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Republican-Backed Voting Bills Are Making It Harder to Vote in Georgia and Around the Country

What’s Happening With the Voting Bill in Georgia? 

The Georgia Senate just passed a bill 29-20 to increase restrictions on voting in the state. The bill would limit no-excuse absentee voting to only those who are over 65 years old, have a disability, or are out of town. It would also require a driver's license number or state ID number to vote.

Other bills have been introduced that would eliminate absentee ballot drop boxes and end automatic voter registration for those eligible. Democrats say that these laws would disproportionately impact Black voters in the state.

This comes on the heels of Georgia voters’ historic turnout in the 2020 election, which (driven mostly by young Black voters) led the state to swing blue for the first time in decades. The state also saw record-breaking early and mail-in voting. 

How Are Folks Responding? 

• A voting rights group held a sit-in demonstration at the Georgia capital to protest against the bills.
• Groups like the Black Voter Fund and Georgia NAACP are urging corporations in the state to take a stand against the legislation (and they’re getting some support from the NBA and LeBron James’ voting rights group).
• Black legislators and leaders are vowing to introduce legislation that restores voting access. 

Are These Voter Suppression Bills Happening Anywhere Else?

According to the Brennan Center for Justice, state lawmakers have introduced 253 bills that restrict voting access across 43 states (though it’s important to remember that just because a bill is introduced doesn’t mean that it’s likely to actually pass). They’re looking to make voter ID rules stricter, end automatic voter registration, expand voter roll purges, and severely limit absentee and mail-in voting -- which are all things that research shows disproportionately disenfranchise minority and low-income voters.  

These proposed voting restrictions are gaining the most traction in states with Republican-led legislatures like Florida, Iowa, and Texas. There are also several bills coming from battleground states that voted for former President Donald Trump in 2016 but flipped to President Joe Biden in 2020: Georgia, Arizona, and Pennsylvania. 

Why Are These Bills Being Pushed Right Now?

Trump and the Republican officials who support him have been leading misinformation campaigns since Nov. 3 that baselessly claim the election results were fraudulent in several states (particularly swing states). None of these accusations have stood up to scrutiny in court, and they’ve been disproved by the US Department of Justice, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and several state election officials. 

However, that hasn’t stopped conspiracy theories about voter fraud from spreading nationwide, many of them aimed at absentee and mail-in voting. The legislators introducing these bills may genuinely believe these false claims (or be operating on behalf of their constituents who do), and the voter restriction bills are their attempt to curb perceived voter fraud. 

...Or something more tactical could be going on, with Republican leaders purposely targeting voting methods and regulations that benefit marginal voters (who are more likely to vote Democratic). 

Take Action: Contact your reps about supporting the federal For the People Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Act to expand and restore voting access in federal elections. (And take 2 minutes to register to vote if you’re eligible!)

Why aren’t more people talking about… how women-led protests broke out in Idaho after state legislators rejected $6 million in childcare funding?

The good news is… this group of community mediators is stopping shootings in Charlottesville, Virginia before they even start. 

Meanwhile, in Guatemala… child marriages are rising during the pandemic, and one girl won an unprecedented legal case that allowed her to escape arranged marriage and continue her studies. 

My hero today is… 7-year-old Michael Martinez, a boy with cerebral palsy who saved his family’s lives by  crawling to alert them of a carbon monoxide leak. 

This week in Black joy… Black women are making waves in the sports world: Renee Montgomery is the first former WNBA player to become both owner and executive of a WNBA team, and Maia Chaka is the first Black woman to become an NFL game official.

Today in viral cuteness… Truffles the cat helps kids get used to wearing glasses. 

I’m obsessed with… how women in Myanmar are using sexist taboos around womens’ clothing to challenge patriarchal military dictatorship. 

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