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Kemp Signs Voting Law
RESTRICTIONS ON ABSENTEE VOTING
By Stanley Dunlap news@flagpole.com
R epublican Gov. Brian Kemp signed off
last week on an overhaul of Georgia’s
new voting laws that limit absentee voting
with partisan support and an acknowledg
ment that courts will decide if new restric
tions are legal.
After signing Senate Bill 202 into law
Mar. 25, Kemp referenced litigation that
he anticipates is forthcoming over changes
to early and absentee voting and a slew of
other election laws. A lawsuit was quickly
filed on behalf of voting rights groups the
New Georgia Project, Black Voters Matter
Fund and Rise that challenges the new
voting restrictions, such as identification
requirements to cast an absentee ballot and
a ban on distributing water and snacks to
voters waiting in line. Democratic U.S. Rep.
Nikema Williams and state House Minority
Leader James Beverly said the party plans
to legally challenge efforts they say will sig
nificantly disenfranchise many Georgians,
predominantly minority voters, the dis
abled and seniors.
Republicans sold the legislation as mak
ing absentee drop boxes permanent for
the first time, adding new vote-by-mail ID
requirements and an extra weekend vot
ing day, and requiring more public notice
when polling locations are changed. Kemp
said the legislation is a significant step
in reforming elections after an array of
“alarming problems” occurred in last year’s
elections.
Kemp served as secretary of state when
he won a closely contested 2018 guber
natorial election over Stacey Abrams, the
founder of Fair Fight and a staunch critic of
SB 202. “According to them, if you believe
in protecting the security and sanctity of
the ballot box, you’re a ‘Jim Crow in a suit
and tie,”’ Kemp said shortly after signing
the legislation into law. “I’ve fought these
partisan activists tooth-and-nail for over 10
years to keep our elections secure, accessi
ble and fair. Like before, I’m sure they will
threaten to boycott, sue, demonize and
team up with their friends in the national
media to call me everything in the book.
But fighting for free and fair elections is
WILL WIND UP IN COURT
worth all of that and more.”
As Kemp signed the bill in his office,
state troopers arrested Rep. Park Cannon, a
Black woman, for knocking on the door and
asking to watch, then dragged her out of
the Capitol.
The nearly 100-page bill is a combination
of sweeping House and Senate bills and
other more minor legislation introduced
this session, as Republican lawmakers
followed through
on their pledge to
revamp elections.
Opponents
called out the bill
for restricting drop
boxes to inside early
voting locations
except during a public
health emergency,
punishing people
for casting out-of-
precinct provisional
ballots, and making
it a crime to pass out
water and snacks
while voters wait in
lines. President Joe
Biden called the GOP
voting proposals
moving through state
houses like Georgia’s
“un-American”
and “sick” during a press conference last
Thursday.
Over recent weeks, GOP leaders made
some concessions that included not moving
forward with banning Sunday voting, as
well as abandoning a proposal to end the
no-excuse absentee law after a record 1.3
million Georgians voted absentee in the
general election.
In recent months, Georgia became
the subject of national controversy for
its flurry of proposed voting restrictions
that follow baseless complaints of election
irregularities peddled by former President
Donald Trump and many supporters after
losing the November election to Biden by
12,000 votes. Georgia’s 2020 election cycle
was the most secure in the state’s history,
according to GOP Secretary of State Brad
Raffensperger. Biden’s victory was con
firmed by machine and hand recounts three
times.
Republican Sen. Max Burns, a Sylvania
Republican, mentioned the absentee ballot
process’ validity as a chief concern that the
legislation tackles. However, a Cobb County
signature audit of thousands of absentee
ballot signatures conducted by the GBI
uncovered “no fraud.”
Sen. Jen Jordan, an Atlanta Democrat
and attorney, said taxpayers will end up
fronting expensive litigation costs and local
counties will have to incur more expenses
to run elections. “Your local folks are going
to have no idea what’s going on, and not
only that, but it’s gonna cost tons and tons
of money,” she said. ©
A version of this article originally appeared in the
Georgia Recorder at georgiarecorder.com
Gov. Brian Kemp shakes hands with House Speaker David Ralston after
signing SB 202.
LETTERS TORO. BOX 1027, ATHENS, GA 30603
OR EMAIL US AT LETTERS@FLAGPOLE.GOM
Bill Would Hinder Athens’ Fight
Against Climate Change
We are doing our part in Athens fighting
climate change and transitioning to 100%
renewable energy. We passed a resolution
in June 2019 to transition to 100% green
energy within the county government by
2035 and within the larger community by
2050. We committed $15.6 million to make
that transition when we passed SPLOST
2020. Our local government is about to
pass a new, greener building code for public
projects. Now, a citizen committee is put
ting together a county-wide clean energy
plan, expected to be voted on by the end of
the year.
