Georgia has an election law that says absentee ballots can only be mailed to the voter’s permanent address, or to a temporary address that is outside the voter’s home county or municipality. On September 29, two voters filed a federal lawsuit, alleging that that law is unconstitutional as applied to registered voters who happen to be in jail (in their home town or city) because of a misdemeanor. Ironically, if either of them had been in jail in a city other than their home city, they could have received an absentee ballot.

The case is based on a 1972 U.S. Supreme Court decision from New York, which struck down a virtually identical New York law. The ACLU National Voting Rights Office is representing the two voters. The case is Swann v Handel, 1:09-cv-2674, northern district. Thanks to ElectionLawBlog for this news.