A bill that would overhaul many of the ways Georgians vote has passed the state House of Representatives along party lines.
House Bill 531, sponsored by Republican Rep. Barry Fleming, adds additional ID requirements for absentee ballots and places limitations on the use of absentee ballot drop boxes. It also bans private funding of election operations, restricts the use of private venues as polling sites except in the case of an emergency and reduces early and weekend voting.
“House Bill 531 is designed to begin to bring back the confidence of our voters back into our election system. A main component of that effort is by enacting several revisions, which will make the administration of elections easier by our local elections officials,” said Fleming.
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Fleming, a Republican, sponsored House Bill 531, which passed the House along party lines last week. The bill, which awaits Senate action, curbs the use of drop boxes, changes early voting hours, limits no-excuse absentee voting, and requires ID for absentee voting.
“House Bill 531 is designed to begin to bring back the confidence of our voters back into our election system. A main component of that effort is by enacting several revisions, which will make the administration of elections easier by our local elections officials,” Fleming said last week, according to WABE.
March 11, 2021
Photograph by Megan Varner/Getty Images
Opponents of several voting bills introduced during Georgia’s current legislative session say Republican lawmakers are attempting to restrict access to the polls in response to three major recent losses Georgia voters recently elected a Democratic president for the first time in nearly thirty years, along with not one but two Democratic U.S. Senators. And while critics say they expected some legislation aimed at Georgia’s elections system, the proposed bills have been more egregious than they initially anticipated.
After Monday’s Crossover Day, 12 different bills remain alive in the House and Senate and could make a variety of drastic changes to Georgia’s elections laws, including doing away with no-excuse absentee voting, requiring absentee voter ID, restricting the locations of ballot drop boxes, and limiting the hours for early voting, among other restrictions. Republicans in support of the bills say the changes are
Atlanta Magazine Here’s what’s going on with voting legislation in Georgia and why opponents.
Here’s what’s going on with voting legislation in Georgia and why opponents say it’s clear “voter suppression”
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Photograph by Megan Varner/Getty Images
Opponents of several voting bills introduced during Georgia’s current legislative session say Republican lawmakers are attempting to restrict access to the polls in response to three major recent losses Georgia voters recently elected a Democratic president for the first time in nearly thirty years, along with not one but two Democratic U.S. Senators. And while critics say they expected some legislation aimed at Georgia’s elections system, the proposed bills have been more egregious than they initially anticipated.