georgia voting law npr

The new law, among many other provisions, does codify absentee ballot drop boxes and requires at least one in each county, but adds new restrictions to their location and hours. “Before this election, we never had [absentee ballot] drop boxes. On Thursday, a Republican-backed voting bill was signed into law in Georgia. Kemp told Fox News that Biden needs to look at a side-by-side comparison of Georgia and Delaware instead of focusing on trying to get the MLB game out of Georgia. Three federal lawsuits have already been filed to challenge its constitutionality, and calls of boycotts of some of Atlanta’s largest companies have persisted in the wake of frustration those companies didn’t do more to protest the bill. Confusion deters voting, which brings about voter suppression.". And that’s exactly what they have done, which is how the process works.”, Kemp decried the calls to boycott some of Atlanta’s major corporations pushed by some advocates in the wake of the bill’s passage. ", Minority Leader James Beverly said the bill does not reflect bipartisan efforts to handle election changes and said it "silences the voice of Georgians. As the 53rd anniversary of those events draws near, citizens in King’s home state of Georgia are again pleading for civil rights, in the face of a new voter suppression law. "It takes away the ability to have uniformity in every county," he said. It has nothing to do with potential fraud or not,” he said. The bill now heads to the Georgia Senate, which is considering its own omnibus measure that would end no-excuse absentee voting, among other changes. “It’s unfortunate. Businesses For Not Speaking Out Against New Voting Law, Centra Villa Apartment Complex Purchased To Provide Affordable Housing For Veterans. "For example, if a county chooses the first Sunday, the situation will be extremely confusing for county residents with voting closed on that Saturday. “I’m telling you the truth about this bill. Three federal lawsuits have already been filed to challenge its constitutionality, and calls of boycotts of some of Atlanta’s largest companies have persisted in the wake of frustration those companies didn’t do more to protest the bill. But it doesn’t hide the fact that there were some issues on Election Day.”. ", "In the opening salvo: Line 8 restricts access, Line 15 limits my ability to vote, Line 21 limits my ability to vote, Line 25 limits my ability to vote, Line 30 restricts access, and it goes on and on for 66 pages," he said. Georgia's Republican lawmakers have proposed a number of changes to cut down on voting options. But Rep. Calvin Smyre, a Black Democrat from Columbus and the longest-serving member in the chamber, said Fleming's logic was hypocritical and discriminatory against Black voters who use the second Sunday for "souls to the polls" events. House Bill 531, which passed 97-72 Monday, would also strip the secretary of state of his role as chair of the State Election Board, prevent county elections offices from receiving direct grant funding, shorten Georgia's runoff election period and require counties to add more staff, equipment or polling places in large precincts with long voter lines. “That’s still playing out with the investigations as they do after every large election. In addition to the drop boxes, Georgia voters can return absentee ballots in person to their county elections office or use the mail, both arguably more inconvenient than a secure 24/7 monitored drop box that minimizes human contact in a pandemic. Three federal lawsuits have already been filed to challenge its constitutionality, Georgia Hits 4 Million Dose Mark For Vaccine Given In State, Crews Drain Florida Wastewater Pond As Leak Threatens To Unleash ‘Catastrophic Flood’, Ruling By Senate Parliamentarian Opens Up Potential Pathway For Democrats. The controversial law, SB 202, has been condemned by Democrats and voting rights group. One of the most controversial sections in the bill would mandate that all counties have the same early voting dates and times: three weeks of Monday-through-Friday voting, one mandatory Saturday and then one additional Saturday or Sunday during the first weekend. Over objections from Democrats, Georgia House Republicans passed a sweeping elections bill that would enact more restrictions on absentee voting and cut back on weekend early voting hours favored by larger counties, among other changes. ‘A Really Good Bill’: Gov. And I think that just really makes it a level playing field across the state no matter where you are.”. "I stand in opposition to this bill because Democrats weren't involved in any meaningful conversation before 531 was haphazardly thrown together in committee and passed.". The bottom line is the election is certified. Why Republicans Are Moving To Fix Elections That Weren't Broken, Virginia Is Poised To Approve Its Own Voting Rights Act. Less than a week after Gov. Virginie Kippelen/AFP via Getty Images "Members of this body aided and abetted a deliberate misinformation campaign to sow seeds of doubt among Georgia voters with absolutely no facts or evidence. Delta responded with a statement arguing it “engaged extensively” with lawmakers and said the law that was signed “improved considerably during the legislative process.”. An avalanche of misinformation will follow regarding when voting happens on weekends. “I think when people get educated on the bill and are not subjected to people misleading them on the other side about what this bill actually does, I think they’ll have good understanding of why the General Assembly took the actions that they did,” he said. In 2020, volunteers gave food, water, and other supplies to voters in hours-long lines. The law will make dramatic alterations to Georgia's absentee voting rules, adding new identification requirements, moving back the request deadline and other changes. It expands access,” he said. “And the people that are still governing in the General Assembly wanted to do something about the problems that they saw with this election. ... NPR … The law, which is made up of nearly 100-pages worth of changes, includes an expansion of weekend early voting requirements in the state, requires counties to respond to voting lines that last more than an hour, but also bans the distribution of food and drink to voters waiting in line at a precinct, outlaws mobile voting units except for emergencies and requires new identification for absentee ballots. "We are legislating on lies ... lies, misinformation and conspiracy theories that have gone unchecked by many members of this body, who stayed silent, who signed on to the Texas lawsuit or who encouraged sham hearings in our General