With a dismissal ordered on the evening of May 14, Federal Judge Timothy Batten brought a swift end to a lawsuit brought by activists who have repeatedly sued the State of Georgia. In the decision, Judge Batten stated, “Ultimately, ordering Defendants to adopt Plaintiffs’ laundry list of so-called ‘Pandemic Voting Safety Measures’ would require the Court to micromanage the State’s election process. The relief Plaintiffs seek bears little resemblance to the type of relief plaintiffs typically seek in election cases aimed to redress state wrongs.”

The activist plaintiffs, the Coalition for Good Governance, Rhonda Martin, Jeanne Dufort, Aileen Nakamura, B. Joy Wasson, and Elizabeth Throop, were seeking to interfere in the upcoming General Primary, move election dates, and change how Georgians vote. Worst of all they were seeking to disenfranchise overseas military voters.

“I am pleased that Judge Batten recognized these claims for what they are…policy preferences and political gamesmanship attempting to masquerade as constitutional claims,” said Secretary Raffensperger. “The dismissal of this lawsuit allows election officials in Georgia to concentrate on what matters most, which is ensuring that every Georgian can safely exercise their right to vote during these unprecedented times. I hope that the other groups who have asserted these same claims in other lawsuits will see the error of their ways, stop wasting taxpayer dollars, and drop their lawsuits.”

Judge Batten also made clear in his order that courts should not be involved in these questions. Stated in his order, “This is why courts should not second-guess coordinate branches of government on matters explicitly committed to them.”

Judge Batten’s order follows other recent court orders denying activist plaintiffs attempts to interfere with the June 9, 2020 primary, including lawsuits from the ACLU and the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights.