ATLANTA – A federal judge has upheld a portion of a controversial 2022 Georgia election law dealing with absentee ballots.

In a 50-page ruling Monday, U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee declared that the state had a “compelling governmental interest” in restricting the distribution of absentee ballot applications by third-party voting rights activists. He ruled that the state was justified in enacting restrictions aimed at “reducing voter confusion, enhancing voter confidence and increasing electoral efficiency.”

The absentee ballot restrictions were part of a broad overhaul of Georgia election procedures the Republican-controlled General Assembly passed in 2021 after Democrat Joe Biden carried the Peach State’s 16 electoral votes in the 2020 presidential election. GOP President Donald Trum

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