An election integrity bill for Georgia was must-sign legislation for the Republican-led legislature and Governor Brian Kemp. Thursday evening, they unlocked that achievement with Kemp’s signature. A disaster of national proportions happened on election night 2020, with private money flooding selected election offices, a weakening of election security laws with widespread mail-in balloting and dropboxes, and insecure ID requirements for absentee balloting.
It simply cannot happen again if voters are going to have confidence in the entire process. Under the new law, for instance, no county can stop counting until they are done on election night—score one for election integrity.
The bill also enhances election security by requiring identification when voters request an absentee ballot instead of relying on subjective signature matching. Voters will use a valid state ID, ID number, or other form of identification when requesting an absentee ballot. When voting in person, Georgians provide a photo ID, and there is simply no reason that absentee requests should not carry the same requirement.
Many people are troubled that no one but an election worker can provide food or a beverages to a voter waiting in line. This practice is called line warming and it is a long-known tactic of left-wing activists to speak to voters in line and skirt around the state’s prohibition of campaigning within a certain distance from the polling place. Self-service water stations are permitted and if you think you may have to wait, bring a bottle of water. These are adults, correct?
As ABC News notes, “Democratic strongholds with large minority populations waited in line for up to eight hours.” The news outlet fails to mention that in Georgia, counties run the elections and determine the number and location of polling places. The article is correct in noting that Democrat-run counties always do the worst job. To remedy what counties like Fulton seem unable to fix themselves, the new law set standards for line-monitoring, reporting, and when county officials must open a new polling site to shorten wait times.
The law also expands early voting for the general and primary elections as a compromise, adding additional Saturdays and Sundays to the days to vote before Election Day. This provision is not a Republican preference because early tabulating of absentee ballots is also allowed. Drop boxes, a huge election security risk, may only be placed in early-voting locations and may only be accessible when the site is open. This rule should not be controversial unless your goal is to harvest ballots illegally and not get detected. Portable polling facilities are also prohibited.
The state legislature has also severely limited the modifications that can be made by the Secretary of State and county election boards independently to address a crisis like COVID-19. The legislature has reserved the right to suspend such changes and require that any modifications must involve public notice and specific notification to the legislature. The law will also prevent county election offices from receiving “Zuck Bucks” from outside interest groups.
Of course, Election Security Destroyer and Democrat shill attorney Mark Elias promised an immediate lawsuit if Kemp signed the bill. He’s one of the primary litigators that destroyed election integrity in multiple states before 2020 as part of what Time magazine called a “shadow campaign.” The pandemic is over. It’s time to return to secure elections. This bill increases accessibility, decreases long wait times, and changes the subjective signature verification to an objective form of I.D.
Stacey Abrams is complaining that the bill was rammed through. This assertion is not true. There were weeks of public testimony, with input from all around the state, before today. Today is also the end of the legislative session. Interest groups and citizens have closely monitored the entire process. Abrams and the Democrats will have to come up with a better explanation for only winning the cycle when all election integrity measures were destroyed in Georgia. With confidence restored, the state will turn red again. Democrats would not be nearly this mad or screaming “JIM CROW” if they thought their wins in 2020 were secure and above board. They would make the case.
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