Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill that makes changes to Georgia’s election laws, defining probable causes for removing voters from the rolls when their eligibility is challenged. The bill includes listing probable causes such as death, voting in another jurisdiction, or having a nonresidential address. Opponents argue that these changes could lead to baseless attacks on voters and disenfranchise legitimate voters. The bill also allows challenges and removal of voters from the rolls up to 45 days before an election, which has led to threats of lawsuits from liberal groups. Homeless people must now use the county voter registration office as their address, potentially making it harder for them to cast ballots.
Fair Fight Action, a voting rights group founded by Stacey Abrams, criticized the bill as a “voter suppression bill” that could lead to the removal of Black and brown voters from the rolls. The ACLU of Georgia also expressed concerns about the bill’s impact on voters’ rights and access. The bill also grants access to Georgia’s ballot to any political party that has qualified for the presidential ballot in at least 20 states or territories, potentially allowing independent candidates to run. The bill removes Brad Raffensperger from his ex-officio spot on the State Election Board, a move that many Republicans who believe in debunked theories of election fraud see as a positive change.
The bill also prohibits the use of QR codes to count ballots beginning in 2026, requiring the ballots to be read using human-readable marks instead. It also requires counties to report the results of all absentee ballots by one hour after polls close, and allows counties to use paper ballots in elections where there are fewer than 5,000 registered voters starting in 2025. Kemp vetoed a separate election bill that would ban political contributions by foreign nationals and impose registration requirements on foreign principals’ agents, noting that such donations are already prohibited by federal law.
Overall, the changes made to Georgia’s election laws are seen as controversial, with opponents arguing that they could lead to voter suppression and disenfranchisement. Supporters of the bill believe that the changes will make the challenge process more difficult and prevent fraudulent voting. The bill has sparked criticism from voting rights groups and concerns from advocates about the impact on marginalized communities. However, with the changes now in effect, it remains to be seen how they will impact future elections in Georgia and whether they will improve or hinder the voting process for residents of the state.
