U.S. courts rule against Georgia on voter suppression cases

Two federal courts on Friday issued rulings that order Georgia to allow some 3,000 naturalized U.S. citizens to vote in elections next week and prevent the state from throwing out some absentee ballots. The rulings are a rebuke to Secretary of State Brian Kemp, whose office oversees the voter rolls and who is the Republican candidate in the state’s hotly contested gubernatorial race. The issue of voter suppression has been central to the governor’s race in Georgia, where Kemp is facing Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams, who is seeking to become the country’s first female, black governor.