Yes, Sen. Lee, Georgia’s law is meant to make it hard for Democrats to vote. IDs are a minor issue.
The law also states, “No person shall solicit votes in any manner or by any means or method, nor shall any person distribute or display any campaign material, nor shall any person give, offer to give, or participate in the giving of any money or gifts, including, but not limited to, food and drink, to an elector.”
I agree that no person should “solicit votes … display any campaign material … or participate in the giving of any money or gifts to an elector.” There is no excuse for “including, but not limited to, food and drink, to an elector.” Many urban and minority citizens waited in line for 6-8 hours to vote. Now they are also supposed to bring enough food and drink for 8 hours?
Absentee ballots have to be requested and the new law limits drop boxes to one per 100,000 active registered voters per county, and they’re only accessible during business hours.
In 2020, the core Atlanta metropolitan area had 94 drop boxes. According to a New York Times analysis, the new law cuts that to a maximum of 23 boxes – and you can only drop off your own ballot. This law disproportionately affects people of color and/or areas that vote Democrat.
If laws were passed in a Democrat legislative majority state making it easier for urban and harder for rural Republicans to vote, I have no doubt Lee would call it voter suppression.
Karen Loveridge, Salt Lake City
