A bill pushing back the deadline when Georgia voters can request absentee ballots before elections has cleared a state House committee, marking the first of many voting-focused bills to face legislative debate after the 2020 election cycle.
Sponsored by state Rep. Barry Fleming, R-Harlem, the bill would change the deadline for voters to request absentee ballots from the last Friday before an election to the second-to-last Friday. Counties also would not be able to send voters applications for mail-in ballots during the last week of early voting.
The bill passed on a party-line vote Thursday out of the House Special Committee on Election Integrity, which Fleming chairs. It now heads to the House Rules Committee to schedule a vote of the full House.
Fleming said his bill would ease pressure on county elections officials handling early voting and Election Day preparations on top of processing absentee-ballot applications. Voters would also have peace of mind that their ballots arrived in the mail on time to be processed before the polls close.
“We all know you have to have a deadline whereby you cannot send out absentee ballots,” Fleming said. “You need to push that back to a reasonable amount of time where not only can it be processed and sent to the voter, but also time to be sent back in.”
The bill’s opponents said it had the potential to curb absentee voting in the state and potentially disenfranchise Georgians, particularly Democratic voters who gravitated to absentee ballots amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Several Democratic lawmakers on the committee argued the bill could spur longer lines at polling places and harm voters who requested absentee ballots weeks in advance but still had not received them in the mail by the second-to-last Friday deadline.
“We’re going back to the possibility of increasing lines,” said Rep. Rhonda Burnough, D-Riverdale. “If they can’t request an absentee ballot, that means that on the last week of advance voting we’ll probably have longer lines.”
Fleming’s bill is the first of more than a dozen to start facing committee votes early in the 2021 legislative session as Republican lawmakers eye changes to absentee voting and voter ID laws after Democrats gained major statewide victories during the last election cycle.
So far, bills have been filed boosting identification requirements for absentee voting, ending Georgians’ ability to vote by mail for any reason and outlawing mail-in ballot drop boxes.
Democrats are framing those bills as attempts at voter suppression, accusing Republicans of changing the rules of the game to slow Georgia Democrats’ recent elections momentum. Democrats have introduced bills allowing voters to register on Election Day and restoring voting rights for felons.
Joining Fleming as sponsors on the bill are House Speaker Pro Tempore Jan Jones, R-Milton; Rep. Buddy DeLoach, R-Townsend; Rep. Rick Williams, R-Milledgeville; House Regulated Industries Committee Chairman Alan Powell, R-Hartwell; and Ways and Means Committee Chairman Shaw Blackmon, R-Bonaire.
Georgia Senate members take the oath of office on the first day of the 2021 legislative session on Jan. 11, 2020. (Photo by Beau Evans)
ATLANTA – Republican state senators have rolled out a legislative package aimed at overhauling Georgia’s election laws by limiting who can vote by mail, outlining how to prove identification and outlawing absentee-ballot drop boxes.
The eight bills, filed late Monday by top Senate Republican leaders, mark the most sweeping attempt to change local voting laws after the 2020 election cycle stirred mistrust among many conservative Georgians over the state’s election integrity.
The bills especially target absentee voting in Georgia after all three major elections in the 2020 cycle saw more than 1 million mail-in ballots cast amid the COVID-19 pandemic, helping Democrats carry Georgia in the 2020 presidential election and flip both of the state’s U.S. Senate seats.
Democratic lawmakers quickly cried foul, slamming the move by Republicans as attempts at voter suppression seeking to halt Democrats’ momentum in statewide elections that are likely to be close for the next several years.
Republican lawmakers including Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger have called many of the proposed changes necessary to restore voter confidence in the state’s election system and rein in mail-in voting after local elections officials complained they were overwhelmed during the 2020 cycle.
No-excuse absentee voting was installed by Republican lawmakers under then-Gov. Sonny Perdue and touted by Raffensperger as proof against claims of voter suppression, particularly after Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams’ loss to Kemp in the 2018 gubernatorial election.
However, Raffensperger called for ending the practice after record-breaking absentee ballots hindered election officials’ ability to quickly process results in the 2020 elections. Former President Donald Trump, who lost the Nov. 3 election by 11,779 votes, lobbed claims of voter fraud in Georgia based on absentee voting.
Other top Republicans including Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and Georgia House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, have opposed ending no-excuse absentee voting, preferring instead to boost ID rules for mail-in ballots.
