GOP

tbergs

This is an interesting read that goes over the entire Georgia voting changes. Some are good and some are not so good. Kind of what the GOP is good at, making you believe that they're improving something while ignoring the not so great parts. Probably more accurate to say politicians in general.

The Fix

Analysis

Expand access? A historic restriction? What the Georgia voting law really does.

How Georgia voters feel about the state’s new election regulations

One week after it was signed into law, Georgia's Republican-led voting overhaul is facing backlash from a growing number of voting rights advocates. (Mahlia Posey/The Washington Post)

By 

Peter W. Stevenson

April 3, 2021 at 10:03 a.m. CDT

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Opponents of Georgia’s new elections law call it a blatant attack on voting rights, aimed specifically at suppressing the minority vote that helped propel Joe Biden’s presidential win and gave Democrats two critical seats in the U.S. Senate. Backlash from the corporate world has been growing, and on Friday Major League Baseball announced it was moving its All-Star Game from Atlanta in response to the law. President Biden said last week the law amounts to “Jim Crow in the 21st Century,” calling it “un-American” and “sick.”

But Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R), who signed the bill into law last month, insists the opposite.

“I’m telling you the truth about this bill,” Kemp insisted on WABE radio, Atlanta’s NPR affiliate, on Tuesday. “It expands access.”

A close examination of the language in the law shows it does contain new restrictions on voting; some are likely to make it disproportionately more difficult for poorer voters and voters of color to cast their ballots.

It’s also correct that there are ways in which the law expands voter access, particularly in ways that will be visible in rural areas.

The context is important of course: This is playing out in the wake of Georgia’s swing to Democrats in the 2020 presidential election and the ensuing baseless charges of fraud from the Trump campaign and its allies. Republican lawmakers in the state — as many of their counterparts across the country have — quickly began drafting a bill critics say is a political reaction from a party beholden to Trump.

The other important context: The long history of suppressing Black votes.

So let’s look at what it does and doesn’t do.

How the new law limits voting

It shrinks the window for early and absentee voting. Rather than allowing voters to request ballots six months from Election Day, the new law says voters can start requesting ballots 78 days out; counties can begin sending ballots to voters just 29 days before Election Day, rather than the previous 49 days. Critics say any mail delays with these shorter periods could lead to voters not getting ballots on time, or not being able to return them in time. But proponents of the law say voters simply don’t need the 180 days they used to have to request ballots.

Counties and the state can send mail ballot applications only to voters who request them (as opposed to simply sending every registered voter a ballot) and cannot fill in information ahead of time.

New voter ID requirements. Voters who cast mail ballots will have to provide one of several forms of identification. This provision — which replaces a signature match previously used to confirm voters’ identities — is one of the most controversial because critics say it is likely to disproportionately affect Black voters.

A limit on the number of ballot drop boxes during early voting. It essentially limits the number of drop boxes in each county to one per early-voting site, or one for every 100,000 voters in the county, whichever number is smaller. And the drop boxes can’t be conveniently spread over the county, for example, in places where there aren’t in-person early-voting locations; they all have to be located either in a county election office or at an early-voting precinct location.

Shortened early voting in runoff elections. Instead of a minimum of three weeks of early voting in runoffs, early voting in runoffs will be held in a single Monday-Friday period.

State lawmakers get much more power over county and local elections (and Republicans have decisive majorities in both the state Senate and the state House). The law states that the General Assembly will select the chair of the state elections board, rather than the board being chaired by the Georgia secretary of state — an elected position. The chair is supposed to be nonpartisan. The state election board can investigate county election boards and has the power to suspend county election superintendents — though the law limits the state board to suspending four at a time.

You might remember Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who became the target of his own party’s ire after President Donald Trump asked him to “find” votes in the wake of the 2020 election; this provision seems like a direct reaction to that, ensuring partisan state lawmakers can control the election process more directly.

A ban on handing out food and water within 150 feet of a polling place, or within 25 feet of any voter. Republicans say this is aimed at stopping outside groups from influencing voters; Democrats say it’s supposed to make it harder for people to wait in long lines, particularly on hot or cold days. Election officials are permitted to set up water stations — but they’re not required to do so.

