The number of drop boxes for Georgia's four most populous counties, Fulton, Cobb, DeKalb and Gwinnett, will drop from 94 in 2020 to 23 in 2022, according to The Times. Brian Kemp signed SB 202, a 98-page omnibus bill, on Thursday. But, as we said, even a poll officer cannot hand drinks to people waiting in line which was Bidens point. It's sick. And there can only be one drop box for every 100,000 voters in a county. The election reforms came after President Joe Biden defeated former President Donald Trump by a narrow 11,779 votesin Georgia in last year's general election. The new law allows the State Board of Elections to determine that these county boards are performing poorly, replacing the entire board with an administrator chosen at the state level. The new law allows the Georgia attorney general to set up a hotline for voters to file complaints and allegations of voter intimidation or illegal activity. The heavily populated county has been plagued by problems, including long lines, and it is often singled out by Republican officials. County superintendents may provide portable polling facilities for a given precinct at their discretion. 2021 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. In his statement, released on Friday, Mr Biden said: "Recount after recount and court case after court case upheld the integrity and outcome of a clearly free, fair, and secure democratic process. Each week, we explore unique solutions to some of the world's biggest problems. A week before the runoff elections, Walter Jones, a spokesperson for Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger,tweeted, Be warned: you cant give anything of value to someone voting., In his tweet, Jones provided a link to anOfficial Elections Bulletinissued by Raffensperger that said offering food, drinks, or other items of value to voters waiting in line or those who have already voted is forbidden under Georgia law (OCGA 21-2-570).. Poll officers are permitted to distribute materials encouraging voter participation as required by law. As our fact-checking colleagues at the Washington Post have written, the president has repeatedly made the false claim that the new Georgia law would close a polling place at 5 oclock when working people just get off. The new law sets the minimum hours for early voting on weekdays at 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; the old law said early voting shall be conducted during normal business hours.. Mr Raffensperger, who has staunchly defended the integrity of the state's votes, also backed the new laws. What is Georgia's new voting law? There will be at least 17 days of early voting, starting on the Monday that is 22 days before Election Day until the Friday before an election. The sweeping rewrite of Georgia's election rules that was signed into law by Republican Gov. Abdulkadir admitted he voted in the election and said he was unaware he was prohibited from voting, the criminal complaint says. The new law makes it a misdemeanor to hand out any money or gifts, including, but not limited to, food and drink to anyone standing in line to vote. Under the new law, two Saturdays of early voting are mandatory from 9 am to 5 pm at minimum and from 7 am to 7 pm if counties desire and two Sundays are explicitly made optional. But influential Democrat Stacey Abrams, who helped mobilise the black vote in Georgia, shared Mr Biden's view: "Suppression is the lazy man's way of winning an election. Prior to the passing of the new law, the secretary of state served as chair of the State Election Board. Democratic state Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler slammed the proposal Thursday before the bill was signed into law, saying: They want to make it a crime to bring Grandma some water while shes waiting in line.. The prohibition extends 150 feet from a polling place and 25 feet from any person standing in line. The sweeping rewrite of Georgia's election rules that was signed into law by Republican Gov. With the new procedures comes a shorter timeline for counties to certify results: six days, rather than 10. In an April 1 press briefing, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki acknowledged that the law provided options to expand the hours but said the law standardized it at five., Some experts told CNN that the language in the law could cause confusion on what hours are permitted on weekdays. A candidate needs a majority more than 50 percent of the votes to win. ", Georgia lawmaker Park Cannon arrested as governor signs voting law. Georgias new voting law, signed by Republican Gov. Volunteers and third-party groups regularly hand out water on hot days or hot drinks on cold days to voters standing in line. State lawmakers in Georgia overhauled its existing election protocol last month with the passage of a law that includes restrictionssome activists say haven't been seen since the Jim Crow era. Previously, nine weeks separated the general election from the runoff, but the new law now requires a runoff to be held 28 days after the election. All rights reserved. Kemp, April 3: First of all, on the drop boxes, theres a very simple formula that is now going to be used on the drop boxes for all counties. But