One of the bills filed Monday would require registered voters to provide their date of birth, driver’s license number or other ID card number to request an absentee ballot. The bill would also require voters to submit photocopies of their ID similar to a separate bill proposed by state Sen. Jason Anavitarte, R-Dallas, last week.
The proposals address many claims Trump and his allies made following the 2020 elections of widespread voter fraud that state officials and federal courts rejected as baseless. Some state lawmakers who held hearings on the fraud claims are co-sponsors of the bills.
The bills also echo pledges to change state election laws made shortly after the Nov. 3 election by Georgia Senate Republican Caucus members, many of whom are co-sponsors.
Lawmakers in the Georgia Senate Ethics Committee will likely review the bills in the coming days.
State Sen. Jason Anavitarte, R-Dallas, filed a bill requiring voters to provide photo ID copes twice to request mail-in ballots. (Georgia Senate photo)
ATLANTA – Georgia voters would need to provide copies of their photo identification two separate times to cast absentee ballots under a bill introduced in the General Assembly.
The bill, sponsored by freshman state Sen. Jason Anavitarte, R-Dallas, marks the first move by state Republicans to overhaul election laws after Democrats carried Georgia in the 2020 presidential election and flipped both of the state’s U.S. Senate seats, largely due to historically huge mail-in voting.
Instead of the current signature-verification process, voters would need to provide a photocopy of their driver’s license, passport or other valid ID card when applying for an absentee ballot. Then, another photocopy of that ID would have to be placed in the envelope used to mail back the ballot.
Requiring photo ID for absentee voting is a top priority for Republican leaders in the 2021 legislative session after mail-in votes topped one million in all three rounds of the 2020 election cycle, far exceeding past Georgia elections.
Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger have pushed for the change after doubts from many conservative voters over verifying signatures stirred mistrust in Georgia’s election integrity. Republicans stand a strong chance of passing legislation since they control both chambers in the General Assembly.
Democratic leaders and voting rights advocates have condemned stricter ID requirements as attempts at voter suppression, noting a driver’s license, Social Security number or other identifying documents are already needed to register to vote in Georgia.
Supporters of tighter absentee ID rules point out voters must provide photo ID when casting ballots in person at polling places. They argue mail-in ballots should fall under the same requirements instead of difference rules for signature verification.
Currently, registered Georgia voters need only provide their signature on an application form to request an absentee ballot. Signatures on that request form as well as on the envelope in which voters mail their ballots are matched with other signatures in voters’ registration files before those ballots are accepted.
That process caused controversy in the weeks following former President Donald Trump’s loss in the Nov. 3 election, which he claimed was “rigged” with fraud. State election officials and federal courts rejected those claims as baseless.
Trump and his allies targeted absentee ballots and Georgia’s process for verifying signatures as ripe for fraud, though they gave no evidence backing their claims that widespread fraud occurred in the Nov. 3 election. Trump lost to Biden by 11,779 votes in Georgia.
An audit of more than 15,000 absentee ballots in Cobb County by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation also found no evidence of fraud. Still, state Republicans including Kemp and Raffensperger have urged lawmakers to do away with signature verification in favor of photo ID changes.
“We know there’s a lot of frustration out there,” Kemp said in a recent interview on Fox News. “I think it’s incumbent on us as policymakers to listen to people’s frustrations, but also at the end of the day make sure that we have secure, accessible and fair elections in the state.”
Voter advocates were quick to criticize Anavitarte’s bill after it was filed on Tuesday. They accused state Republicans of trying to change the rules of the game as Democrats gain momentum in Georgia elections.
“Georgians will see through these cynical power grabs, but it’s going to take a big fight on the part of everyone who cares about the right to vote in Georgia,” said the group Fair Fight, which was founded by former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. “Republicans are more desperate than ever to hold onto their waning power.”
Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan outlined his priorities for the 2021 legislative session at the State Capitol on Jan. 26, 2021. (Photo by Beau Evans)
Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan became the latest high-ranking Georgia Republican Tuesday to oppose ending no-excuse absentee voting following the state’s 2020 election cycle.
Duncan, who presides over the state Senate, said halting the ability of Georgians to request mail-in ballots for any reason besides just living out of state or due to disability should not be part of “meaningful election reform” state Republicans are seeking in the 2021 legislative session.
His stance mirrors Georgia House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, who earlier this month also urged Republican lawmakers to avoid proposals ending no-excuse absentee voting. Ralston wants to focus on changing voter ID laws to require photo identification when requesting mail-in ballots instead of signature verification.