A few ways it expands voting:

A minimum number of drop boxes is guaranteed. Kemp has been arguing publicly that in rural counties that didn’t have drop boxes in previous elections, this is an improvement. While the number of drop boxes is so limited it might not make a huge difference for voters, Kemp is correct that the law for the first time codifies requirements for a minimum number of drop boxes in each county.

An additional day of early voting in most rural counties. The new bill requires at least two Saturdays of early voting for each primary and general election (previous Georgia law required only one). It allows counties to choose when their early-voting locations are open, for a minimum of eight hours a day between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.

More resources for precincts so lines don’t get too long. The law basically requires the state to monitor polling locations to see if any have lines longer than an hour, or still have voters waiting in line for more than an hour after polls were supposed to close. In those cases, the state is required to either form new precinct locations to ease the strain or beef up the existing polling locations’ capacity to handle large numbers of voters. This applies specifically to populous precincts, mostly in urban areas.

Here’s what didn’t make it into the bill:

A block on Sunday voting. Earlier proposals called for a ban on Sunday voting. This proposal was seen as directly targeting Black voters, who often vote as part of church-run “souls to the polls” efforts that take place on Sundays.

A ban on no-excuse absentee voting. Georgia Republicans actually passed a bill in the state Senate a few weeks ago that would have banned no-excuse absentee voting, one of the most criticized — but not uniformly agreed upon — GOP proposals in the lead-up to the final bill. A few key Georgia Republicans, including Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R), opposed the idea — and it was ultimately removed from the bill Kemp signed into law.

How does this compare to other states?

Kemp and other defenders of the law say what’s on the books now is in line with voting laws, even in blue states. Kemp cited Biden’s home state of Delaware in a Fox News interview Thursday, pointing to the ways Georgia allows more access.

Georgia’s new voter ID requirement for mail ballots is one interesting comparison point. The state’s old system required a cumbersome — and some said unreliable — signature-matching process, and the new law replaces it with a requirement for a driver’s license, Social Security card or one of a number of other forms of ID prescribed by the state.

That’s actually a little bit less strict than some of the strictest voter ID requirements in the country, where photo ID is required. Other states are closer to Georgia’s new law, requiring some kind of photo or non-photo ID, including a Social Security number. And among those are blue states including Delaware, Washington and Connecticut.

The preservation of no-excuse absentee voting means Georgia isn’t among the most restrictive states in terms of mail-in voting. In 2020, four states required a reason beyond the coronavirus pandemic to vote by mail.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/04/03/georgia-voting-law-explained/

Kat

To me, this is the most dangerous part of what's going on. Voters should always decide, shouldn't they?

From the article above:

State lawmakers get much more power over county and local elections (and Republicans have decisive majorities in both the state Senate and the state House). The law states that the General Assembly will select the chair of the state elections board, rather than the board being chaired by the Georgia secretary of state — an elected position. The chair is supposed to be nonpartisan. The state election board can investigate county election boards and has the power to suspend county election superintendents — though the law limits the state board to suspending four at a time.

You might remember Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who became the target of his own party’s ire after President Donald Trump asked him to “find” votes in the wake of the 2020 election; this provision seems like a direct reaction to that, ensuring partisan state lawmakers can control the election process more directly.

Merkin Baller

Kat said:

To me, this is the most dangerous part of what's going on. Voters should always decide, shouldn't they?

From the article above:

State lawmakers get much more power over county and local elections (and Republicans have decisive majorities in both the state Senate and the state House). The law states that the General Assembly will select the chair of the state elections board, rather than the board being chaired by the Georgia secretary of state — an elected position. The chair is supposed to be nonpartisan. The state election board can investigate county election boards and has the power to suspend county election superintendents — though the law limits the state board to suspending four at a time.

You might remember Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who became the target of his own party’s ire after President Donald Trump asked him to “find” votes in the wake of the 2020 election; this provision seems like a direct reaction to that, ensuring partisan state lawmakers can control the election process more directly.

Unless I’m mistaken, I believe AZ also has introduced legislation that will make it easier to overturn election results in the instance of “irregularities”.

