I don’t know how many people have actually read all 95 pages of the bill that was passed in Georgia.
The bit about not allowing food or water is simply a childish mean spirited swipe at the urban communities. The reduction in drop boxes is unfortunate. The voter ID requirement is partially offset by the establishment of a system of free IDs, although the use of them with mail in ballets is squirrely.
But, believe it or not, there are actually some very good ideas in the bill.
I haven’t seen much talk about what I personally find to be the scariest part of the bill.
Elections in Georgia are (always have been) administered by counties.
Some new things in the law:
Section 4 establishes … “a telephone hotline for the use of electors” (voters) “of this state to file complaints and allegations of voter intimidation and illegal election activities. Such hotline shall, in addition to complaints and reports from identified persons, also accept anonymous tips regarding voter intimidation and election fraud”. (my bold)
In section 5 the State Election Board will now have “a chairperson elected by the General Assembly” replacing the Secretary of State (elected by the voters) as a voting member of the board.
Section 5 d Three voting members of the board shall constitute a quorum …
The voting members of the board are the chairperson (now elected by the General Assembly) one member elected by the House chamber of the General Assembly, one elected by the Senate chamber of the General Assembly, and one appointed by each political party. So if a party holds a majority in both chambers they have four voting members, a quorum being three.
Section 6 f. gives this board some new powers - “After following the procedures set forth in Code Section 21-2-33.2, the State Election Board may suspend county or municipal superintendents and appoint an individual to serve as the temporary superintendent in a jurisdiction. Such individual shall exercise all the powers and duties of a superintendent as provided by law, including the authority to make all personnel decisions related to any employees of the jurisdiction who assist with carrying out the duties of the superintendent, including, but not limited to, the director of elections, the election supervisor, and all poll officers.”
So, the state board can now, potentially based on their opinion of an anonymous telephone tip, appoint an unelected supervisor for any county with the authority to replace the director of elections, the election supervisor, and all poll officers in that county. The only restriction being that only four counties can be controlled by these temporary superintendents at any given time.
Fulton, Clayton, DeKalb, and Cobb anyone?