On this edition of Your Call, we're discussing how Georgia provided the blueprint for the wave of anti-voter legislation passed by Republicans over the past two years.
Last year, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed signed a bill that restricted voting access in more than a dozen ways, including a reduction in the number of drop boxes in metro Atlanta from 97 to 23, new voter-ID requirements for mail-in ballots, a far lower bar for rejecting ballots cast in the wrong precinct, less time to request and return mail ballots, a prohibition on election officials sending mail-in ballot applications to all voters, and a ban on giving voters food or water while they’re waiting in line.
Georgia voter suppression law is having a clear impact this election cycle, reports Ari Berman. Conservative activists and election deniers have challenged the eligibility of more than 65,000 voters through the early voting period, claiming they no longer live at the correct address. Though 95 percent of the challenges have been dismissed at the county level, they have led to confusion and accusations of voter intimidation; in some cases, voters have showed up at the polls and been told they cannot vote because someone has challenged their eligibility.
Guest:
Ari Berman, national voting rights correspondent for Mother Jones and author of Give Us the Ballot: The Modern Struggle for Voting Rights in America
Web Resources:
Mother Jones: Brian Kemp Is a Different Kind of Threat to Democracy
Mother Jones: Democracy Is Hanging By a Thread in Wisconsin. Blame Extreme Voting Maps.
Vox: “Stop the Steal” conspiracy theories are coming for swing state ballot boxes
