ATLANTA (AP) — Just days before the Nov. 4 midterm elections, a state judge in Georgia is declining to act on a dispute over 56,000 voter registration applications in one of the nation's most politically charged states.

The NAACP and associated voter registration groups accused elections officials of not processing applications quickly enough.

Fulton County Judge Christopher Brasher ruled Tuesday that the plaintiffs failed to prove that election authorities haven't followed the law. Republican Secretary of State Brian Kemp and authorities in several majority Democratic counties say they are still processing applications.

The plaintiffs are technically non-partisan, but the case centered on young voters and non-whites seen as more likely to support Democrats in Georgia's competitive Senate and governor's races.

Leaders of the registration groups say they are considering further legal action.