Context for Georgia’s new election law
In the November 2020 presidential election last fall, U.S. President Joe Biden won the state of Georgia by 11,779 votes, according to the Brennan Center, a nonpartisan law and policy institute. In January 2021, Democratic Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock were sworn into the Senate, giving the Democratic party a narrow majority in the legislature.
Black voters were significant in the Democratic victory in the state for both the presidential and Senate runoff election.
As a result, and falling in line with former U.S. President Donald Trump’s claims of a fraudulent election, Republican Georgia lawmakers have zeroed in on their efforts to create more strict voting laws. In March 2021, Republican Gov. Brian Kemp said, “After the November election last year, I knew, like so many of you, that significant reforms to our state elections were needed.” In response President Biden said, “This is Jim Crow in the 21st Century. It must end.”
What does the new law do?
Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed a 98 page measure, the “Election Integrity Act of 2021,” into law on March 25. The new law most notably does the following: requires ID for in-person voting, regulates and shortens the time frame for requesting/returning mail ballots, restricts food distribution from poll workers to voters waiting in line and gives the Republican-controlled state legislature increased power over the state board of elections.
Republicans in the state say this law is a means to restore confidence in Georgia’s election. Democrats say it restricts voters and specifically targets Black voters who make up approximately one-third of the state’s population, many of whom align with the Democratic party.
How does this law make it more difficult for Black and minority communities to vote?
Between 2018 and 2020, there has been an increase in early voting, absentee voting and the use of drop boxes. This coincides with an increase in voter turnout among people of color. Election results show that 88% of Black Georgia voters supported President Biden last November. Ossoff and Warnock garnered larger support in January, capturing 92% and 93% of the Black vote in their runoff elections, respectively.
The new law hinders the ability of voters to utilize and access convenient voting options.
In the 2020 presidential election, more Black Georgians than white Georgians cast their ballots remotely. The New Georgia Project, a nonpartisan effort to register and civically engage Georgians, put out a statement saying Black voters are less likely than other voters to have the identification now required, thus putting Black voters at a disadvantage. A reason for this is because about 200,000 Georgians lack a driver’s license or state identification card, according to state figures. Therefore, Black voters are less likely than other voters to have the identification now required, according to The New Georgia Project.
Are other states considering a similar law?
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, 361 proposed restrictions to voting laws have been introduced in state legislatures across the country this year with at least 55 of them moving through legislatures. Texas and Arizona are the latest states to propose a voting bill similar to the one Georgia legislators passed in March. Texas Republicans have moved forward with voting legislation that would limit early voting hours, prohibit drive-thru voting, allow partisan poll workers to record voters at the polls and make it illegal for election officials to send vote by mail applications to voters.
In Arizona, Republicans are advocating for an audit of ballots from the 2020 presidential race and for legislation that would make it harder to vote by mail.
Are states also introducing expansive voting bills?
To counter restrictive provisions, currently 843 bills pushing for expansive voting provisions have been introduced in a different set of 47 states, nine of which have already been signed into law in Montana, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Virginia. The laws propose making it easier for absentee voting, disability access, early voting, automatic voter registration, curbside voting and pre-registration.
