Former President Jimmy Carter is not in favor of the election reform measures going through the Republican-controlled Georgia Legislature.
Carter, the one-term governor of the Peach State, accused the state Republican Party of trying to “turn back the clock through legislation that will restrict access to voting for many Georgians,” according to a statement from the Carter Center released on Tuesday.
The state Senate passed a bill Monday eliminating no-excuse absentee voting. The bill, which passed by a 29-20 vote, is being touted by Republicans, who said the measure will improve voter security and confidence, but their Democratic opponents argue that the legislation will make it harder for people to vote, specifically people of color.
GEORGIA SENATE VOTES TO ELIMINATE NO-EXCUSE ABSENTEE VOTING
“I am disheartened, saddened, and angry,” he added.
The former commander in chief also addressed the November election in Georgia, which went for President Biden, making him the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the Peach State since former President Bill Clinton did so in 1992. Despite numerous theories alleging that former President Donald Trump was the legitimate winner of its electoral votes, the state’s results were confirmed through two recounts.
“Many of the proposed changes are reactions to allegations of fraud for which no evidence was produced — allegations that were, in fact, refuted through various audits, recounts, and other measures,” Carter added. “The proposed changes appear to be rooted in partisan interests, not in the interests of all Georgia voters.”
The Georgia Legislature is considering more than a dozen pieces of election-related legislation that would make it harder for people to vote, which Republicans argue improves the security and integrity of the vote.
If passed, the bills would require voter identification, block voters from being automatically registered to vote when obtaining their driver’s licenses, end no-excuse absentee voting, give poll watchers more access to vote tallying, set a deadline to request an absentee ballot to 11 days before Election Day, and restrict drop boxes and early voting on Sundays, among other provisions.
HOTLY CONTESTED VOTING RESTRICTION BILL HEADS TO STATE SENATE
The topic of election security and potential reformation has become a major political issue at the state and federal level in the aftermath of the 2020 presidential election, when many Republicans, including Trump, repeatedly questioned the integrity of the results. Forty-three states have carried over, pre-filed, or introduced a total of 253 bills that would restrict voting access as of late February.
Comparatively, there has been a similar push from the other side of the political aisle to introduce legislation, 704 bills in all, that would expand voting rights in a different set of 43 states, according to the Brennan Center for Justice, a liberal-leaning law and policy institute.
At the federal level, the House passed its own election reform bill, H.R. 1, the “For the People Act,” last week. The bill would require states to use automatic voter registration for federal elections and allow same-day voter registration, among other measures, but it will face an uphill battle in the evenly divided Senate.
