban on people giving food and water to voters while waiting in line at their polling place. The law was challenged in court by a coalition of voting rights groups, churches and other organizations.

On Thursday, a federal judge denied a request to block the law.

The reason given by U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee was the defendants listed in the case. Boulee determined that the list of defendants could not “enforce criminal laws or leverage criminal penalties.” The list included Gov. Brian Kemp, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and individual members of the Georgia State Election Board.

Boulee argued that only state and county prosecutors could do that job.

“Aside from a passing mention that Defendants can refer violations of election law to a district attorney, Plaintiffs have offered no evidence to establish that Defendants play any role in prosecuting violations of the Food, Drink and Gift Ban,” Boulee wrote. “Certainly, Plaintiffs have not presented evidence which would show that Defendants can control a district attorney’s decision to charge a crime if a violation of the law occurs.”

The Election Integrity Act went into effect in Georgia in 2021. In addition to the gift ban, it included other election rules, such as limits on absentee ballot drop boxes, new ID requirements for absentee ballots and changes to early voting.

Critics of the gift ban argue that offering food and water to voters standing in line represents a protected form of civic engagement while supporters says it limits attempts to influence voters in line.