Ga voter law

Ok, I'm at a loss..... Can someone please explain why people are so up in arms about it?
Ive read it and tge way I see it is that basically you have to show an ID to vote is the long and short of it.

Am i missing something?

 

The biggest issue is how the Republican state legislature has given itself the power to take control of the vote counting process away from the counties and into the hands of state board it would appoint. So it could target Democratic strongholds like Fulton County (Atlanta) and declare that it does not like how the county has tabulated absentee ballots or conducted a recount and effectively take over with no recourse from the county. It also removes the Secretary of State from having a role in validating results.

Elections officials fear Georgia law could politicize voting operations

There is nothing wrong with requiring voter ID or proof of residency. What should not be necessary is photo ID that particularly impacts older minority voters.

And what is absolutely crazy is making it a crime to provide water to people standing in line for hours (mostly in minority voting precincts).

On the other hand, the law extends early voting days/hours and Democrats should acknowledge that fact.

In the end, there was no logical reason for the necessity of this new law .

There was no evidence of voter fraud or inappropriate actions by county officials responsible for tabulating votes as the Secretary of State (a Republican) stated on multiple occasions and that resulted in his reputation being smeared and his honesty and integrity challenged by Trump with no cause other than Trump being a sore loser.

But the worst feature as described above gives the Republican legislature new powers that could certainly result in abuse for political gain and change the outcome of an election.

 

Ok, that makes more since....
with that said, you said

"What should not be necessary is photo ID that particularly impacts older minority voters."

Please explain that. I do not understand that.

 

Only a handful of states (5-6 and all Republican) have a strict requirement to show a "state issued" photo ID (drivers licence, passport, military ID) in order to vote. Most states require only two forms of ID, one of which should have current address (social security card, bank statement, utility bill, etc) or require no ID at all.

Studies have shown that there are millions of Americans, eligible voters, that do not have a photo ID. These are mostly elderly, low income, and minority or native American who, for a variety of reasons, have never obtained a drivers license (mostly because they could never afford to own a car) and, for many other reasons, have a difficult time obtaining their birth certificate that is required to receive a "state issued" photo ID.

Those same studies and others have shown that requiring a photo ID has no impact on voter fraud. The larger issue is nearly every study and state audit in the last 5-10 years have found no widespread voter fraud that would have changed the outcome of a federal election (congressional or presidential). Widespread voter fraud is a myth and a photo ID requirement is a solution when there is not a problem.

While having some form of ID may make sense, having a requirement of a photo ID puts an additional and unnecessary burden on millions of mostly poor, elderly and minority Americans. Given where these most strict requirements exist (Republican states), it is reasonable to conclude that the reason for such a requirement is to suppress minority voters.

added...



There is no evidence of more voter fraud in the light green or grey states where no photo ID is required than there is in the very dark green/black (photo id required) or dark green (non-photo id required) states with strict ID requirements.

It is reasonable to conclude that strict photo ID requirements do not impact widespread voter fraud. Such requirements serve no constructive purpose but requiring a photo places an additional burden on some eligible voters who could otherwise provide non-photo ID ( social security or medicare card and a utility bill or something with their address).

In a true democracy, the "state" should make it as easy for eligible citizens to vote as possible, not make it more difficult for some than others, while at the same time protecting against voter fraud.

 

Ok, i get it.... with that said and this may piss some folks off and i dont mean to.


How can a person go through life and not have an ID, I dont mean a drivers license.
And how can you be registered to vote if you dont have a state issued ID?

I know it sounds dumb but I dont get it.

Lets say that someone lives in a low income area and is on disability/food stamps (whatever it is called now)/unemployment. How can they get those things without a ID?

 

I read the article.

Ok so riddle me this,

So why is MLB pulling the allstar game?

 

‘I will not back down’: Gov. Kemp blasts MLB’s decision to pull All-Star game from Atlanta

 

Because the law is basically designed to stop the rising tide of black voters in Georgia.
They managed to flip the state blue in the last election and so the state legislature came up with these laws to change that.
That's not how you play the game.
It's like deciding to change the rules in the middle because you are losing.

As to the ID, you don't need picture ID for a lot of those service.
A social security card etc. works just fine.
Especially if you are disabled and don't drive.
But it's not just the ID thing.
It's stuff like getting rid of Sunday voting which is huge in the Black community especially for elderly.
Also, reducing the number of polling options and not allowing people to give water to people in line.
This is all designed to make the process as horrible as humanly possible, to reduce the number of people who will vote.

