Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia signed legislation, known as SB 189, that brings additional changes to the state’s election laws ahead of the 2024 presidential contest. The bill includes a provision defining probable causes for removing voters from the rolls when their eligibility is challenged, including reasons such as death, evidence of voting or registering in another jurisdiction, tax exemptions indicating primary residence elsewhere, and nonresidential addresses. Republican activists in the state have challenged over 100,000 voters, citing reasons such as duplicate records and voters moving out of state. The bill also allows challenges to be accepted and voters removed from the rolls up to 45 days before an election, which has raised concerns and threats of lawsuits from liberal groups due to federal law restrictions on making systematic changes to voting rolls within 90 days of a federal election.
Critics of the bill, including voting rights group Fair Fight Action and the ACLU of Georgia, have heavily criticized the new legislation, calling it a form of voter suppression that could disproportionately impact Black and brown voters. Fair Fight Action, founded by Stacey Abrams, described SB 189 as a measure that emboldens right-wing activists in their efforts to disenfranchise certain voters. The ACLU of Georgia called the bill a step back for voters’ rights and vowed to challenge it in court. The changes in the bill also allow access to Georgia’s ballot for any political party that qualifies for the presidential ballot in at least 20 states or territories, potentially impacting independent candidates like Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
Additionally, the bill removes Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger from his ex-officio spot on the State Election Board, further distancing him from certain election processes. Raffensperger, who has defended the 2020 election results showing President Joe Biden’s win, has faced backlash from Republicans who believe in debunked theories of election fraud, particularly those who support former President Donald Trump. The bill also prohibits the use of QR codes to count ballots created on state ballot marking devices starting July 1, 2026, and requires that ballots be read using text or human-readable marks. It mandates that counties report the results of all absentee ballots within an hour after polls close and allows the use of paper ballots in elections with fewer than 5,000 registered voters from 2025 onwards.
Despite signing SB 189 into law, Gov. Kemp vetoed a separate election bill that aimed to ban political contributions by foreign nationals and impose additional registration requirements on agents of foreign principals. Kemp cited existing federal laws prohibiting such donations and expressed concerns about unintended registration requirements in the bill. The changes in Georgia’s election laws have sparked intense debate and criticism from various groups, with supporters arguing that they are necessary for election integrity and opponents pointing to concerns of voter suppression and disenfranchisement. The implications of these changes will likely be closely monitored leading up to the 2024 presidential election, especially in light of Georgia’s status as a battleground state.
