Articles from Blue Notes & News 3.21.21


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A WILD Week in the Georgia Legislature
Those following the voting bills in the Georgia legislature this week might have experienced whiplash. On Wednesday March 17, the House “special elections integrity” committee made a surprise move and began work on a massive new voting bill that would give the state broad powers over local election officials, set limits on weekend early voting and add voter ID requirements for absentee ballots. By Friday, the legislators had reversed some of their proposals and introduced a bill that would allow Sunday voting, require 2 Saturdays during early voting, and continue no-excuse absentee voting. One would ALMOST think they were purposely trying to confuse us about just exactly what they are trying to enact into law.
While the latest bill is less egregious than previous legislation being considered, keep an eye on the provisions that give the state legislature unprecedented controls over county election boards, limit drop boxes, set earlier deadlines for requesting absentee ballots & require more ID to vote absentee. And don’t let their attempt to bypass fundraising limits for candidates slip under the radar (story under Local/State News below).
Also this week, voting protection activists pressured Georgia businesses to take a stand against legislation designed to suppress voting. The Georgia Chamber of Commerce, Coca-Cola, and Salesforce have made public statements supporting voter access, but Home Depot first expressed support for the Chamber’s statement but then hedged their bets by saying they weren’t speaking in opposition to proposed legislation.
Head-spinning indeed. By Lee

Click Here to link to AJC article.
Click Here to link to PBS article.
Click HERE to link to The Guardian article.