The GOP is setting themselves up to do in the future what they couldn’t do in November: steal the election. 

tbergs

The best defense is a strong offense. Point the finger at someone else and deflect while you do the exact thing you're claiming someone else is doing. People like that are the worst.

gimmesometruth27

Merkin Baller said:

Kat said:

To me, this is the most dangerous part of what's going on. Voters should always decide, shouldn't they?

From the article above:

State lawmakers get much more power over county and local elections (and Republicans have decisive majorities in both the state Senate and the state House). The law states that the General Assembly will select the chair of the state elections board, rather than the board being chaired by the Georgia secretary of state — an elected position. The chair is supposed to be nonpartisan. The state election board can investigate county election boards and has the power to suspend county election superintendents — though the law limits the state board to suspending four at a time.

You might remember Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who became the target of his own party’s ire after President Donald Trump asked him to “find” votes in the wake of the 2020 election; this provision seems like a direct reaction to that, ensuring partisan state lawmakers can control the election process more directly.

Unless I’m mistaken, I believe AZ also has introduced legislation that will make it easier to overturn election results in the instance of “irregularities”.

The GOP is setting themselves up to do in the future what they couldn’t do in November: steal the election. 

this is going on in multiple states. that is how they gop plans to steal elections going forward. they absolutely cannot win on the issues, so they have to limit the number of votes. gop will never ever win a national election again if they ran on the issues.

HughFreakingDillon

gimmesometruth27 said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

Bentleyspop said:

Typical racist gop bullshit...

https://twitter.com/GovMikeHuckabee/status/1378351326120312836?s=19

why are conservatives to consistently bad at humour/sarcasm?

because they constantly punch down on people. 

comedy is only funny when people punch up. that is why it is funny when we dunk on huckabee, trump, gaetz, et al and it is never ever funny when they dunk on other people.

trump was kind of funny when he tried to dunk on kim jong un, but then he got beautiful letters and never tried to dunk on him again. lateral dunks are funny half of the time. 

i think that's part of it.....I just don't find most of them funny, no matter which direction they are punching. 

Merkin Baller

lolz

Merkin Baller

We need a timeline going at least as far back to trump's 'perfect' phone call to the Ukraine president, detailing all the attempts the GOP took to undermine last years election in advance, in the aftermath, and right up to 1/6 & beyond. 


For the first time in our nation's history, the same party that's now trying to tweak election laws around the county, prevented a peaceful transfer of power, and some of you are ok with it? 



Wake the fuck up. 

Halifax2TheMax

Merkin Baller said:

lolz

Corporations are people too, my friends. 

JeBurkhardt

What's the point of getting into politics if you can't have corporations throw money at you to fulfill their every wish? 

OnWis97

HughFreakingDillon said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

Bentleyspop said:

Typical racist gop bullshit...

https://twitter.com/GovMikeHuckabee/status/1378351326120312836?s=19

why are conservatives to consistently bad at humour/sarcasm?

because they constantly punch down on people. 

comedy is only funny when people punch up. that is why it is funny when we dunk on huckabee, trump, gaetz, et al and it is never ever funny when they dunk on other people.

trump was kind of funny when he tried to dunk on kim jong un, but then he got beautiful letters and never tried to dunk on him again. lateral dunks are funny half of the time. 

i think that's part of it.....I just don't find most of them funny, no matter which direction they are punching. 

I’ve often wondered why conservatives are less funny. And I think the punching down thing is part of it.  I also think right wing policies and right wingers are easy to be cynical about. When they are sucking up to dictators, attacking voting rights, shitting on the environment, and blowing racist dog-whistles, and doing so with such hypocrisy, pointing it out with a little sarcasm and cynicism is enough. When the right tries to do it with living wages, environmental protection, and affordable housing, it is hard to be cynical about such things.  You can only say “see how socialist they are?” So many times before it is no longer funny.

I don’t think the left is funnier.  I think they have an easier job.

mrussel1

JeBurkhardt said:

What's the point of getting into politics if you can't have corporations throw money at you to fulfill their every wish? 

