Court Says State Must Accept Voter Registrations From Nonprofit Project - July 12, 2004 Vol.5, No.14

July 12, 2004 Vol.5, No.14:

Published: 07/12/2004

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Court Says State Must Accept Voter Registrations From Nonprofit Project

A Georgia education group involved in a multi-state effort to register voters won a preliminary injunction in early July barring the Georgia Secretary of State from rejecting voter registration cards mailed in bundles. The case, Charles H. Wesley Education Foundation, Inc. v. Cathy Cox, et al., was a test of whether state officials can impose rules on voter registration drives that are inconsistent with the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA).

The public charity was participating in a voter registration drive with the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and the National Pan-Hellenic Council. Cathy Cox, Georgia's Secretary of State, rejected 64 voter registration applications mailed by the project because they did not comply with Georgia procedures. This process requires each card to be individually mailed to protect privacy and requires voter registration projects to register in Georgia on a county-by-county basis.

U.S. District Court Judge William C. O'Kelley issued the preliminary injunction against the state, holding, "Because the applications were received in accordance with the mandates of the NVRA, the State of Georgia was not free to reject them." The court will be ruling on a permanent injunction after further proceedings.

For more information on nonprofits helping voters to register and vote, see www.npaction.org/helpUSvote.