Following the record voter turnout in the 2020 election season, members of the Republican party are looking to put legislation in place to restrict voting.
Lawmakers in states that voted majority Republican and in key battlegrounds continue to perpetuate Donald Trump’s false claims of mass voter fraud and are using them as the foundation to restrict access to ballots.
In Georgia, which flipped blue for the first time in 30 years during the 2020 election, Republicans are not shying away from their intentions.
Alice O’Lenick, a Republican on the Gwinnett County, Georgia Board of Elections told the Gwinnett Daily Post, “They don’t have to change all of them, but they’ve got to change the major parts of them so that we at least have a shot at winning.”
A report from POLITICO says Georgia GOP members have already proposed several changes to voter laws including putting limits on who can vote by mail, and cutting down on the use of ballot drop boxes, which allows absentee voters to drop off their ballots without having to mail them through the post office.
Republican state senators have also endorsed putting an end to absentee voting without an excuse in the state. Absentee ballots were overwhelmingly used by Democratic voters in the state in November. More than 33% of votes for Joe Biden came by mail, compared to only 18% for Trump.
Sen. Raphael Warnock, one of the state’s newest Democratic senators, tweeted about Republicans’ blatant efforts to attempt to stifle voter turnout in future elections.
Voting rights advocates like Stacey Abrams, in the state and across the country are already sounding the alarm about the proposed changes.
The tremendous work of organizers, activists, and advocates will continue to secure the ballot for the disenfranchised.
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