“I think the best step forward is for us to just look for an opportunity to create a photo ID process,” Duncan said. “I think that best fits the needs of 11 million Georgians.”
While ending no-excuse absentee voting looks in doubt, top state Republicans including Duncan, Ralston, Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger have all called for tighter voter ID laws for requesting mail-in ballots – a move Democratic lawmakers oppose.
Efforts to change Georgia’s election laws will likely be among the top issues in the General Assembly session that began Jan. 11 after Democrats carried Georgia in the 2020 presidential election and flipped both of the state’s U.S. Senate seats, largely due to historically huge mail-in voting amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Raffensperger, who is the state’s election chief, has pressed for limiting who can vote by mail after county election officials were overwhelmed with millions of absentee ballots in the June 9 primaries, the Nov. 3 general election and the Jan. 5 Senate runoffs.
The Georgia Senate Republican Caucus also called for eliminating no-excuse absentee voting after election fraud claims pushed by former President Donald Trump and his allies stirred mistrust among many Georgia conservatives over the state’s election integrity.
Duncan was among the first Republican state leaders to dismiss the election fraud claims, even as several Republican members of his chamber held hearings after Nov. 3 that let Trump’s allies air their claims unchecked. State election officials and federal courts repeatedly dismissed the claims.
Additionally, state Senate Republicans have pushed for outlawing the popular absentee ballot drop boxes used in the 2020 elections, a proposal Duncan said has “pros and cons” that should be settled in committee debates.
“I think that’s one of those issues where we’ll create a solid work product that an overwhelming majority of Georgians will agree with,” Duncan said Tuesday.
Democratic state lawmakers have condemned Republicans’ targeting of election laws, likening voter ID and absentee-voting changes as attempts at voter suppression. They have already filed bills to permit same-day voter registration, restore voting rights for felons and require counties to set up absentee drop boxes.
Duncan also said Tuesday he wants to focus this session on legislation aimed at improving foster-care services in Georgia, creating a new special-needs scholarship and changing the state’s controversial citizen’s arrest law.
Then-U.S. Senate candidates Jon Ossoff (left) and Rev. Raphael Warnock (right) of Georgia bump elbows on the campaign trail in Atlanta during their runoff races. Ossoff and Warnock took office in the Senate on Jan. 20, 2021. (Photo by Beau Evans)
U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock of Georgia were sworn in Wednesday hours after President Joe Biden was inaugurated the nation’s 46th commander-in-chief.
With Georgia’s two new senators now seated, Democrats have control of both chambers in Congress and the White House for at least the next two years until the 2022 midterm elections. Ossoff and Warnock, both Democrats, unseated Georgia’s incumbent Republican senators earlier this month, marking the first time since 2002 that Democrats will occupy the state’s two Senate seats.
Ossoff and Warnock took the oath of office with newly inaugurated Vice President Kamala Harris, who became the first woman and person of South Asian descent to hold the nation’s second-highest office. Harris campaigned several times in Georgia ahead of the Nov. 3 general election and Jan. 5 runoffs and now holds a tie-breaking vote in the Senate thanks in large part to Ossoff’s and Warnock’s wins.
Georgia Democratic leaders showered Ossoff and Warnock with praise shortly after they took the oath of office from the Senate floor late Wednesday afternoon.
“With today’s swearing-in, our Senators are ready to deliver on health, jobs, and justice for all Georgians,” said U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta, who chairs the Democratic Party of Georgia. “I know they will make us proud.”
Ossoff, a 33-year-old Atlanta native who runs an investigative journalism company, is now the youngest Senate member and Georgia’s first Jewish representative in the chamber. He defeated former U.S. Sen. David Perdue by 54,944 votes in the Jan. 5 runoffs, limiting the Republican to a single term.
Warnock, a Savannah native and senior pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, becomes the first Black senator after preaching from the same pulpit once held by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He ousted Republican U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler by 93,272 votes, ending her tenure barely a year after she was appointed to fill the seat vacated by retired U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson.
Warnock will need to run again in 2022 for a full 6-year term since his current tenure only covers the final two years of Isakson’s term.
The Democrats’ wins came after Biden beat former President Donald Trump in Georgia by 11,779 votes in the Nov. 3 general election, becoming the first Democratic candidate to carry the Peach State since 1992. At his inauguration Wednesday, Biden called on Americans to focus on unity and truth after the divisive four years of the Trump administration.
