(ATLANTA) – In a ruling Friday, a federal district judge J.P. Boulee upheld common-sense election integrity reforms that the Georgia General Assembly passed earlier this year. Detractors of the common-sense reforms have called the changes in SB 202 “Jim Crow 2.0,” but Judge Boulee disagreed– instead calling the reasoning behind the challenged provisions “strong” and “legitimate.”

In a ruling Friday, Judge Boulee upheld Georgia’s new window for requesting absentee ballots between 78 and 11 days before the election. Judge Boulee also upheld restrictions on photographing ballots in a polling place (to protect ballot secrecy), intentionally observing who another voter is voting for (to prevent undue influence), and restrictions on monitors and observers during early processing of absentee ballots from attempting to tally votes or communicating any information about votes (to protect the sanctity of results until after the polls close).

“Since day one, I have committed to meeting and beating these claims in court, and this most recent ruling demonstrates that my strategy is working,” said Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. “This decision is a clear victory for Georgia voters and common-sense election integrity reforms.”

Several special-interest groups and Democratic organizations have challenged Georgia’s new election law and some sought a temporary injunction to prevent several components of the law from taking effect. U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee largely denied their efforts in a ruling Friday. Significantly, the ruling upheld provisions changing the absentee ballot request deadline to 11 days before an election, a deadline that will help ensure absentee ballot voters actually receive their ballots on time. During the June 2020 primaries, Fulton and others counties failed to deliver absentee ballots on time to some of their voters, resulting in long lines at the polling place and disenfranchised voters. The new deadline ensures voters get their absentee ballot in time to return it before the deadline or with enough time to go vote in person.

Judge Boulee further upheld portions of the law that restrict photography in polling places, intentionally observing how another voter is voting, and attempting to keep a tally of results or communicating about any votes during the early processing of absentee ballots. Judge Boulee did find that the law’s ban on so-called “ballot selfies” outside the polling place was not narrowly drafted enough and enjoined that provision of the law.

Judge Boulee ruled that the arguments that the new absentee request deadline lowers the burden on election officials and helps ensure voters can cast a ballot “appear to be strong, legitimate reasons that justify and outweigh whatever slight burden the application windows may impose on voters.” Boulee further noted that “[i]t is not the role of the courts or Plaintiffs to dictate election policy to legislatures” and stated that “elected officials should be permitted leeway to address potential deficiencies in the electoral process.”