ICYMI: Chorus of Voices Slam Georgia Republicans’ Voting Restriction Legislation

In the days after Georgia Republicans introduced a slew of bills to restrict voting, a chorus of voices, including news outlets, voting rights activists, and policy experts, have sounded the alarm over the proposals, which would make it disproportionately harder for low-income voters, rural voters, older voters, and voters of color to make their voices heard in our democratic process.

The bills, which come after Democrats made historic gains in Georgia in 2020, propose creating burdensome photo ID requirements for absentee voting; ending no-excuse absentee voting; banning ballot drop boxes; limiting the sending of absentee ballot applications to voters; and prohibiting new Georgia residents from voting in some elections.

What’s more, these voting restriction bills are now headed to the state Senate Ethics Committee, which includes two Republican members who peddled false conspiracy theories about the November general election.

See what people are saying about state Republicans’ attempts to make it harder for Georgians to vote:

Georgia Public Broadcasting: “After a failed attempt by some Republicans to overturn Georgia’s thrice-counted certified election results that gave President Joe Biden a victory, GOP lawmakers in the state Senate have filed a barrage of bills that would add more barriers to the ballot box for many voters.”

ABC: “Republicans in Georgia’s state Senate are moving quickly to limit who can vote and how after Democrats won the presidential election and two U.S. Senate runoffs in the once reliably red state. . .Many of the proposals target absentee voting by mail after relentless false claims by former President Donald Trump and his allies — including some Republican state senators.”

CNN: “Republicans, echoing a baseless argument frequently made by former President Donald Trump, claim that the measures are necessary to prevent voter fraud, even though no evidence exists that it played a factor in the outcome of the 2020 election.”

Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “State and local election officials have said there’s little indication of fraud besides isolated cases. . .An audit of absentee ballot signatures by the GBI and secretary of state’s office found no cases of fraud among 15,000 ballots reviewed.”

The Hill: “[S.B. 29] marks the opening salvo of what is expected to be a robust effort by Georgia Republicans to limit absentee voting after President Biden won the state over former President Trump and Democrats swept the Peach State’s two Senate seats in a pair of January runoffs. . . [though] GOP allegations of voter fraud and irregularities have failed to stand up to scrutiny.”

Law & Crime: “Georgia shocked the nation in the last election cycle with Democrats winning the presidency as well as a pair of Senate seats in the typically red state, leaving Republicans licking their wounds and jockeying for new legislation to make it harder for citizens to vote by mail in future contests.”

WABE: “Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan. . . [has] been outspoken in saying he didn’t detect any fraud in Georgia’s November and January elections. Many Republicans, recoiling at Donald Trump’s loss of the state in November, have claimed without proof that there were fraudulent mail-in ballots.”

Jim Galloway (@JimJournalist): “It’s never too late to fix what you’re already proven ain’t broke. Especially if the other team is making better use of it than you are.”

LeBron James (@KingJames): “I hope y’all understand Black voter suppression doesn’t stop on Election Day. It’s just going to get worse because they know what we did.”

Fair Fight (@fairfightaction): “Republicans are trying to change the rules of GA elections – rules that they wrote – because they were humiliated on November 3 and again on January 5. . .Republicans are attempting to purposely take away the ability of many Georgians to vote by mail simply because they believe too many Democrats and too many people of color voted by mail.”

Marc Elias (@marceelias): “I don’t know how many ways or times to say this. If Georgia thinks it will just pass voter suppression laws without consequences, it is wrong.”

Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes): “This is just a continuation of Trump’s big lie, but one that all of the GOP, more or less, will be on board with.”

Joyce Alene (@JoyceWhiteVance): “Voter ID laws address a non-existent problem, fake allegations of voter fraud. They’re universally driven by Republicans who use these laws to suppress votes of poor people, black people, immigrants, older people & others they believe are likely to vote Democratic.”

Stephen Wolf (@PoliticsWolf): “Georgia GOP initially exempted mail ballots from their voter ID law because elderly white Republicans were disproportionately likely to vote by mail. After the 1st election where mail votes were heavily Dem (largely due to Trump’s demagoguery), GOP is plotting new restrictions”

###