Georgia Legislature Closes Loopholes In Election Rule Which Led To Absentee Ballot Debacle

Written By BlabberBuzz | Tuesday, 02 March 2021 04:30 PM
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Georgia Legislature Closes Loopholes In Election Rule Which Led To Absentee Ballot Debacle

Georgia’s House of Representatives passed omnibus legislation that would change a range of election rules, including over absentee voting, voter ID for absentee voting, time limits for voting, and more.

The 66-page bill, HB 513 passed the Republican-majority chamber on a party-line vote of 97-72 and is headed to the state Senate for further debate.

State Rep. Barry Fleming, R-Harlem, the main advocate of the HB 513 proposal, said that the proposal was designed to return voters’ faith in Georgia’s election system following the 2020 presidential election, which experienced several claims of voting irregularities and allegations of election fraud.

Distinctly, the GOP-majority Senate on Feb. 23 introduced its version of an omnibus election reform bill, SB 241 that has some extension with HB 531. One difference is that the Senate bill would abolish no-excuse absentee voting, something that has been permitted in Georgia since 2005, whereas the House bill would still allow no-excuse absentee voting.

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The introduced HB 531, first revealed on Feb. 18, sets up multiple requirements for absentee ballots, including some voter identification conditions in replacement of the state’s current signature match method.

Voters would have to display their driver’s license number, their state identification card, or the last four digits of their Social Security number on the ballot envelope. If the voter lacks a government ID, the bill needs a copy of a current utility bill, bank statement, government check, paycheck, or other government documents that shows the name and address of the voter.

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Under the new law, voters would be able to inquire about an absentee ballot up to 78 days before the election, instead of the current 180 days. The absentee ballots and early votes must be received 11 days before the election day.

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The government, including election officials, would not be entitled to mail out unsolicited applications for absentee ballots to voters under the legislation. Only approved relatives or persons signing as supporting a voter who is uneducated or physically disabled may apply on behalf of another for an absentee ballot application.

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Election officials also must not give absentee ballots until four weeks before the election.

To help conquer Georgia’s runoff period to four weeks, instead of nine weeks as experienced by the state in the Jan. 2 runoff elections for two Senate seats, military and overseas voters would be offered ranked-choice voting.

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Drop boxes would still be recognized under the new bill but subordinate to few restrictions. There would be a limited number of drop boxes, where every county would have at least one dropbox but no more than once per 100,000 active voters or one for each early voting site.

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