Last May, the Justice Department struck down a voter verification procedure that was discovered to be error-prone and discriminatory. Around the same time, the state passed SB 86, a bill requiring voter registrants to present proof-of-citizenship in order for their applications to be processed.
The verification process has been rejected once again, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. And, in a letter to the Attorney General Tuesday, the Justice Department “…reminds Secretary of State Brian Kemp that the [citizenship] legislation needs to be cleared, and it has an effective date of Jan. 1, 2010.” According to the letter:
“Although the legislation’s effective date has now passed and the state has adopted the necessary implementing regulations, our records do not indicate that these changes affecting voting have been submitted to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia for judicial review or to the Attorney General for administrative review as required by Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Accordingly, it is necessary that these changes be brought before the federal district court or submitted to the Attorney General for the determination that they have neither the purpose nor will have the effect of discriminating on account of race, color, or membership in a language minority group. Changes that affect voting are legally unenforceable unless or until appropriate Section 5 determination has been obtained.”