However, the realignment continues.  The party of capital and GDP is becoming the Democratic party.  Personally, I'm fine with that because these are the worlds in which I live.  The question is how does the C-suite respond to the groundswell of pressure it feels from its employees on these social justice and other economic issues.  So far, I see the ground moving.  The Republicans like to claim that its the media and twitter that is doing all of the pressuring, but that's only partially true.  The employees are driving much of the pressure.  This is why some more astute R commentators have taken to calling us the "managerial class", which is a derisive name. 

mickeyrat

^^^^^

also the main street dollar demographics are changing...

HughFreakingDillon

Merkin Baller said:

lolz

i was just coming here to post this:

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/06/politics/mcconnell-businesses-georgia-elections-law/index.html

ridiculous that McConnell is pro-lobbyist but doesn't want corporate america to get involved in politics. 

that's rich. 

static111

mrussel1 said:

JeBurkhardt said:

What's the point of getting into politics if you can't have corporations throw money at you to fulfill their every wish? 

However, the realignment continues.  The party of capital and GDP is becoming the Democratic party.  Personally, I'm fine with that because these are the worlds in which I live.  The question is how does the C-suite respond to the groundswell of pressure it feels from its employees on these social justice and other economic issues.  So far, I see the ground moving.  The Republicans like to claim that its the media and twitter that is doing all of the pressuring, but that's only partially true.  The employees are driving much of the pressure.  This is why some more astute R commentators have taken to calling us the "managerial class", which is a derisive name. 

To be fair we on the left started calling you the PMC first

static111

HughFreakingDillon said:

Merkin Baller said:

lolz

i was just coming here to post this:

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/06/politics/mcconnell-businesses-georgia-elections-law/index.html

ridiculous that McConnell is pro-lobbyist but doesn't want corporate america to get involved in politics. 

that's rich. 

Didn’t he say corporations stay out of politics, but I don’t mean your checks or something like that ? What a dick

Merkin Baller

HughFreakingDillon said:

Merkin Baller said:

lolz

i was just coming here to post this:

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/06/politics/mcconnell-businesses-georgia-elections-law/index.html

ridiculous that McConnell is pro-lobbyist but doesn't want corporate america to get involved in politics. 

that's rich. 

Yeah, it's ridiculous, but it's also their MO. 


The hypocrisy is a virtue for today's GOP. 

mrussel1

static111 said:

mrussel1 said:

JeBurkhardt said:

What's the point of getting into politics if you can't have corporations throw money at you to fulfill their every wish? 

However, the realignment continues.  The party of capital and GDP is becoming the Democratic party.  Personally, I'm fine with that because these are the worlds in which I live.  The question is how does the C-suite respond to the groundswell of pressure it feels from its employees on these social justice and other economic issues.  So far, I see the ground moving.  The Republicans like to claim that its the media and twitter that is doing all of the pressuring, but that's only partially true.  The employees are driving much of the pressure.  This is why some more astute R commentators have taken to calling us the "managerial class", which is a derisive name. 

To be fair we on the left started calling you the PMC first

Permanent managerial class?  Well I hope it's permanent, or at least until I retire. 

tempo_n_groove

Merkin Baller said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

Merkin Baller said:

lolz

i was just coming here to post this:

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/06/politics/mcconnell-businesses-georgia-elections-law/index.html

ridiculous that McConnell is pro-lobbyist but doesn't want corporate america to get involved in politics. 

that's rich. 

Yeah, it's ridiculous, but it's also their MO. 


The hypocrisy is a virtue for today's GOP. 

I never liked Al Gore because of Tipper.  I never forgave her for the PMRC backing.

So to think that Al and his wife later on were "progressives" to me was a joke.

mrussel1

tempo_n_groove said:

Merkin Baller said:

HughFreakingDillon said:

Merkin Baller said:

lolz

i was just coming here to post this:

https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/06/politics/mcconnell-businesses-georgia-elections-law/index.html

ridiculous that McConnell is pro-lobbyist but doesn't want corporate america to get involved in politics. 

that's rich. 

Yeah, it's ridiculous, but it's also their MO. 


The hypocrisy is a virtue for today's GOP. 

I never liked Al Gore because of Tipper.  I never forgave her for the PMRC backing.

So to think that Al and his wife later on were "progressives" to me was a joke.

I hated it too, but at the end of the day the rating system that came from that is fine with me.  We've been living with it for years and I use with my children.