Voting rights groups are asking a judge to block a provision of a new Georgia law that bans handing out food and water to voters waiting in line at the polls.
The ban is part of Senate Bill 202, a 98-page bill containing dozens of changes to state voting law, including shortening the time to request a mail ballot, rolling back the expansion of ballot drop boxes and reducing early voting before runoff elections, the Associated Press reported.
The law makes it a crime to distribute "any items of value" within 150 feet of a polling place or within 25 feet of a person standing in line to vote.
The groups argue that the ban on line relief, in which volunteers hand out free snacks and water in an expression of gratitude to residents for voting, illegally infringes on their free speech rights by effectively silencing "non-partisan, non-disruptive expressions of support for voters" and should be blocked immediately.
Rhonda Briggins, of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, said line relief is something her historically African American group has been doing "for years."
"It is to encourage people to stay in line," she told the AP. "We're the cheerleaders."
Rahul Garabadu, a voting rights staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia, said criminalizing the act of handing food or water to voters waiting in line makes it harder to cast a ballot, especially for voters of color and voters with disabilities.
Adam Sieff, an attorney with Davis Wright Tremaine, agreed.
"Georgians suffer from some of the longest polling place lines in the country, especially in neighborhoods of color. But instead of making it easier for old folks or parents waiting with kids to cast a ballot in sweltering heat or blistering cold, S.B. 202 makes it a crime for a neighbor to offer these voters a bottle of water or warm cup of coffee," Sieff said in a statement. "That's not only inhumane, it's also a clear violation of the First Amendment and these citizens' rights as voters."
Lawyers for the state have defended the provision as a measure to prevent circus-like conditions around polling places that could spur concerns over the possibility of illegal campaigning or vote-buying, according to the AP.
A judge has not yet ruled on the group's preliminary injunction request. If granted, the preliminary injunction would lift restrictions on line relief, including handing out free food, water and other provisions such as hand warmers to voters in line.
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