Georgia officials fire back at DOJ's 'blatantly political' lawsuit against the state's election law

Georgia's top elected officials are slamming the Department of Justice's decision to sue the state over its new Election Integrity Act, saying that it's a blatantly political lawsuit.

"Where we believe the rights of civil rights of Americans have been violated we will not hesitate to act," Attorney General Merrick Garland said during a press conference announcing the lawsuit.  Georgia's new voting law has received heavy criticism from Democrats and large corporations over the last few months due to the expansive powers granted to the state over local election offices. Among the most high-profile provisions of the controversial new election law is a change in how the state verifies the identity of voters who request and cast absentee ballots. The law eliminates signature matching and requires an ID to vote, if an individual has one.  This change has been criticized by many as likely to make it more difficult for Georgians, specifically minorities who are more likely to vote Democratic, to vote by mail. However, the law also provides Georgia voters who don't have a photo ID with a plethora of different options to confirm their identity when requesting a ballot.