Georgia House Passes GOP Bill Rolling Back Voting Access

March 2, 2021by Ben Nadler and Amila Yoganathan, Associated Press
Georgia House Passes GOP Bill Rolling Back Voting Access
Demonstrators chained together protest HB 531 outside of the Georgia State Capitol Building on day 25 of the legislative session in Atlanta, Monday, March 1, 2021. (Alyssa Pointer/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

ATLANTA (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Georgia muscled legislation through the state House on Monday that would roll back voting access, over the objection of Democrats and civil rights groups gathered at the Capitol to protest. 

The bill comes after record turnout led to Democratic wins in Georgia’s presidential election and two U.S. Senate runoffs. 

House Bill 531 passed the lower legislative chamber by a vote of 97-72. It now goes to the state Senate for more debate. 

The far-reaching bill would require a photo ID for absentee voting, limit the amount of time voters have to request an absentee ballot, restrict where ballot drop boxes could be located and when they could be accessed, and limit early voting hours on weekends, among many other changes. 

It is one of a flood of election bills being pushed by GOP lawmakers across the country this year that would add new barriers to voting. 

Republicans say the measure is needed to restore the public’s confidence in elections, after former President Donald Trump and his allies relentlessly pushed false claims about fraud. 

“House Bill 531 is designed to begin to bring back the confidence of our voters back into our election system,” said Republican Rep. Barry Fleming, the measure’s chief sponsor. 

Democrats say the legislation furthers Trump’s lies and would disproportionately affect voters of color. 

“It’s pathetically obvious to anyone paying attention that when Trump lost the November election and Georgia flipped control of the U.S. Senate to Democrats shortly after, Republicans got the message that they were in a political death spiral,” Democratic Rep. Renitta Shannon said. “And now they are doing anything they can to silence the voices of Black and brown voters specifically, because they largely powered these wins.” 

Dozens of protesters gathered just outside the Capitol on Monday in opposition to the bill, chanting “say no to voter suppression” and “protect the vote.” 

“Today, before the eyes of this country, Georgia is poised to pass some of the most egregious, dangerous and most expensive voter suppression acts in this entire nation, rolling back years of hardball progress and renewing our own reputation for discrimination,” the Rev. James Woodall, president of the Georgia NAACP, said at the rally. 

Alaina Reaves, the president of the Clayton County Young Democrats, was among the protesters.  

“We take one step forward and then you know these legislators are trying to bring us up to two steps back,” Reaves said.  

Later Monday, the state Senate Ethics Committee approved a Republican-backed bill that would limit who can vote absentee in Georgia to those 65 and older, people with a disability and people who will be away from their precinct on Election Day.  

That bill would do away with no-excuse absentee voting adopted by a Republican-controlled legislature in 2005. It could soon move to the full Senate for a vote. 

A+
a-
  • Georgia
  • Protests
  • voting access
  • voting rights
  • In The News

    Health

    Voting

    In The States

    AP Decision Notes: What to Expect in the Tuesday Presidential and State Primaries

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Voting in the races for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations happens again Tuesday, a week after President... Read More

    WASHINGTON (AP) — Voting in the races for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations happens again Tuesday, a week after President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump secured enough delegate support to become their parties’ presumptive nominees. Three states also will hold primaries for other offices... Read More

    Across the US, Batteries and Green Energies Combine for Major Climate Solution

    In the Arizona desert, a Danish company is building a massive solar farm that includes batteries that charge when the... Read More

    In the Arizona desert, a Danish company is building a massive solar farm that includes batteries that charge when the sun is shining and supply energy back to the electric grid when it's not. Combining batteries with green energy is a fast-growing climate solution. “Solar farms... Read More

    Prosecutors Say They're Open to Delaying Donald Trump's March 25 Hush-Money Trial for a Month

    NEW YORK (AP) — New York prosecutors said Thursday they are open to delaying the start of Donald Trump's hush-money criminal... Read More

    NEW YORK (AP) — New York prosecutors said Thursday they are open to delaying the start of Donald Trump's hush-money criminal trial by a month “in an abundance of caution” to give the former president's lawyers time to review evidence they received only recently from a previous federal... Read More

    The United States Has Its First Large Offshore Wind Farm, With More to Come

    America's first commercial-scale offshore wind farm is officially open, a long-awaited moment that helps pave the way for a succession... Read More

    America's first commercial-scale offshore wind farm is officially open, a long-awaited moment that helps pave the way for a succession of large wind farms. Danish wind energy developer Ørsted and the utility Eversource built a 12-turbine wind farm called South Fork Wind 35 miles (56 kilometers)... Read More

    Storm Carrying Massive 'Gorilla Hail' Hits Parts of Kansas and Missouri

    ST. LOUIS (AP) — Massive chunks of hail pelted parts of Kansas and Missouri on Wednesday night, bringing traffic to... Read More

    ST. LOUIS (AP) — Massive chunks of hail pelted parts of Kansas and Missouri on Wednesday night, bringing traffic to a standstill along Interstate 70, as storms unleashed possible tornadoes and meteorologists urged residents to stay indoors. There were three unconfirmed reports of tornadoes in Wabaunsee... Read More

    March 13, 2024
    by Dan McCue
    140 of DC’s Beloved Cherry Trees to Be Axed in Tidal Basin Renovation

    WASHINGTON — Catch them while you can. One hundred and forty of the District of Columbia’s beloved cherry trees —... Read More

    WASHINGTON — Catch them while you can. One hundred and forty of the District of Columbia’s beloved cherry trees — long a magnet for tourists and even local sightseers — will be cut down in May as part of a much needed project to address flooding... Read More

    News From The Well
    scroll top