“We must reject the culture in which facts themselves are manipulated and even manufactured,” Biden said. “Disagreement must not lead to disunion … I will be a president for all Americans.”
Record-breaking turnout in the Senate runoffs solidified Georgia’s position as a battleground state with closely fought elections for at least the next decade and drew the eyes of America and the world, summoning nearly $1 billion in campaign and outreach spending along with visits from dozens of celebrities and national politicians.
Both Democrats overcame fierce Republican attacks seeking to by Perdue and Loeffler to paint them as socialists, a campaign strategy many political analysts agree failed as Ossoff and Warnock stuck with more hopeful messages on health care , criminal justice, workers’ rights and the COVID-19 response.
Perdue, a former corporate executive from Sea Island, and Loeffler, an Atlanta businesswoman, were also hamstrung by their loyalty to Trump as the outgoing president trashed Georgia’s election system following his election loss. Both Republicans conceded defeat earlier this month.
The Biden administration now faces an easier road to appointing Cabinet members and passing legislation with Democratic majorities in both chambers. Nonetheless, the new president has pledged to take a moderate approach and work with leaders on both sides of the aisle.
“Today, we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate, but of a cause: The cause of democracy,” Biden said at Wednesday’s inauguration. “At this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.”
Veteran Georgia Public Service Commissioner Lauren “Bubba” McDonald, a Republican, was also sworn in Wednesday to another six-year term in a ceremony at the Jackson County Courthouse. He defeated Democratic challenger Daniel Blackmon by a narrow margin in the Jan. 5 runoffs.
U.S. Sens.-elect Jon Ossoff (left) and Rev. Raphael Warnock (right) bump elbows while campaigning in Atlanta during their runoff races on Dec. 14, 2020. (Photo by Beau Evans)
U.S. Sens.-elect Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock of Georgia are set to take office after results of their Jan. 5 runoff wins were certified on Tuesday.
The Democratic soon-to-be senators will give Democrats control of both chambers of Congress and ease the way for President-elect Joe Biden to push his incoming administration’s legislative priorities for at least the next two years.
Ossoff and Warnock unseated Georgia’s incumbent Republican senators earlier this month, marking the first time since 2002 that Democrats will occupy the state’s two Senate seats.
They could take office as soon as Wednesday, the same day as Biden’s inauguration. Gov. Brian Kemp first needs to approve the election results Georgia Secretary of State Brad certified on Tuesday.
Ossoff, an Atlanta native who runs an investigative journalism company, defeated former U.S. Sen. David Perdue by 54,944 votes in the Jan. 5 runoffs, limiting him to a single term.
Warnock, a Savannah native and senior pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, ousted U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler by 93,272 votes, ending her tenure barely a year after she was appointed to fill retired U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson’s seat.
The Democrats’ wins came after Biden beat President Donald Trump in Georgia by 11,779 votes in the Nov. 3 general election, becoming the first Democratic candidate to carry the Peach State since 1992.
The runoff outcomes were historic beyond party lines. Warnock is poised to become Georgia’s first Black senator and Ossoff will become the state’s first Jewish representative in the Senate.
With voter turnout at nearly 4.5 million, the runoffs solidified Georgia’s position as a battleground state with closely fought elections for at least the next decade and particularly in 2022, when Kemp will likely face Democrat Stacey Abrams in a rematch of the heated and close 2018 gubernatorial election.
The two Senate races drew the eyes of America and the world to Georgia over the two months after Warnock and Ossoff forced runoffs against their opponents, summoning nearly $1 billion in campaign and outreach spending along with visits from dozens of celebrities and national politicians.
Both Democrats overcame attempts by Perdue and Loeffler to paint them as socialists too extreme for conservative Georgians through fierce attack ads that sought to tie Ossoff to communist China and portray Warnock as anti-police.
That campaign strategy failed, according to several local analysts who credited the two Democrats for focusing on more hopeful messages that elevated key issues like health care, criminal justice, workers’ rights and the ongoing COVID-19 response.
Perdue, a former corporate executive, and Loeffler, an Atlanta businesswoman, were also hamstrung by their loyalty to Trump as the outgoing president trashed Georgia’s election system following his election loss. Both Republicans conceded defeat earlier this month.
With Congress poised for Democratic majorities in both chambers, the Biden administration now faces an easier road to appointing Cabinet members and passing legislation until at least the 2022 mid-term elections. Biden has nonetheless pledged to take a moderate approach and work with leaders on both sides of the aisle.
