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WASHINGTON – Yesterday, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and his Republican allies in the state legislatures passed sweeping voting restrictions in a blatant attempt to keep communities of color and new voters from participating in our democracy.
- Shortens the window to request absentee ballots
- Require mail-in voters to include their driver’s license numbers or other documentation, instead of using signature verification
- Reduces early voting hours across the state and limits the use of ballot drop boxes
- Prohibits people from providing food and water to voters waiting in line
This latest effort by Republican state lawmakers to restrict voting rights must be met with immediate action from Congress—and the For the People Act (S. 1) provides popular, common-sense solutions that will combat this blatant voter suppression.
In fact, S. 1 would blunt Georgia’s new voter restrictions by:
- Requiring at least 15 consecutive days of early voting
- Ensuring that early voting sites are open for at least 10 hours each day
- Requiring states to allow any eligible voter to cast their ballots by mail in federal elections standardizing no-excuse absentee voting nationwide
- Establishing automatic voter registration and same-day registration nationwide
- Requiring every state to create online systems where Americans can register to vote, update their registration information, and request their absentee ballots
- Prohibiting wrongful voter purges and committing Congress to passing the John Lewis Voting Rights Act, which would re-establish pre-clearance requirements