US Justice Dept sues Georgia over restrictive state voting law

Republicans in Arizona, Florida and Iowa have also adopted new voting restrictions; Pennsylvania and Texas may follow.

The United States Justice Department is filing a lawsuit challenging a new restrictive election law in the US state of Georgia on civil rights grounds, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced on Friday. The Georgia law, passed in March by a Republican-controlled state legislature, seeks to roll back voting by African Americans in the southern state which has a history of discriminatory election practices, Garland said in remarks at the Justice Department. “Where we believe the civil rights of Americans have been violated we will not hesitate to act,” Garland said, citing authorities under federal election laws including the 1965 Voting Rights Act which prohibits discrimination in US elections.