Georgia's attorney general is again refusing Governor Sonny Perdue's request to sue the federal government.

In a letter to Perdue on Thursday, Baker said he won't sue the Obama administration to implement Georgia's system of checking the citizenship of newly registering voters. Perdue and Secretary of State Brian Kemp want the courts to rule on the voter checks.

The Justice Department has three times blocked the state's efforts to
use federal identification numbers and driver's license data to confirm whether prospective voters are U.S. citizens.

But Baker - a Democratic candidate for governor - said the state should continue to work with the Justice Department to clear the system instead of pursuing a "costly and time-consuming lawsuit."

Baker has also refused to sue the federal government over a new federal health reform law.

Tags: Georgia, Governor Sonny Perdue, lawsuit, Attorney General Thurbert Baker, voter citizenship checks