But the fossil fuel industry is on the
attack, and unfortunately many state leg
islatures seem to be fighting on their side,
including ours in Georgia. The American
Gas Association is campaigning across the
country to prohibit counties and munic
ipalities from creating local legislation
that would limit the use of natural gas.
For communities committed to fighting
climate change, this initiative prohibits
local governments from taking step one in a
transition to renewable energy, the electri
fication of its power sources. If your home
appliances or cars run on electricity, then
the source of that electricity can eventually
be solar or wind—not a carbon-producing
fossil fuel like gas.
The American Gas Association is pro
moting House Bill 150 in Georgia and about
a dozen other states to keep local county
governments from prohibiting fossil fuel
hook-ups because it is concerned about the
health of the industry and shareholder prof
its. But local counties and municipalities are
concerned about the health and environ
mental concerns of their residents. HB 150
limits local power to protect citizens and
needs to be defeated.
The vote on this bill is imminent. Please
call our Athens state senators right away
and tell them to vote NO on HB 150: Sen.
Bill Cowsert, District 46, 404-463-1366,
and Sen. Frank Ginn, District 47, 404-656-
4700. The bill has already passed in the
state House.
Carol Myers
Myers is the Athens-Clarke County commissioner
for District 8.
Oppose Gaines’ Effort to Prevent
Reallocating Police Funding
During the 2020 elections, defunding
the police became a contentious political
issue that was used by the Republicans as a
political weapon to instill fear and distract
concerned citizens from the truth. The
truth is I fully support reallocating funding.
“Defunding the police” was never my slogan
nor intended to leave law enforcement offi
cers unprotected and underpaid or depart
ments understaffed. The goal is to ensure
that funding is being reallocated to support
our community and improve public safety.
It means allowing your local government to
redistribute funds towards essential social
services that are often underfunded, such
as housing, education, employment and
mental health.
While police brutality and racial tensions
continue to rise, we must seek ways to
repair our justice system. We need leaders
who will propose solutions such as the
George Floyd Justice in Policing Act if we
want to address police brutality head-on.
Unfortunately, Athens’ own Houston
Gaines is proposing a bill that would take
away local control over how our tax dollars
get spent in ways that negatively impact
our community. This bill will not improve
public safety, nor address the killings of
Black people at the hands of law enforce
ment. It will not decrease mass incarcera
tion or crime rates. Simply stated, this bill
will only prevent local governments from
allocating funds toward already under
funded areas like mental health services
and homelessness.
While Republicans such as Gaines con
tinue to use fear-mongering tactics to gain
support and maintain power, the most mar
ginalized members of our community are
left without sufficient protection and sup
port in an economic and public health crisis.
Police reform and reallocation of funds are
what we need to maintain public safety.
The real issues at hand are poverty, racial
discrimination, untreated mental health
issues and homelessness, all of which can
lead to increased interactions between law
enforcement officers and vulnerable com
munity members. This is not just a racial
issue, this is a social and public safety issue
that must be addressed through police
reform and restorative justice.
If we the people do not stand up and
speak out, corrupt state legislators will con
tinue to protect bad officers. We need lead
ers who are more concerned about creating
a restorative justice system and ensuring
that officers are properly trained, paid and
unbiased. We need real solutions, and that’s
why despite Gaines’ effort to sabotage our
local work towards cash bail reform, police
reform, voting rights and controlling local
government spending, I will continue to
advocate for ways to protect our children
and citizens, such as advocating for a police
civilian oversight board and juvenile diver
sion programs, and by hosting community
dialogues to educate the general public.
Unfortunately, Rep. Gaines and various
others have been absent from these conver
sations and now want to push a dangerous
and divisive agenda on our community.
Gaines’ legislation is unconstitutional, and
it is opposed by the Georgia Municipal
Association and the Association County
Commissioners of Georgia, meaning local
governments across the state share my con
cerns. We the people cannot allow House
Bill 286 to pass through the Senate and
become law. This is a call to take action:
please write and call your representatives.
For more information on House Bill 286,
upcoming events or my position, please
email me atjasminejohnsonedu@gmail.com
or at mokahforgeorgia@gmail.com.
Mokah-Jasmine Johnson
Johnson ran as a Democrat in 2020 against
Gaines in District 117.
MARCH 31, 2021 | FLAGPOLE.COM
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