When asked to provide a list of provisions of the Georgia voting law she objected, voting rights advocate Stacey Abrams stepped up and ran down a very long and detailed list.
During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Tuesday (April 20), Republican Senator John Kennedy asked for a specific list of provisions in Georgia's controversial voting law Abrams objects to or found racist.
“Tell me, specifically, just give me a list of the provisions that you object,” Kennedy said.
Abrams, who joined the hearing virtually, answered, detailing the provisions that make voting harder in Georgia, especially for Black and Latino voters, and voters with low income.
“It shortens the federal runoff period from nine weeks to four weeks,” Abrams began. “It restricts the time a voter can request and return an absentee ballot application. It requires that voters have a photo identification or some other form of identification that they are willing to surrender in order to participate in the absentee ballot process.”
Kennedy interrupted Abrams as she listed the specific provisions, saying there was an audio issue, before stopping her completely.
“I get the idea. I get the idea,” Kennedy said after about two minutes.
Some commended Abrams for maintaining her composure during the exchange.
The law was passed in March after Gov. Brian Kemp signed it, and has fueled controversy as advocates say state lawmakers proposed it following the state’s historic flip to blue and record voter turnout. Hundreds of similar bills have been proposed in states across the country as activists and lawmakers push for federal voters’ rights legislation.
Photo: Getty Images