A sonic boom was heard this past Thursday. The majority of morally and ethically sound (this depends on what side of the political landscape you belong to) Georgians felt that a law was enacted to target their vote. A majority republican legislature passed legislation that the Governor signed immediately. A large vocal group says this will set voting rights back to the “Jim Crow” era. Many astute Georgians believe this was done as a direct result of this past election cycle which resulted in a big sweep by Democrats who won in Georgia.
But what do we really have here in this bill? Is it change that should have happened or do we have lawmakers pandering to their base which they are hoping will give them an advantage for the midterms?
It is asinine to me, to see lawmakers and locals pushing for election reform as they acknowledge there was no widespread voter fraud in the election. This is NOT my conclusion, it is the results of many court actions, across this country ALL OF WHICH FAILED. The claim of reform is necessary because their constituents believe fraud occurred. This is a time to show leadership, not to point fingers at something that doesn’t exist. Partisan politics however will not allow the kind of unified leadership that we NEED.
Coming on the backside of President Trump’s illegal pressure (there is a tape we ALL have heard) to have Secretary Raffensberger overturn the election and find votes; the BOLD audacity of GOP Leaders to stand in front of a portrait of a plantation and sign this dramatic legislation, is the same as if they had used a picture in the background of George Wallace blocking the doorway, to keep the first black students from entering school in Alabama. This Legislation may actually be the pitfall for all that are involved. Remember Georgia has been GOP ran since 2002. That means that any significant legislation that was in place was done under the hands of Republicans.
SB202 has the makings to potentially make elections less fair, giving the GOP in Georgia the advantage, they are HELL BENT on having. This doesn’t signal the end of democracy or a democratic comeback. I think it will create a momentum that you saw in the runoff election in January. In my mind it simply makes the republican party seem less democratic and create more division in a state that is now a minority majority.
The most egregious items in this bill are the fact that it now requires people to put an ID number when submitting an absentee ballot, and the provision that gives state-level Republicans the tools to take over a county – would have to come in times when there were no other alternatives. I do not believe that even in a time where you had a President who could do what he wanted, there were still people who had enough intestinal fortitude to stand up to people and say “NO – Wrong is Wrong.” Trump backers have not shown this ability. This is a swipe at Secretary Raffensberger. This law removes the Georgia Secretary of State, currently a Republican who famously stood up to Trump’s attempts to overturn the election results in Georgia as both the chair and voting member on the elections board.
For most democrats, the main attention-grabbing section prohibits “the giving of any money or gifts, including, but not limited to, food and drink, to an elector…within 25 feet of any voter standing in line to vote at any polling place.” What this means it is now illegal in Georgia to provide food and water to people waiting in line to vote. This is a stretch, especially if it’s hot day…. I honestly already thought this was illegal.
Overall, the law for me is very troublesome and lacks a lot of follow through. This is what should be expected considering it was basically pushed through and passed in one day. Election security should be a priority and maybe we need to exam processes but only when problems are found. Here we have a perceived revamping or overhauling of a system in a way that would discourage and in turn suppress votes. The handful of voting irregularities that were found, (they were minuscule at best) last year was not disproportionate to what we might see in any election. However, to many this play is simply an attempt to move the goal post after the kick is already in the air.
I am grateful that they were not able to do some of the things that they initially set out to do… I just wish they would work as hard and fast on gun reform as they did trying to keep certain people from voting in upcoming elections. It seems that in this case, many on one side may have shown their hand; I care more about a person’s ability to vote than I care about this person’s ability to buy a gun. Gun control is where significant reform should be taken up.
Republican Bill Cowsert said, “a lot of it might just be sour grapes, people unhappy that they lost.” I think you are right otherwise legislatures would not be looking for something to fix in a way that would give the GOP the best chance to stay in control.
When it’s all said and done this too will ignite the fire in many and you will again see a surge in voters like never before. Then the local mid-terms will get real exciting as non-elected neophytes get together to unseat long sitting do-nothing politicians …. oops that an article for next week.
Michael Meyers is a Columnist for The Augusta Press. Reach him at Michael.meyers@theaugustapress.com
