On Tuesday, Governor Brian Kemp took a huge step by signing three crucial pieces of legislation designed to reform Georgia’s election processes ahead of the 2024 presidential elections.
The new laws, known as House Bill 974, House Bill 1207, and Senate Bill 189, seek to bolster ballot security, verify voter eligibility, and improve auditing procedures in the battleground state.
House Bill 974: Adds watermarks to ballots, displays ballot pictures online, requires more audits of statewide elections and uses technology to verify the accuracy of text on ballots.
House Bill 1207: Requires election workers to be U.S. citizens, allows fewer voting machines on election days, guarantees poll watchers close access and allows candidates to proof ballots for errors.
Senate Bill 189: Changes rules for mass voter challenges, eliminates computer QR codes from ballots, adds ballot security procedures and eases requirements for third-party presidential candidates to appear on Georgia ballots.
Naturally, Democrats are angry and already labeling these news laws as “election suppression laws” because they aim to make it more difficult to cheat in our elections,
🚨BREAKING: Georgia Governor signs new voter suppression laws.
— Marc E. Elias (@marceelias) May 7, 2024
"It’s now easier for any Georgia resident to challenge another resident’s eligibility due to a new law signed today by Gov. Brian Kemp."https://t.co/rjYV7LtaTz
AP News reported:
Fair Fight Action, a voting rights group founded by former Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, slammed the signing of SB 189, calling the measure a “voter suppression bill that emboldens right-wing activists in their efforts to kick Black and brown voters off the rolls.”
“By signing SB 189 to become law, Brian Kemp delivered a gift to MAGA election deniers,” the group said in a statement.
Andrea Young, executive director of the ACLU of Georgia, called the bill a “step back for voters’ rights and voting access.”
“We are committed to protecting Georgia voters and will see the governor in court,” she said in a statement.
An email to a spokesman for the governor’s office, Garrison Douglas, was not immediately returned.