Kemp and other Republicans say theharsh response shows that critics have not actually read the law. A new voting law in Georgia has sparked a rebuke from Major League Baseball and political spin from both parties. Unified control means that what happened in Georgia - where a law quickly passes both chambers and gets signed by the governor - can easily be replicated. It literally tries to undermine the one-person, one-vote principle that is at the core of democracy.. A candidate needs a majority more than 50 percent of the votes to win. Richard L. Hasen, a professor of law and political science at the University of California, Irvine School of Law, and author of The Voting Wars, similarly told us in an email: I think the language in the statute is somewhat ambiguous on the 5 pm closing time, but Georgia officials have said that they are interpreting it to allow staying open until 7, which is a better thing from the point of view of voters opportunities to vote.. For example, Fulton County says it will go down from 38 to eight drop boxes. The law allows counties to set voting hours anywhere between 7am and 7pm, as was the case previously. We cant rely on ads alone to do that. A new chairperson will be elected by the General Assembly. To be clear, the current Georgia system is nowhere near as restrictive as the way things worked in the pre-civil rights South. Well fact-check claims from President Joe Biden and Georgia Gov. Section 33 of thenew lawrevised existing law, adding the bolded parts to subsections (a) and (e) of astate lawthat places restrictions on campaign activities: SB 202, March 25:(a) 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,nor shall any person solicit signatures for any petition, nor shall any person, other than election officials discharging their duties, establish or set up any tables or booths on any day in which ballots are being cast: (1) Within 150 feet of the outer edge of any building within which a polling place is established; (3) Within 25 feet of any voter standing in line to vote at any polling place. But no members of the board may serve simultaneously in the state legislature. Well fact-check claims from President Joe Biden and Georgia Gov. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, Democratic state Rep. Park Cannon was arrested after knocking on the door of Governor Brian Kemp's office as he signed the elections legislation. The 98-page measure that was signed into law Thursday by Republican Gov. The prohibition extends 150 feet from a polling place and 25 feet from any person standing in line. Long waits are more common in areas with a larger black population, often due to fewer polling stations and other barriers to voting. Mutual Fund and ETF data provided by Refinitiv Lipper. As of February 19, the last time its data was updated, there were more than 250 bills under consideration in statehouses that would limit access to the ballot box. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com. All rights reserved. A candidate needs a majority more than 50 percent of the votes to win. This surge in voting restrictions is clearly motivated by Trumps claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 elections. The GOP is a radical right faction that increasingly sees its opposition as fundamentally illegitimate, and is willing to abuse its political power to lock them out. Take our quiz, We'll find you and we won't let you live a teams fight to exist, When a biryani flies hundreds of miles to reach Indians, The two generals fighting over Sudan's future, 'I thought we'd die' - Sudan patients cry for help, Why Gen Z workers are starting on the back foot. Much of the work administering elections in Georgia is handled by the states 159 counties. A new voting law in Georgia has sparked a rebuke from Major League Baseball and political spin from both parties. Trump zeroed in on his loss in the state, even as two Democrats won election to the U.S. Senate in January, flipping control of the chamber to their party. As a result, the ID requirement could help election officials process ballots more efficiently. Will you become one of them? The governor said that the availability of drop boxes was now for the first time ever codified in the law, and its true drop boxes for absentee ballots werent part of the old law. The federal proposal would create automatic voter registration nationwide, allow former felons to vote, and limit the ways states can remove registered voters from their rolls. The law allowed a week to finalize and certify the final vote count, according to the AJC. The Brennan Center, a nonpartisan institute focused on voting rights, has been tracking the spread of new voting restrictions across the country. In Georgia, as in most places, thats low-income and minority voters two disproportionately Democratic groups. Cutting off access, adding restrictions, encouraging more show me your papers actions to challenge a citizens right to vote [is] facially neutral but racially targeted.. The new law makes it a misdemeanor to hand out any money or gifts, including, but not limited to, food and drink to anyone standing in line to vote. 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