Assembly," she said. “If you look at these comparisons, the state of Delaware has no in-person early voting. MLB moving 2021 All-Star Game from Atlanta over Georgia voting law — Major League Baseball announced Friday that it is moving the 2021 All-Star Game and 2021 draft out of Atlanta in protest of a new Georgia law that has raised concerns about its potential to disproportionately disenfranchise minority voters. See more stories on Insider's business page. The new voting law still permits polling places to be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and as long as you are in line by 7 p.m. then you can still vote, the Post confirmed. "Were we to eliminate drop boxes, which we are not, not a single absentee voter would be inconvenienced because every voter has a drop box called a mailbox.". Kemp is speaking out in defense of the legislation and those companies, trying to counter Democratic arguments that the bill is designed to suppress votes. NPR explains: One of the most controversial sections in the bill would mandate that all counties have the same early voting dates and times: ... Cook’s comments on Georgia’s new voting law. The Georgia law is one of a number of restrictive voting rules now being considered by Republican state lawmakers nationwide: Iowa has also passed new restrictive voting … Fulton County, Georgia’s most populous county, was the only one to use mobile polling places in 2020. "The bill sets more uniform voting times for advanced voting across the state and attempts to bring more uniformity to our state and less confusion," Fleming said. And activists are once again weighing a boycott of Coca-Cola, the multi-national soft-drink giant headquartered in Atlanta. Speaker pro tempore Jan Jones, a Milton Republican, spoke about sections of the bill that would restrict access to secure drop boxes by limiting the number of boxes and requiring them to be inside early voting sites and only available during in-person early voting. Brian Kemp signed a 98-page law that enacted drastic changes to election rules in Georgia this week, some lawmakers were already facing pushback amid an inflamed debate over voting rights.. We have 17 days. Regarding the ban on discretionary mobile voting units, Kemp pointed out some smaller counties “don’t have the opportunity to do that. "Drop boxes are the most inconvenient way to vote absentee," she said. A Fulton County election worker is shown processing absentee ballots in November. And they certainly do,” Kemp said about Republicans’ down ballot 2020 victories, which solidified their continued control of the Georgia General Assembly. Georgia voters cast their ballots in Chamblee for runoff elections in early January. FILE - In this Oct. 12, 2020, file photo, people wait in line for early voting at the Bell Auditorium in Augusta, Ga. And it’s not fair to be boycotting businesses because of a so-called voter suppression bill that is not in Georgia,” Kemp said. The bill's sponsor, GOP Rep. Barry Fleming, who chairs the House Special Committee on Election Integrity, said the 66-page measure "is designed to begin to bring back the confidence of our voters back into our election system" after Republicans lost confidence in the GOP-backed voting system following Democrats' victories in the November presidential contest and both of Georgia's U.S. Senate races. And if we hadn’t put drop boxes in this bill, there would be no drop boxes going forward.”. “A lot of this bill is dealing with the mechanics of the election. Rep. Bee Nguyen, a Democrat from Atlanta, said in a floor speech that Republican lawmakers were passing harmful legislation that helps continue a narrative that led to death threats for elected officials and elections workers and contributed to the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol in January. Kemp Defends Georgia's Voting Law, Amid Critical Backlash, Georgia Republicans Defend New Voting Laws, Amtrak's Long-Range Plan Would Add New Routes Across South, Roberts Accuses Supreme Court Justices Of 'Turning Judges Into Advice Columnists'. “This is all part of an agenda to drive a narrative and to pad people’s pocketbooks.”, Kemp said during the process conversations with the business community were happening “at least once a day.”, “And I think that helped us at the end of the day, get a really good bill, that bill that provides more access, but also makes sure that we’re going to have secure, accessible, fair elections in Georgia.”, Gov. It takes months and months for that to come to fruition. Following a record 5 million votes cast in the 2020 election cycle in Georgia, Duncan said he hopes for an even bigger turnout in 2024, something critics of Georgia’s new law say it was designed to prevent. Among the changes, the nearly 100-page bill includes restrictions on where drop boxes can be placed and requires ID for absentee voting. Kemp argued claims of “suppression” and labels of “Jim Crow 2.0” are based on “blatant misinformation.”. A provision of a new Georgia law bans volunteers from delivering food or drinks to voters in line. Brian Kemp argues claims of “suppression” and labels of “Jim Crow 2.0” about Georgia’s new voting law are based on “blatant misinformation.”, The Good, The Bad And The ‘Petty’ In Georgia’s New Voting Law, Emory Professor Talks About Pressure To Boycott Ga. Georgia voters cast their ballots in Chamblee for runoff elections in early January. Georgia's Republican lawmakers have proposed a number of changes to cut down on voting options. President Biden is in office, and we’re moving on. Where Does The Ahmaud Arbery Case Stand Now? hide caption. “I’ve heard a lot of the Democrats say this year the elections have consequences. Long before Republican Gov. Georgia House Passes Elections Bill That Would Limit Absentee And Early Voting The Republican bill would enact more restrictions on absentee voting and cut back on weekend early voting … Kemp disagreed that the law is responding to false claims of voter fraud pushed by former President Donald Trump. Less than a week after Gov. Duncan also adds that Republicans in his state need to regain credibility by admitting the fact that former President Trump lost in 2020 “fair and square.” Kemp argued that “making sure that the drop boxes are used in a secure manner and are monitored when they’re available for people to drop their ballot off” are appropriate. Brian Kemp signed Georgia’s new Republican-led voting bill into law, the scrutiny has persisted. “A lot of things that we’re dealing with in this bill are because we just had a global pandemic, and it changed the way elections operate in Georgia,” Kemp said. 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