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Georgia has become a litmus test for voting fairness and electoral integrity. This development has recent roots in the successful election of two Democrats: Raphael Warnock and John Ossoff to the U.S. Senate and the 2020 Presidential Election during which President Joe Biden became the first Democrat to win the state since Bill Clinton in 1992. Despite the efforts of Donald Trump and Georgia state officials, notwithstanding, a traditionally Republican state has now become Democratic. The process of turning a red state blue, however, has deeper roots. Stacy Abrams, an attorney, a former House Minority leader of the Georgia legislature, ran unsuccessfully against current governor Brian Kemp in the gubernatorial contest in 2018. Abrams lost the race by only 55,000 votes. This electoral contest exposed flaws in the Georgia electoral system. As a result, Abrams has been actively involved in efforts related to voter rights expansion in the state through Fair Fight, a national voter organization she founded based in Georgia. The organization promotes voter mobilization and education activities.
Efforts to suppress the Black vote are part of a continuous cycle to keep the state’s electoral machinery in the hands of Republicans. The latest chapter in this ongoing saga is Georgia’s recent passage of Senate Bill 202., The bill contains numerous provisions designed to restrict access to the ballot. Some of those provisions include less time to request absentee ballots, new ID requirements for absentee ballots, election officials can no longer mail out absentee ballots, the number of ballot drop boxes has been drastically reduced, mobile voting centers are banned, early voting is expanded in rural areas but not in urban centers, the legislature, which is Republican controlled, has more control over the State’s Election Board, and the secretary of state is removed as a member of the State Election Board
Despite opposition to the bill from members of the Georgia State legislature, Governor Kemp signed the bill into law. The bill’s signing, however, was not uncontested. The efforts of Representative Park Cannon, a Democrat representing Georgia’s District 58 gained national attention. She knocked on the door of the chamber to gain admittance as Kemp signed the bill and six white legislators witnessed the process. Cannon was arrested by Georgia State troopers and detained overnight. The state subsequently declined to prosecute her.
Not only have Cannon’s efforts put the spotlight on Senate Bill 202, but it has engendered a firestorm around issues of fair play and equity in voting practices nationwide. Corporate leaders have joined the fight including Coca-Cola, Delta Air Lines, Citigroup Inc, American Airlines, Dell Technologies, Patagonia Works and Citigroup Inc and Apple. Other companies have cancelled major revenue generating events in the state. The Major League Baseball (MLB) cancelled the upcoming All-Star game in Atlanta.
The fight for free and fair elections continues. Georgia is the opening salvo in what is a longer war for electoral integrity. The challenge is stemming the tide by organizing and mobilizing young voters and proponents of participatory democracy to fight these efforts. Georgia is not the first and will be not the last state to enact such restrictive voting measures. We must be ever vigilant in the fight to extend the rights and benefits of voting to all.