Lawsuit over 2018 Georgia governor's election heads to trial

​​Three and a half years later, the election lawsuit filed by Stacey Abrams' allies after her 2018 governor's race loss is going to trial.

Why it matters: While the judge has thrown out many of the suit’s original complaints, if the voting rights group Abrams created, Fair Fight Action, wins, the decision could change how Georgia administers elections.

Here's what the plaintiffs are challenging:

1. What's known as Georgia's “exact match” policy, which requires voter registration information to match other databases, including from the department of driver services.

• The state counters the process is required by federal law.

2. How Georgia checks voters’ citizenship status.

3. How elections workers are trained on in-person absentee ballot cancellation.

4. The accuracy of the state-managed voter list.

What they're saying: Fair Fight argues these policies infringe on Georgians’ right to vote and disproportionately affect voters of color, a violation of the Constitution and Voting Rights Act.

• In a statement, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, the lead defendant, called the lawsuit “nothing more than a political stunt.”

What we're watching: Raffensperger has vowed to appeal the case to the Supreme Court if necessary.

The trial is likely to last until May. Judge Steve Jones has said he doesn’t expect to rule before the primary election.