A federal judge declines to block Georgia’s shortened 4-week runoff election period

A federal judge in Georgia has declined to block part of a sweeping election law that shortened the state's runoff election period to four weeks from nine weeks while legal challenges play out. U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee ruled Friday that plaintiffs hadn't proved that the shorter period disproportionately harmed Black voters, or that Republican lawmakers intended to discriminate against Black voters when lawmakers enacted the measure in 2021. Several voting advocacy and civil rights groups, as well as the U.S. Department of Justice, sued after Republican state lawmakers passed the measure less than six months after former President Donald Trump narrowly lost the state and made false claims about widespread election fraud.