Parts of sweeping new Georgia election law debated in court

ATLANTA (AP) — Voting integrity activists argue several parts of Georgia’s new election law criminalize normal election observation activities.

The state argues that those provisions reinforce previous protections and are necessary for election security.

A federal judge is hearing arguments on the activists’ request that he bar election officials from enforcing those provisions.

Thursday’s hearing was focused narrowly on a handful of provisions and wasn’t addressing the most commonly criticized parts of the law.

The challenged provisions mostly have to do with monitoring or photographing parts of the election process.