Why does it always come down to Georgia?

As control of the Senate hangs in the balance, once again, the
balance of power may be decided in Georgia. And once again, as in
2020, Reverend Raphael Warnock [D] is headed for a runoff race —
but this time the rules of the game have been changed. In March
2021, Brian Kemp signed a 98-page voter-suppression bill, SB202,
which places severe restrictions on absentee ballots and
dropboxes, and has unleashed an army of self-appointed GOP vote
vigilantes, who are challenging voters en masse. Adding to the
odds against a fair fight, convenient errors have come to light
which affect thousands of voters. For example, in Cobb County,
the ACLU found that 1,036 absentee ballots were never mailed. And
under SB202, the rules for the runoff election itself have
changed, with the time frame being shortened from 9 weeks to just
4, meaning the election will now be held on Dec 6, instead of in
January as it was two years ago. This change may seem benign, but
it will deny thousands of young and new voters, who may have
wanted to vote in the runoff race, the chance to do so, since
SB202 also requires voters to register at least 30 days before an
election — and, in this case, the runoff election is one that
voters only had 28 days notice of. As the head of the New Georgia
Project, Kendra Cotton, said of democracy in Georgia: It’s death
by a thousand cuts. On December 6th, we may find out if democracy
in Georgia has already taken its final gasp.


 


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