A decision by a federal appeals court in Atlanta clears the way for two lawsuits challenging Georgia's use of paperless electronic voting machines to go forward.
The lawsuits, filed by Georgia voters and an election integrity group, seek to bar Georgia from using the machines in future elections. In motions last year, they sought to force the state to use paper ballots in the November midterm elections.
A federal judge denied those requests, saying the time period was too short for a switch. But she found that the machines pose a "threat of real harms" to voters' constitutional rights.
The state appealed, saying state officials had immunity from the suits. A three-judge panel of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Thursday rejected those arguments.
