By Angelina Clapp, JMU ’20, Political Science, Democracy Program Fellow
According to the State Voting Bills Tracker at the Brennan Center for Justice, since the 2020 Election, legislatures have introduced bills that restrict voting in 47 states, including Georgia. All eyes have been on the southern state since the historic win for Democrats in the 2020 election. Out of nearly 5 million votes, President Joe Bide won by a narrow 11,779 votes. The last Democratic presidential candidate to win the state was during the 1992 election with Bill Clinton winning 43.47% of the vote. The backlash that followed the results of the 2020 election included former President Trump pressuring election officials to find votes for him and the historic claims of rampant voter fraud, which have since been found to be false. According to the Elections Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council, the 2020 Election “was the most secure in American history.” Despite evidence to the contrary, Republican lawmakers in Georgia took the claims of voter fraud as an opportunity to pass a historic new bill, titled the “Election Integrity Act of 2021.” The primary purpose of the bill is to address the “lack of elector confidence in the election system, to reduce the burden on election officials, and to streamline the process of elections in Georgia by performing uniformity in voting.”
Voter suppression has evolved over the decades in Georgia. In 1946, World War II veteran Maceo Snipes was known as the first Black man to cast a ballot in his home county in Georgia. A few days after, a White man shot him dead in his front yard. Although more visible policies and laws, like literacy tests and the racist county unit system, no longer exist in the state, voter suppression is taking a new form in Georgia with the passage of the Election Integrity Act. Perhaps apropos of the situation and a stark reminder of the state’s history, Georgia’s governor, Brian Kemp, signed the bill into law under an antebellum-style portrait of a slave plantation in Wilkes County. Under the ruse of election integrity and election safety, the law will only make it more difficult for Georgians to cast their ballots. Here’s a breakdown of its provisions.
Election Integrity Act of 2021
Absentee Ballot Requests
In the 2020 election, 26% of the Georgia electorate voted absentee and of those ballots 65% were votes for Joe Biden. In addition to preventing more absentee ballots, it will also decrease the amount of time for get-out-the-vote efforts and will give election boards less time to process absentee ballot requests and send ballots to voters.
Georgia law originally stated that voters would have 180 days before an election to request an absentee ballot. The new law decreased the window down to just 78 days. Based on previous election voting data, this change will likely make it difficult for people to vote absentee in coming elections. By September 1, 2020, nearly 800,000 Georgians, or about one in nine active voters, had already requested an absentee ballot as state officials encouraged the use of early voting to minimize lines at the polls for the November election. At least 582,000 of those voters were on a “rollover” list of voters who checked a box to receive an absentee ballot for every election. Those voters are over 65, are disabled, are in the military or living overseas.
In addition to this change, it is now illegal for absentee ballot requests to be mailed to all voters in Georgia. (Nevermind the fact that other states, namely Oregon and Washington, only use vote-by-mail and don’t have issues.) Due to the ongoing pandemic, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger sent out absentee ballot request forms to every single registered voter in the state for the primaries. In the general election, some individual counties sent out the forms to their registered voters. Despite a record number of Georgians voting absentee, the new law prohibits the mailing of absentee ballot requests to anyone who did not already request it. It also bans third party groups from prefilling applications for voters. These new changes will likely lead to fewer people voting due to lack of access to technology such as computers or reliable wifi for people to request online; equity issues such as people with disabilities who may not be able to fill out applications without third party help; and that applications automatically sent out can serve as a reminder for Georgians about upcoming elections.
ID Requirements
The previous law required Georgia voters to only sign their absentee ballots applications. The new law requires voters to include their driver’s license or state-issued identification number to be included on absentee ballot applications. Georgia identification cards have two separate numbers on them, further strengthening claims that the new law will only confuse those who are applying to vote absentee. If voters fail to correctly write down their identification numbers, then their requests will likely be thrown out. This new change will disproportionately impact Black votes rather than White voters because Black voters are less likely to have voter identification.
Drop Boxes
The new law established fewer drop boxes across the state and limits the hours when voters can drop off ballots. Prior to the 2020 election there were no drop boxes in Georgia and were only used due to the pandemic. The law states that counties can only “establish additional drop boxes totaling the lesser of either one drop box for every 100,000 active registered voters in the county or the number of advance voting locations in the county.” During the 2020 election, there were 94 drop boxes for the four counties encompassing Atlanta. The new law would decrease that number down to just 23 drop boxes for 4 counties, or lower depending on the number of early voting sites available. Additionally, instead of the usual 24-hour access to drop boxes outdoors, the new law requires drop boxes be placed inside of government buildings and can only be accessible during business hours. This raises equity concerns for those who may not be able to drop off their ballots during business hours, like most working people.
Mobile Voting Centers
During the 2020 election, Fulton County, which includes most of Atlanta, had two recreational vehicles that acted as mobile voting centers during early voting. The vehicles went around the county to places like churches, parking lots, and public libraries. More than 11,200 people voted at these mobile sites. The new law bans this process unless the Governor declares a state of emergency to allow the use of them. The ban of mobile voting centers will likely lead to a decrease in turnout in the future due to the loss of access to voting that it provided by operating in public spaces.
