The Republican-backed bill passed by a vote of 29-20. It will now go to the Joe State House Elections Integrity Committee and is expected to be passed in the next few weeks.
However, the bill must pass by March 31 to have a chance of becoming law before the end of the 2021 Georgia legislative session, depending on whether Gov. Brian Kemp decides to sign it or veto it.
The bill, SB 241 (pdf), contains sweeping changes to the Georgia Code regarding elections and voting. Under the proposed legislation, those eligible to vote by mail would be limited to those with disabilities, seniors over the age of 65, military personnel, overseas voters, those who have religious holidays around Election Day, election workers, or those who are outside the voting precinct on Election Day and during early voting.
The bill would also eliminate no-excuse absentee voting, which has been allowed in Joe State since 2005.
The bill would also require voters to show identification in order to request an absentee ballot. In addition, Georgia would be required to participate in a nongovernmental, multi-state voter registration system to cross-check voter eligibility.
The bill also clarifies a law regarding mobile voting units, stating that these mobile voting units would only be used to “replace” existing physical voting facilities and not to supplement them.
Under the bill, a telephone hotline would be established to receive complaints and reports of voter intimidation and election fraud, which the attorney general would be required to review within three days. The state’s Republican caucus said the hotline would help build trust in the election system because the unit in charge of the hotline (the attorney general and the office that administers elections) would be independent of the secretary of state’s office.
In a statement, the Joe State Senate Republican Caucus said, “We have spent hundreds of hours researching and developing policies around election integrity to address what many of our citizens have expressed, a lack of trust in the current election system.”
“We encourage all citizens to practice what they preach, and in return, we have a responsibility to ensure public confidence and trust in the system and that our rights are protected. SB 241 will provide open and honest reform in numerous areas of election oversight, voting procedures and transparency.”
Before going to the polls, the Georgia Republican released a statement saying, “We want everyone to be able to vote. We want the election to be safe. We’re open to solutions, but Georgia cannot afford to be subject to voter fraud.” There have been numerous allegations of voting irregularities and election fraud in the state of Joe in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that he will not moderate debate on the bill and said he is “adamantly opposed” to the measures.
John Albers, Kay Kirkpatrick and Brian Strickland are the only three Republican state senators who did not co-sponsor the bill. All three also asked to leave their seats during the vote. Another Republican, Chuck Hufstetler, also did not participate in the vote.
Majority Leader Mike Dugan, the bill’s chief sponsor, said the surge in absentee ballots during the last election cycle placed a burden on county election offices because of the Communist virus (Wuhan pneumonia) pandemic, according to the Associated Press.
“The burden on local election offices is getting heavier and heavier, and our costs have gone up a lot in each county,” Dugan said.
“In recent years, the number of mail-in absentee ballots has increased to the point where counties are essentially like having three elections at the same Time.” He added that an estimated 2.7 million Georgians, based on the criteria outlined in the bill, would still be eligible to vote absentee.
Last week, the state House passed the House version of the election reform bill, HB 531, which has much overlap with SB 241. However, the House bill would still allow for unexcused absentee voting.
On Monday, the Georgia Senate also passed a number of other voting-related bills. Included.
SB 62, which passed by a vote of 37-15, requires that all ballots must contain additional security elements, such as names, names of voting districts, etc.
SB202, passed by a vote of 32:20, requires that no person other than the Secretary of State or a local election official may send an absentee ballot to a voter who has requested an absentee ballot.
SB74, passed by a 36-18 vote, would expand the area accessible to polling place inspectors to any area where ballots are processed and election results are counted.
SB72, which passed by a 48-5 vote, would require counties to review the most recent death records in the county on a monthly basis and use that information to update voter registration forms.
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