A federal judge Tuesday ruled in favor of conservative voting organization True the Vote in an election integrity lawsuit brought by Stacey Abrams' voting rights group, The New York Times reported.
Steven Jones, the judge for the Northern District of Georgia, wrote in a 145-page opinion that Fair Right, Abrams' group, failed to show that True the Vote's efforts were illegal.
"While the court believes that actions increasing the difficulty to vote if paired with other conduct might give rise to a Section 11(b) violation in some circumstances, increased difficulty alone does not constitute voter intimidation," Jones, an Obama appointee, wrote.
But he scolded True the Vote in a footnote on the decision, writing: "In making this conclusion, the court, in no way, is condoning TTV's actions in facilitating a mass number of seemingly frivolous challenges. TTV's list utterly lacked reliability. Indeed, it verges on recklessness."
Fair Fight sued True the Vote in 2021, saying the group violated federal law when it announced it was challenging the eligibility of more than 36,000 state voters and taking other action on the eve of a 2021 runoff election for Georgia's two U.S. Senate seats.
"Today's ruling sends a clear message to those who would attempt to control the course of our nation through lawfare and intimidation," True the Vote President Catherine Engelbrecht said. "American citizens will not be silenced."