Voter Suppression and Why The Republicans Love It So Much?

[AlaskanAssassin]

can someone explain to me in a nutshell what the deal is with these laws ??

Would you prefer or Liberal or Conservative slant? JK.

Someone please add if I'm missing out key parts, which I'm sure I am:

-Expands early voting options. Requires that Saturdays are mandatory.
-Some minor changes to the identification requirements (specifically for absentee ballots). Need last 4 of social, DL number, or other form of ID needs to be attached (utility bill, etc.)
-Some new cutoff dates for absentee and mail in ballots (25 days before election I believe).
-Non-poll workers can't hand out refreshments to people waiting in line (supposedly to prevent gerrymandering). Polling stations can still have water available for people.
-Less available ballot drop boxes (from 94 to 23 from what I'm reading)

I'm my personal opinion, these are all very minor changes, much of which are already the law in other states. None of the changes were probably necessary, and political parties and the media are making a bigger deal about this than it really is.

 

[Deleted member 365]

Would you prefer or Liberal or Conservative slant? JK.

Someone please add if I'm missing out key parts, which I'm sure I am:

-Expands early voting options. Requires that Saturdays are mandatory.
-Some minor changes to the identification requirements (specifically for absentee ballots). Need last 4 of social, DL number, or other form of ID needs to be attached (utility bill, etc.)
-Some new cutoff dates for absentee and mail in ballots (25 days before election I believe).
-Non-poll workers can't hand out refreshments to people waiting in line (supposedly to prevent gerrymandering). Polling stations can still have water available for people.
-Less available ballot drop boxes (from 94 to 23 from what I'm reading)

I'm my personal opinion, these are all very minor changes, much of which are already the law in other states. None of the changes were probably necessary, and political parties and the media are making a bigger deal about this than it really is.

Except, these new laws definitely have an impact both at the micro and macro level.

At the micro level, It gives more power to Republican partisans rather than election officials. By limiting the number of drop boxes and requiring ID makes they've successfully made voting harder. Especially for those in urban areas and poorer populations. Who does that benefit? Republicans. Why are Republicans not trying to make it easier to vote and expand the voting base? Because identity politics. They’d rather fight for minority rule than change their platform and candidates to better compete for urban/suburban/younger/minority voters.


At the macro level, they’re fueling “Trump’s Big Lie” or “Lost Cause” if you want to connect it to a previous lie that severely impacted American democracy. If he had won Georgia and the two incumbent Republicans had won, Georgia wouldn’t be passing these laws. But because their team lost and Trump made a big deal out of it, now they’re working to disenfranchise voters under the guise of “election security.” It perpetuates the lie that the 2020 election was rigged. It’s an incredibly cynical move that combined with Tucker Carlson’s “White Replacement Theory” he’s spouting on a nightly basis, is creating a perverted worldview for a lot of conservatives. That worldview being:

1. Trump really won, Biden is illegitimate, and that’s why voting laws need to be more restrictive. Especially on those “others” (minorities, liberals, etc).
2. Democrats want to expand the electorate to replace white conservatives with minorities who are liberal.

So I don’t believe this is just “politicians making laws.” There’s definitely an agenda here and it’s incredibly cynical and authoritarian. It’s downright illiberal and very dangerous.

 

[Deleted member 365]

Wouldn’t the conservative slant be, “Why make additional legislation in search of a problem?”

 

[One Brow]

Would you prefer or Liberal or Conservative slant? JK.

Someone please add if I'm missing out key parts, which I'm sure I am:

-Expands early voting options. Requires that Saturdays are mandatory.
-Some minor changes to the identification requirements (specifically for absentee ballots). Need last 4 of social, DL number, or other form of ID needs to be attached (utility bill, etc.)
-Some new cutoff dates for absentee and mail in ballots (25 days before election I believe).
-Non-poll workers can't hand out refreshments to people waiting in line (supposedly to prevent gerrymandering). Polling stations can still have water available for people.
-Less available ballot drop boxes (from 94 to 23 from what I'm reading)

I'm my personal opinion, these are all very minor changes, much of which are already the law in other states. None of the changes were probably necessary, and political parties and the media are making a bigger deal about this than it really is.

The expansions in early voting are still smaller than the early voting availability in the 2020 election. There are more restrictive eligibility requirements for absentee ballots. Ballot drop boxes will only available inside election offices during the early voting period, and urban counties (such as Fulton, which houses Atlanta) are restricted to the same number of ballot boxes as sparsely-populated counties.

 

[One Brow]

If you are interested in a reasonable conservative take on the Georgia Voting Laws, this guy does a pretty good job. I don't agree with every point he makes, but at least he does a good job of supporting his argument. Warning.......he thinks he's a lot funnier than he actually is.

