What s True
U.S. District Court Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner is the sister of Stacey Abrams, and ruled on a voter-registration case that was very similar to another case before a different district court in Georgia, which involved Abrams voting rights organization Fair Fight. What s False
Neither Abrams nor Fair Fight were a party to the specific case before Abrams Gardner in the Middle District of Georgia in December 2020. The case involving Abrams and Fair Fight was overseen by a different judge in a different court.
Origin
In December 2020, right-leaning observers and prominent Republican politicians cried foul after a federal court judge blocked attempts to remove thousands of names from voter rolls in Georgia, ahead of January’s two U.S. Senate run-off elections in the state.
Georgia Judge Rolls Back Order That Blocked Counties From Voter-Roll Clean Up
The federal judge who on Monday blocked two Georgia counties from removing voters from voter rolls eased her order just before midnight Wednesday.
District Court Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner, an Obama appointee, ruled that Ben Hill County still cannot remove any voters from voter rolls but said the Muscogee County Board of Elections and Registration can remove voters if they do not rely solely on the U.S. Postal Service’s National Change of Address system.
The board must allow voters whose eligibility has been challenged to cast a provisional ballot in the Jan. 5, 2021, runoff elections. They also must advise the voter of specific evidence of ineligibility by phone and in writing by Jan. 6, and advise the voter of their right to be heard and present evidence in response to the findings.
POLITICO
Print
Continue to article content
Voters return to their vehicles after early voting for the Senate runoff election at Ron Anderson Recreation Center in Powder Springs, Ga. | AP Photo/Todd Kirkland
The judge, the sister of Stacey Abrams, drew fierce attacks from Trump allies for declining to recuse.
Updated
A federal judge has agreed to allow a Georgia county to require that certain voters cast provisional ballots, just days before two runoff elections in the state that will decide control of the U.S. Senate.
More than 4,000 voters faced eligibility challenges ahead of the Jan. 5 runoffs based on unverified postal change-of-address records. The new injunction from U.S. District Court Judge Leslie Abrams Gardner, issued just before midnight on Wednesday, replaces an earlier restraining order she had issued that prevented Muscogee County from forcing those voters to cast provisional ballots at all. The latest order represents a significant move in the direction the cou
Judge Gardner to file order in voter eligibility case out of Muscogee and Ben Hill counties soon
Judge Gardner to file order in voter eligibility case out of Muscogee and Ben Hill counties soon By Jamie Worsley | December 30, 2020 at 6:59 PM EST - Updated December 30 at 7:03 PM
ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) - A judge for the U.S. District Court of Middle Georgia heard all sides regarding voter eligibility challenges out of Ben Hill and Muscogee counties Wednesday.
The case was heard in Albany.
On Monday, Judge Gardner issued a temporary restraining order in this case.
It prevented the counties from moving forward in challenging the eligibility of thousands of voters.