The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Dec. 4, 2025
Georgia was one of the first states to pass sweeping voter suppression laws after the 2020 election. Among many major changes, Senate Bill 202 made it harder to vote by mail and banned giving food and water to voters in line. It survived court challenges, but December 1st, an 11th Circuit federal court panel said free speech issues needed to be considered.
SB 202 infamously prohibited line warming, a tradition by civil rights groups of distributing food and water to voters forced to wait in long lines. Those lines often resulted from local election officials restricting the number of polling places and voting machines in African American communities. SB 202 classified giving the food and water within a 25-foot electioneering zone as a gift designed to influence a voter’s decision.
Scores of pro-democracy and religious organizations appealed. In the words of the court, “They emphasize that the distribution of things like food and water to waiting voters communicates support of and solidarity for voters waiting in line and is part of what they call ‘a rich tradition of Black political activism.’ That expression, they say, is entitled to First Amendment protection.” UNQUOTE.
The three-judge opinion didn’t rule on the merits, but instead sent the case to a lower federal district court to consider the precedent of another free speech case, Moody v. NetChoice.
We’ll be following it carefully. I’m Brian Beihl.
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
Brennan Center for Justice – Impacts of Restrictive Voting Legislation Since the 2020 Election
M.V. (Trey) Hood III, Univ. of Georgia & Seth C. McKee, Oklahoma State Univ. – Gauging the Effects of SB 202 on Voting in Georgia
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit – Plaintiffs in re: Georgia Senate Bill 202
United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit – Opinion in GEORGIA SENATE BILL 202.
Georgia Recorder – Georgia ban on ‘line warming’ at the polls revived after new ruling
Groups Taking Action:
ACLU GA, NAACP Legal Defense Fund, League of Women Voters GA
Register or Check Your Voter Registration:
U.S. Election Assistance Commission – How to Register And Vote in Your State
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