EXCLUSIVE — House Republicans are calling on President Joe Biden to “apologize” for characterizing Georgia’s new election law as voter suppression, arguing the strong midterm turnout in the Peach State demonstrates the commander in chief is peddling misinformation.
Republican members of the House Administration Committee sent a letter to the president Wednesday rehashing Biden’s previously charged rhetoric opposing the 2021 GOP-led election law — including the president admonishing “Jim Crow 2.0” voting restrictions and inaccurately claiming Georgia ended voting hours early.
“In the interest of ensuring American voters may have confidence in elections processes and outcomes, we demand you immediately cease spreading election misinformation, rescind your previous statements, and apologize to the American public,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter to Biden obtained first by the Washington Examiner.
“We look forward to your apology to the people of the State of Georgia,” the members added.
Following the 2020 election, in which Biden narrowly beat former President Donald Trump in Georgia, Republicans passed a new election law billed as improving voting integrity following Trump’s repeated and baseless claims of widespread fraud. The law added new restrictions on voting by mail and greater controls on how elections are run but ignited a nationwide firestorm, culminating with Major League Baseball pulling the All-Star Game out of Atlanta in protest of “restrictions to the ballot box.”
Biden led the charge against Georgia’s law and, in a speech in Atlanta on Jan. 11, compared voting restrictions to a new form of government-sanctioned segregation.
“Jim Crow 2.0 is about two insidious things: voter suppression and election subversion,” Biden said.
Despite the law, voters in Georgia are heading to the polls at a “record pace.” Gabriel Sterling, a top election official in Georgia, said he expects early voting turnout will pass the 2 million mark on Wednesday.
Georgia is once again the center of the political world, with a toss-up Senate race and contentious governor’s race driving up the early voting figures.
Before lunch today, we will pass the 2 million mark of pre-Election Day voters. As we stand this morning there are already nearly 1.95 million votes cast. Georgians are doing a great job of using the methods of voting provided. Keep on movin’ to the polls. #gapol #PlanYourVote pic.twitter.com/pUePsUUFQ7
— Gabriel Sterling (@GabrielSterling) November 2, 2022
The White House has stood by Biden’s characterization of the Georgia law when confronted by reporters about the enormous turnout.
“High turnout and voter suppression can take place at the same time,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters last month. “They don’t have to be, one doesn’t have to happen on its own. They could be happening at the same time.”
Pressed on whether the White House has observed voter suppression in Georgia, Jean-Pierre said, in general, access to voting has been “attacked” and chided states across the country for “suppressing the right to vote” in response to Trump’s “big lie” of a stolen election.
Biden’s Justice Department filed a lawsuit in June 2021 against Georgia, alleging that elements of the law amount to racial discrimination and demanding a court toss them out. The case is ongoing.
Among the provisions challenged by Attorney General Merrick Garland were a ban on government entities distributing unsolicited absentee ballot applications; “costly and onerous fines” on civic organizations and churches that distribute absentee ballot applications; the shortening of the deadline to request absentee ballots; certain ID requirements to request an absentee ballot; limitations on absentee ballot drop boxes; and a prohibition on churches and civic groups providing food or water to voters waiting in line.
The letter to Biden was signed by House Administration Committee ranking member Rep. Rodney Davis of Illinois, Rep. Bryan Steil of Wisconsin, and Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Georgia.
Steil told the Washington Examiner that Biden and other Democrats sought to “instill fear” in voters and said it’s time they are held accountable.
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“We’re just calling out the hypocrisy of the Left and of President Biden,” Steil said.
Biden’s claims are “proven to be unfounded by the tremendous turnout in Georgia, and my personal view is that across the country, we got to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat,” Steil added. “And that’s … what Georgia successfully accomplished.”
