Mike Dugan, majority leader of the GOP Senate in Georgia, the main sponsor of the bill, said during the introduction of the legislation in February that limiting absenteeism is necessary to reduce the cost of processing ballot papers. relieve local election workers and increase the certainty that the absentee. ballot papers are counted.
“All we are trying to do here is make sure we can afford it, that the offices can manage it and that the voters are sure that their votes are really counted,” Dugan said.
Senate President Butch Miller, also a Republican, told CNN that the legislation aims to increase confidence in the peach state’s electoral system after the 2020 election.
“I want every legitimate vote to be counted in a timely and accurate manner, and I want better access for all voters. Even those of us who have never claimed that the election was stolen acknowledge that voters have confidence in the legitimacy of the “We need to work. We need to work to repair it,” Miller told CNN in an email.
The bill also creates identity requirements for requesting an absent ballot, and requires anyone who does not have a state identification or driver’s license to submit a copy of an approved form of ID when requesting an absent ballot, as well as when they submit their absent ballot.
The bill would also introduce a voter phone call to the State Attorney for complaints and allegations of voter intimidation and illegal election activities, and require Georgia to participate in a multi-state voter registration system to cross the electoral roll. restricts the use of mobile polling stations, requires a court order for the extension of voting hours, and will authorize the legislature to temporarily block any change in emergency rule arrangements, under a number of changes in electoral law.
Democratic lawmakers in Georgia denounced the legislation as a setback for the record turnout of the 2020 election and the end of January, which made the state blue with President Joe Biden the first Democrat to win the Peach State presidential election won in almost three decades. And Georgia voters also elected two Democrats to the Senate in January.
“They (Republicans) passed this law. They did not use it. The Democrats did it. The GOP lost. And so they want to change the laws again now,” said Democratic Caucus President Gloria Butler. , said. CNN.
Voting rights activists say the bill will create additional barriers that will restrict “freedom to vote” while GOP officials continue unfounded allegations of voter fraud.
“This is a two-way battle we are currently working on: to return against this extremely dangerous disinformation and on the voting front itself to make sure that these regressive bills are not codified in legislation,” said Poy Winichakul, staff lawyer. for the SPLC Action Fund.