Raffensperger Sues DOJ Over Political Challenge of Ga. Law

December 1st, 2021

(Atlanta) – Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has filed a lawsuit against the Biden Department of Justice to enforce a Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA) for vital information regarding the motivation behind DOJ’s lawsuit against Georgia’s Election Integrity Act of 2021. Secretary Raffensperger is suing the Biden DOJ for any contact the federal agency may have had with prominent liberal groups regarding the Biden Administration’s quest to overturn Georgia’s common-sense election reforms such as adding a photo-identification requirement for election.

“Considering how blatantly political the Biden lawsuit against Georgia’s commonsense election law was from the beginning, it’s no surprise they would stonewall our request for basic transparency,” said Raffensperger. “I will always fight for truth and integrity in Georgia’s elections.”

Raffensperger filed a lawsuit asking the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to require the Biden DOJ to comply with federal law regarding Raffensperger’s FOIA request. On August 31, 2021, Raffensperger sent a FOIA request to the Biden DOJ requesting any communications discussing Georgia’s new election law or the Biden lawsuit against the law between the Biden DOJ and 62 specifically identified outside individuals and entities, and members of Congress or their staff. The FOIA request also sought any guidance documents used by the Biden DOJ to determine if and when a state’s election law violates federal law.

Other than confirmations of receipt, the State has received no responsive documents or information about the planned release schedule in violation of federal law (5 U.S.C. § 552(a)(3)(A)). Since the Secretary Raffensperger submitted the FOIA request, 92 calendar days and 62 workdays have passed with no responsive records released.

Like the text of FOIA itself, DOJ’s FOIA guidance sets the expected response time as “twenty working days, or approximately one month,” in accordance with federal law.

The legal complaint notes that DOJ stonewalling “is depriving Plaintiffs and the public of vital information needed to determine the extent to which and by what methods the Government is colluding or conspiring with outside entities to carry out a political agenda.”  

The complaint points out that though other states such as “Delaware, New York, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Maryland, and Wisconsin” have similar election rules, the Biden DOJ has not filed lawsuits against those states. The discrepancy “[raises] the likelihood that DOJ’s lawsuit is a nakedly political action.” The filing also highlights that the Biden DOJ’s lawsuit fails to claim that Georgia’s new election law “will have any discriminatory results or effects,” further indicating a political motivation to the suit.

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