In the food/water discussion, he ignores that many voters are experiencing multi-hour waits in line while voting, and dehydration can be an issue for them.

Also, his example of wearing a MAGA hat while handing out food and water would be electioneering, just like wearing a Biden button would be. As he pointed out, electioneering was already against the law.

That's not even four minutes into the video, and less then two of him offering his "defense".

 

[Deleted member 365]

Very good article on how the GA laws are part of the right’s attempt to cling to power despite what our democracy decides

The conservative movement is rejecting America

A recent essay in a prominent right-wing outlet gives an unusually clear window into the modern right’s anti-democratic worldview.

www.vox.com

 

[AlaskanAssassin]

There are more restrictive eligibility requirements for absentee ballots.

What were the requirements before? My understanding is that they still have "no-excuse" absentee voting, and all that is required is for someone to put in the DL number or last 4 of their social on the application. Admittedly, maybe I'm missing something, but it seems very simple for 99.9% of eligible voters to request an absentee ballot if they want one.
Never thought I would spend this much time learning about Georgia voting laws.....lol.

 

[fishonjazz]

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Sent from my ONEPLUS A6013 using JazzFanz mobile app

 

[AlaskanAssassin]

At the micro level, It gives more power to Republican partisans rather than election officials. By limiting the number of drop boxes and requiring ID makes they've successfully made voting harder. Especially for those in urban areas and poorer populations.

I have no idea why the number of drop boxes was reduced (low usage, or pure evil), but they were already requiring some form of ID prior to this. Georgia also issues FREE voter ID cards to anyone that wants one, so I don't think its an undue burden on poorer people to meet the voting requirements. If they can't get to the DMV to get a free ID card, they can sign up online for a no-excuse absentee ballot and only need the last 4 digits of their SS number. If Republicans in Georgia were truly trying to make it harder to vote, they did a very poor job. While there are a variety of things that could be improved (shorter lines, better communication, etc.), I don't see any of this as a hinderance to democracy. As all of these laws are being contested, we'll see if they end up having any impact on future elections. My bet is that it won't.

If you want to talk about an actual threat to our Democracy, how about the laws in place that essentially guarantee that a Republican and a Democrat will automatically be on the ballot for every election......but independents have to jump through an incredible amount of hurdles to get on the ballot. Let's all pause to consider conflict of interest here........Republican and Democratic politicians can (and do) enact laws making it more challenging for 3rd party candidates to get on the ballot (while making their party virtually automatic). Is it any surprise that we live in a two party country that divides everyone by political lines?

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opini...ependent-candidates-getting-ballot-ncna866466

Again, I agree that these laws were not needed, and politicians shouldn't have a hand in determining who votes and how (and for whom).

 

[One Brow]

What were the requirements before? My understanding is that they still have "no-excuse" absentee voting, and all that is required is for someone to put in the DL number or last 4 of their social on the application. Admittedly, maybe I'm missing something, but it seems very simple for 99.9% of eligible voters to request an absentee ballot if they want one.
Never thought I would spend this much time learning about Georgia voting laws.....lol.

Again, contrasted with 2020, you will now have to show that you can't vote on election for some reason (out of state, illness, etc.).

Think of Georgia as the test case.

 

[One Brow]

What were the requirements before? My understanding is that they still have "no-excuse" absentee voting, and all that is required is for someone to put in the DL number or last 4 of their social on the application. Admittedly, maybe I'm missing something, but it seems very simple for 99.9% of eligible voters to request an absentee ballot if they want one.
Never thought I would spend this much time learning about Georgia voting laws.....lol.

I found one Georgia website that specified not being able to vote in person, and another that said no-excuse absentee balloting, so I'm not sure, You could be right.

 

[TheGoldStandard]

I found one Georgia website that specified not being able to vote in person, and another that said no-excuse absentee balloting, so I'm not sure, You could be right.

I recall reading the new law requires ID for in person and mail (have to put in your ID # or send a photo of a different ID or last 4 of SSN. Previously in GA you only needed ID for in person).

The previous signature requirement for absentee/mail-in ballots was a problem, as they tried to match up signatures with registration, and many ballots that could not be confirmed were thrown out, which they tried to remedy. Matching to ID will hopefully avoid votes being thrown out, or at least at a much lower rate.

In regards to drop boxes, GA only allowed drop boxes due to the pandemic, and the new law still allows them, but they must be inside a voting location or clerks office. Still better than the pre- 2020 law.

They are also trying to streamline by helping to ensure people vote at the right place and take fewer provisional ballots, which are more likely to be thrown out than any other type of ballot (something close to 1/3 were not accepted).

Additionally, if any precinct in the last election had lines for over an hour to vote, they have to add an additional precinct and/or add more resources to lower wait times.

They also have a new hotline to report illegal activity/suppression/intimidation, which may be done anonymously.