Early Voting
The new law states that early voting hours can only be during weekday working hours of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and cannot occur before 7 a.m. and after 7 p.m. The law adds a second Saturday of early voting which will likely expand access in more rural counties, places where election officials have felt strained in the past due to limited early voting periods. Additionally, it does not require early voting on Sundays, and counties can choose whether or not to offer early voting the two Sundays before an election. This will likely impact third-party groups who work in Georgia to mobilize black voters to vote after Sunday church services.
Availability of water and food for voters in line
The law bans any third-party group from offering food or water to voters standing in line, a provision that most Republicans support because it’s only enforceable “within 125 feet of a polling place.” However, the law explicitly states that food and water cannot be provided “within 25 feet of any voter standing in line to vote at any polling place.” This practically makes it illegal for anyone who is not a voter or election worker to come within 25 feet of any line of voters, with the intent of speaking, soliciting, or giving them items such as food and water. Long lines at polling places is the reality of many elections in Georgia and are often found in more densely populated and poorer communities with the majority population voting Democratic. During last year’s June primary election, some voters had to wait in line for over 2 hours in 80-degree weather. Research by the Bipartisan Policy Center, showed that over 560,000 voters in the 2016 election did not vote due to issues relating to polling place management and the presence of long lines. Long lines deter people from voting, and the new ban on handing out water and food to voters in long lines will certainly not help those who have to wait in the hot Georgian weather.
Extension of Voting Hours
The previous law allowed judges to order that a precinct stay open for however long it needed. The new law specifies that judges can only order a precinct to stay open for the amount of time there was an issue and that time will be added at the end of Election Day. Georgia has experienced many election day issues in the past, and the new law would give voters less time to vote in the event of an issue.
Third-Party Funding
Funding for the 2020 election became tied up in the politics over the second stimulus package. Because of this, funding even from nonpartisan, nonprofit organizations like the Center for Tech and Civic Life, which have helped counties pay for the many expenses that surrounded the 2020 Election, will be banned. Though unfounded, online conspiracy theories claim that funding from third-party groups can cause elections to be swayed one way.
State Election Board Changes
Previously, the secretary of state served as the chair of the State Election Board. With the new law, this position is shifted to be one that is filled by the state legislature. Although the law states that this position will be nonpartisan, it will be appointed by a partisan legislature. We’ll see how that works out. Some groups have already noted that it the provision is likely a result of the current Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger not succumbing to pressure from President Trump and other Republican leaders to change 2020 Election results. Additionally, the Secretary of State has also been removed as a voting member of the State Election Board and the legislature now has the power to suspend county election officials for offenses such as “demonstrated nonfeasance, malfeasance, or gross negligence in the administration of elections” (however that may be interpreted in the moment).
Changes to runoff election process
The new law has shortened the period for a runoff election to be held. Republicans believe that this new process will help election officials. Others claim that the shortened window will just overburden officials further. It will also impact early voting and overseas voting. The shortened window gives election officials less time to mail out ballots to those living overseas, and they will now send out ranked-choice voting ballots during an election in the case of a runoff.
Corporate Backlash and political response
The news of the new voting rights bill in Georgia has reached the corporate, sports, and entertainment worlds. Hundreds of corporations, executives, and celebrities signed onto a joint statement in opposition to “any discriminatory legislation or measures” that would restrict ballot access. Companies such as Amazon, Google, General Motors and Starbucks are just a few of the large names who have spoken out against voting restrictions since the Georgia law passed. Additionally, Major League Baseball decided to move the All-Star Game from Georgia to Colorado over the bill. Many major companies have discussed more ways to push back against these restrictive laws by withholding political donations and business investments. Republicans have since attacked the moves by corporate America with many saying that these companies are making partisan decisions to avoid public scrutiny by the media. However, companies and celebrities have said that this move is to defend American democracy.
Implications
The 2020 Election was seen as one of the most secure elections in United States history. It took place during a world-altering pandemic, at a time of intense hyperpartisanship, and persistent, rampant and unconfirmed claims of voter fraud in America by President Trump. The combination of the close election in Georgia and the press surrounding claims of voter fraud in the state created the perfect environment for the Republican-run legislature to pass a bill that includes multiple mechanisms to suppress the ability for Georgians to vote. Some Republicans believe that when the vote is suppressed, their party is more likely to win elections. The attorney for the Arizona Republican party told the U.S. Supreme Court that when more people vote “it puts us at a competitive disadvantage relative to Democrats.” The Election Integrity Act may just be the advantage partisans in Georgia were seeking.
Discussion Questions
- How do you believe that the Election Integrity Act of 2021 will impact Black, Indigenous and other voters of Color more than White voters?
- What might be the long-term impacts of this bill on voting in Georgia?
- Should corporations, sports teams, and celebrities have a public opinion on political issues?
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