Georgia ban on ‘line warming’ at the polls revived after new ruling

Since 2023, part of a controversial Georgia election law banning food and water from being distributed to voters waiting in line has been on hold, as a lawsuit against the measure worked its way through the federal court system. But the ban on “line warming,” as the practice is sometimes called, may be allowed to […]

Senate Bill 202 passed in 2021 after President Donald Trump’s narrow defeat in Georgia, and contained a provision that made it a misdemeanor offense to hand out food and drinks to voters waiting in line. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder

Since 2023, part of a controversial Georgia election law banning food and water from being distributed to voters waiting in line has been on hold, as a lawsuit against the measure worked its way through the federal court system.

But the ban on “line warming,” as the practice is sometimes called, may be allowed to take effect for the 2026 midterm elections after a three-judge panel on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ordered a lower court to reconsider its ruling in the case.

The 11th Circuit Court’s ruling, which was released Monday, vacated the 2023 ruling and remanded the case to U.S. District Judge J.P. Boulee due to a new precedent that was set by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2024.

“We find that it would be inappropriate at this juncture to address the merits of the plaintiffs’ First Amendment challenge,” the panel wrote in Monday’s ruling, instructing the district court to conduct a type of legal analysis outlined in the recent Supreme Court ruling, Moody v. NetChoice, LLC.

Senate Bill 202 passed in 2021 after President Donald Trump’s narrow defeat in Georgia. The law made several controversial changes to Georgia election law, including restricting the window of time voters have to request an absentee ballot, limiting ballot drop boxes, and implementing new voter ID requirements for absentee voting. It also contained a provision that made it a misdemeanor offense to hand out food and drinks to voters waiting in line.

The law gained national attention — and criticism — with Georgia-based businesses like Coca-Cola and Delta Air Lines speaking out against the legislation, and Major League Baseball deciding to move its 2021 All-Star game out of the state. An episode of HBO Max’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm” also depicted actor Larry David getting arrested for handing out a bottle of water to a voter in line.

Proponents of the law have argued that distributing food and water violates state and federal laws meant to prevent groups from buying votes through money or other means.

But opponents said the measure was cruel and discriminatory, pointing to reports of hourslong wait times at the polls in metro Atlanta during the 2020 election. Attorneys for the plaintiffs also argued that the law restricted Georgians’ First Amendment rights to free speech.

In 2023, Boulee upheld part of the ban on distributing refreshments to voters within a 150-foot “buffer zone” outside polling places. However, he temporarily blocked a provision banning volunteers from offering food and water within a “supplemental zone,” defined as 25 feet from any voter in line at a polling place, arguing that such activities count as “expressive conduct” and are therefore protected by the First Amendment. The appeals court heard arguments in the case this past August.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s office declined to comment on the case, citing pending litigation. However, other state leaders, including Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, applauded the ruling.

“The 11th Circuit’s ruling reinforces a simple truth: Georgia has the right and the responsibility to shield voters from influence and interference at the polls,” Raffensperger said in a statement, adding “our laws safeguard every Georgian’s right to free, fair, and fast elections.”

Cory Isaacson, legal director at the ACLU of Georgia, which is representing the plaintiffs, said she was disappointed in the appeals court’s ruling, but said the organization planned to keep fighting. 

“It is important to note that the 11th Circuit didn’t reach the merits of whether or not this law is actually unconstitutional,” she said. “It instead sent it back to the district court to do a different analysis, so we remain hopeful that what’s right and lawful will prevail and that ultimately, we will see the line relief ban overturned again.”

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