Georgia’s Republican Governor, Brian Kemp, has recently approved new laws that could significantly impact the upcoming elections in the state. The legislation includes rules for challenging voters’ eligibility and streamlining the process for independent candidates to qualify for the presidential ballot. These changes, passed by the Republican-controlled state legislature in late March, could have a substantial effect on the fall elections in this crucial battleground state.
Despite the significance of these changes, Governor Kemp did not issue a statement regarding his decision to sign the new laws.
The ACLU of Georgia has expressed strong opposition to these laws, with Executive Director Andrea Young stating that they represent a setback for voters’ rights and access to voting in the state. The ACLU has announced its intention to challenge these new rules in court.
One key provision of the new law allows any political party or body that has obtained ballot access in at least 20 states or territories to qualify for Georgia’s presidential ballot. This change could particularly benefit third-party or independent presidential candidates, as they would no longer need to collect a minimum of 7,500 signatures from registered Georgia voters to qualify for the ballot.
Additionally, the new laws include measures that broaden the criteria for upholding challenges to voter registrations. This expansion of what constitutes “probable cause” for such challenges includes evidence that a voter has died, obtained a homestead exemption in another jurisdiction, or registered to vote at a nonresidential address.
Critics of the new laws argue that they could impose unnecessary burdens on election officials and open the door to unfounded attacks on voter qualifications. For example, the use of the US Postal Service change-of-address database in bringing challenges could potentially lead to the cancellation of voter registrations based on incomplete or inaccurate information.
Moreover, the new law requires homeless individuals to use the county registration office as their voting address, rather than the location where they are currently residing. Critics argue that this change could make it more difficult for unhoused individuals to cast their votes, as they may need to travel long distances to reach their designated polling places.
Overall, voting rights groups and critics of the new laws argue that these changes amount to voter suppression and are designed to undermine the integrity of the electoral process.