A federal judge rejects a call to reopen voter registration in Georgia after Hurricane Helene

A federal judge won’t order the state of Georgia to reopen voter registration for November’s elections in the presidential battleground state. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Eleanor Ross came after a hearing Thursday. Three voting rights groups had argued in a lawsuit that disruptions from Hurricane Helene unfairly deprived people of the opportunity to register last week. Monday was Georgia’s registration deadline. The plaintiffs say they also had to cancel voter registration activities. Ross says the groups didn’t sufficiently prove that their members were harmed. The groups presented testimony Thursday that they know of at least two people unable to register. Ross says the testimony wasn’t detailed enough.