by Ty Tagami | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Georgia’s Senate Republicans passed multiple changes to state election law Wednesday after rushing amendments into a bill from the House of Representatives.
The overhauled House Bill 397 would remove the State Election Board from oversight by the elected secretary of state, giving the board custody of investigative reports and communications between the secretary and local election superintendents.
The Senate passed the bill 33-23, voting along party lines.
The 22-page bill would also prohibit dropping off absentee ballots after the advance voting period, which Democrats said would suppress voter turnout.
“We want segregation now, segregation tomorrow and segregation forever,” said Sen. Randal Mangham, D-Stone Mountain.
Republicans countered that the measure was needed to further secure elections, noting the large turnout last year.
“This protects the integrity of our elections,” said Sen. Max Burns, R-Sylvania.
Fellow Republican Sen. Rick Williams of Milledgeville said the measure was necessary to prevent “popup” voting sites like he said had occurred in Cobb County.
The measure has many other provisions, such as changing where poll watchers have access on election night, amending the timing for special elections and withdrawing the state from a multistate partnership that helps maintain voter list accuracy.
This all prompted Sen. Jason Esteves, D-Atlanta, to call it a “Frankenstein whack-a-mole” bill.
Because HB 397 was amended by the Senate, it must return to the House for final passage.
