ATLANTA – A group of Republican state senators want to make sweeping changes to how elections are carried out in the peach state.
The proposed changes include:
- ban ballot drop boxes
- end automatic registration, which is currently offered when you renew or apply for a driver’s license.
- limit the circumstances for people to vote absentee
The latest voting restriction proposal came Wednesday when a Republican member of Georgia’s state Senate introduced a bill that would require people to make copies of their photo ID and mail it to election officials twice to vote absentee by mail.
The bill comes after a large increase in mail voting, spurred on by the coronavirus pandemic, helped propel Democrats to victory in November’s presidential election and in two Jan. 5 U.S. Senate runoffs.
State election officials have said unequivocally that there was no widespread fraud or irregularities in mail voting, despite relentless false claims by former President Donald Trump and his allies.
But that hasn’t stopped Republican lawmakers from trying to add requirements.
Fair Fight, a voting rights group founded by Democrat Stacey Abrams, slammed the proposals.
“By requiring access to a printer, which many Georgians obviously do not have, Republicans are attempting to purposely take away the ability of many Georgians to vote by mail simply because they believe too many Democrats and too many people of color voted by mail,” the group tweeted.
Fair Fight also noted that the proposal in its current form could raise concerns about identity theft.