 

Along those lines.....
Panic Rooms, Birth Certificates and the Birth of GOP Paranoia

I never thought I would have to openly question whether the Republican Party still believes in democracy.
But here we are.

 

From what i understand the water issue, they can still do that just has to be so many feet away.

IF im not mistaken GA has more early voting days than alot of states.

How hard is it to get an ID?

If Ga is not the only state that has this law why has it become such a big ordeal? Is it just cause it turned blue?

Maybe im just ignorant to some of this

 

I think the big ordeal is the (highly partisan) legislature seizing power to determine election results.
Because many of these people are the same people that could not and still do not accept Biden's victory.

Where someone gets a drink from may get fussed over but that's not the real threat here.

 

ok... So when other states passed the same law, why did people not go into an uproar

 

I'm lucky that the State of Alaska actually gave me the time off to go get my ID but I work the the hours that the DMV is open and I don't drive so nipping down to get an ID at lunch isn't an option.
Besides when I did go down to get my real ID it took 2.5 hours of waiting in line to get it and that was on a fast day.
I've heard stories about it being a lot worse.
I got paid for going down to get mine.
Imagine if you work a job that's hourly and doesn't allow that.
They have shut down the DMV branches in many of the poor and rural (i.e. Black and Hispanic) neighborhoods so the trip can take even longer.
I find it interesting that a social security card isn't considered ID but a gun license is for some states.

The constitution says voting is a right.
There can be no law passed that creates a financial barrier or unreasonable barrier of any type to voting.
That was why Poll Taxes made illegal.
So if they will provide IDs for free and make them readily available then I have no problem with them.
But I also feel we need mail in voting for those of us who don't drive.
Just in general, stop making it harder to fucking vote.
Only a party who is afraid of the people tries to make it hard to vote.

 

I understand the logistics of it.
I'm not saying its right, the issue that i have after reading more about it and educating myself about it is that all of the reprocrutions that have happened. Ga is not the only state that does has the law. But I guess it was bad timing..

Lets say that the law was passed in 2018 would their still be such a backlash from it?


And yes i agree with the above statement that their are some people that can not get over the election. But it is what it is. If they want to do something about it they have 4 years to piss and moan about it before they can do anything about it.
Did i vote for Biden? No I didn't, but I'm not bitching about it. that's why we live in America.

maybe they (GA) can do something about making it more accessible or easier to get an ID. That might fix the whole damn problem.

as far as things pulling out of GA, i get it from a business standpoint but it hurts the local economy. If 90 of 100 people say they will not buy your product if you support it, then id probably disapprove of it publicly wither i agreed with it or not

 

A shitload of states have come out with laws like these.
Most of them were like Texas where the state is starting to shift Blue and they are shitting their pants.

 

The facts remain that these "election reform" laws being enacted by Republican legislatures are not really intended to prevent voter fraud because there is no evidence of voter fraud beyond a handful of cases every year but certainly not to the extent that reverse the results of an election.

What these laws are intended to do is make it harder for some people, mostly minorities, to vote.

What is still not clear is if they are achieving those voter suppression goals. Studies suggest they have had little impact to-date, but this latest round of "reforms" are attempting to give more power over elections to the legislature(s), making the process of counting votes and certifying results even more political, and that is very dangerous to free and fair elections.

 

The ironic thing is that a good portion of the cases of voter fraud are Republicans.

 

I’ve read somewhere that the areas serviced by places where one can get government photo ID is wildly disproportionate, as is voting access. It was a Reddit fellow who said he’d never taken longer than a few minutes to vote, and maybe 20 minutes to get a licence in his affluent white district. He knew a few miles away people in poorer, POC districts commonly spent 4-5 hours to vote, same to get a licence/ photo ID. I believed him. That problem ought to be fixed before adding anything that further clogs an already asymmetrically burdened system, I’d think.

 

This ^.

The red states turning blue, or at least pink, are attempting to control voting.

Because the 2020 elections showed that surges in minorities voting does make difference, usually in favor of Democrats.

The claims that tightening voting requirements is for fraud prevention is pure bullshit. The Republican politicians are attempting to grab control of voting, and change the rules to favor Republicans.

To add a bit to what others said, it's a pretend solution to a nonexistent problem.

If Georgia, and any other state, has to get grabbed by the financial balls to realize their actions come at a cost, so be it.