UPDATED:
The Georgia Senate approved SB 202 in a 34-20 party line vote. Republican State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick voted in favor, and the bill has been signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp.
ORIGINAL STORY:
The four Republicans representing East Cobb in the Georgia House voted in favor of a bill on Thursday that would make sweeping changes to state elections laws.
It’s one of two omnibus elections bills that were up for votes in the Georgia General Assembly, with the 2021 legislative session drawing to a close.
Both bills, written by Republican lawmakers, would add identification requirements for mailed ballots, restrict the use of absentee ballot drop boxes, require more advanced voting across the state and shorten runoff elections.
The legislature also has oversight of proposed changes to election rules by the Secretary of State and state elections board.
Provisions in initial bills to scrap no-excuse absentee voting and Sunday voting were taken out of the omnibus bills, called the Election Integrity Act of 2021.
The House vote on SB 202 Thursday (you can read it here) was 100-75, along mostly partisan lines. GOP Reps. John Carson, Sharon Cooper, Matt Dollar and Don Parsons, who represent East Cobb districts, voted with the majority.
The only Democrat with an East Cobb constituency, Mary Frances Williams, voted against.
In Cobb County, 16 drop boxes were located around the county for absentee ballots. But the legislation would limit those drop boxes to early voting locations only while the polls are open.
Also, anyone requesting an absentee ballot would have to do so no later than 11 days before an election, and the Secretary of State would not be able to send out unsolicited absentee ballot applications, as was done in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Another provision of the bill would forbid anyone from providing food and water for people standing in line to vote.
The Senate was scheduled to take up SB 202 as well as the other omnibus elections bill, HB 531 (you can read it here). There are two legislative days left, with the session set to end March 31.
In a vote on an earlier elections bill, SB 241, Republican State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick of East Cobb was excused. She was only one of three GOP senators who did not co-sponsor the legislation, which was opposed by Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan.
After last year’s elections prompted major wins for Democrats—including the presidential race and both of Georgia’s U.S. Senate races—the Republican-led legislative session has been dominated by elections bills.
In many races, absentee votes went overwhelmingly for Democratic candidates, while Republicans did better with advanced and election-day in-person voting.
Some Republicans charged election fraud, especially in the presidential race, which Democrat Joe Biden won by less than 12,000 votes.
Democrats and voting-rights groups have blasted the omnibus bills as examples of voter suppression.
But Republicans say overhauls are necessary to restore integrity and trust in elections.
Related coverage
- Secretary of State certifies Georgia Senate runoff results
- How East Cobb voted in the U.S. Senate runoffs, by precinct
- Ga. Senate races too close to call; Democrats lead in Cobb
- Loeffler objects to Electoral College certification process
- Cobb Elections audit finds no fraudulent absentee ballots
- Cobb elections board denies GOP voter challenge for runoffs
- Georgia presidential election recertified after lawsuit dismissed
- Cobb: Government shredding didn’t include elections office
- Official Georgia recount begins in presidential race
- East Cobb voters stick with Trump but Biden wins precincts
- Cobb Elections explains post-shredding activities
- Cobb election results certified; Biden projected Ga. winner
- East Cobb 2020 Election Guide
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