DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus Voting rights

No, he's trying to play paper-scissors-rock with five different discussion points.

Why should they have to? Shouldn't they have easy access to a polling location like you do? Shouldn't they have easy to get to drop boxes that aren't shared by 2.4 million people like you do? Or are you suggesting some of their options be more difficult than yours?

If it's that big of a hassle for them, get the mail in ballots. End of discussion. Easy. But you keep on railing about nothing.

And all that mumbo-jumbo is for people that would rather exercise one of many choices and drive to a ballot drop off.

I suspect these are all people who can't afford stamps and whose cars run on fairy-dust, thus keeping within their tight budget allowance for voting and avoiding the outrageous 63¢ charge for a postage stamp. Meanwhile, early voting has been expanded and it is easier than ever to vote everywhere in America... For "you", "me", and "everyone".

Keep going, this is fun.

Well we do have one side claiming the other side is cheating in elections while their fearless leader has been indicted for cheating in an election. Can’t make this s up.

Here's what they find so important. They find it important that others don't have the same advantage in voting in the same way that they do. They excuse that by saying "but there are other ways to vote".

It's a right wing excuse why everyone shouldn't have the same same ability and opportunity to vote in every way like they do. They use it as an excuse as to why polling places in minority neighborhoods have been targeted for closures. Why 2.4 million people should have to share one drop box. They use it as an excuse as to why they should have an advantage to voting in person and in the use of drop boxes over over people not like themselves. A two tiered system that gives them an advantage. An excuse as to why every American shouldn't have an equal opportunity like they do. It's sickening.

The perfect excuse in your world as to why everyone shouldn't have equal opportunity to vote in every manner. But hey, you got yours in that new contract so to hell with everybody else.

There's only one level here. You think your entitled with certain voting rights others should not be. That is exactly the 'I got mine to hell with everybody else' thought process.

And just remember, you're the factory worker who questioned my education level. So don't play the victim now.

Georgia Governor Signs Election Overhaul, Including Changes To Absentee Voting

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp on Thursday signed a massive overhaul of election laws, shortly after the Republican-controlled state legislature approved it. The bill enacts new limitations on mail-in voting, expands most voters' access to in-person early voting and caps a months-long battle over voting in a battleground state.

"With Senate bill 202, Georgia will take another step toward ensuring our elections are secure, accessible and fair," Kemp told reporters Thursday evening.

Kemp's remarks during the signing appeared to have been cut short as Democratic state Rep. Park Cannon was escorted out of the building by Georgia State Patrol. Cannon was seen on video knocking on the governor's door as he spoke.

The Georgia State Constitution states that lawmakers "shall be free from arrest during sessions of the General Assembly" except for treason, felony, or breach of the peace. It is not clear if Cannon is being charged with anything at this time.

The 96-page bill makes dramatic alterations to Georgia's absentee voting rules, adding new identification requirements, moving back the request deadline and other changes after a record 1.3 million absentee ballots overwhelmed local elections officials and raised Republican skepticism of a voting method they created.

Previous plans to require an excuse to vote by mail, as well as restrict weekend voting hours primarily used in larger Democratic-leaning counties, were scrapped amid mounting opposition from voting rights groups, Democrats and county elections supervisors.

On a 100-75 party-line vote, the state House approved SB 202 early Thursday, and the Senate voted later Thursday to agree with the House changes 34-20 on a party-line vote as well.

"Included in SB 202 are topics that are important to all Georgians," Ethics Committee Chair and state Sen. Max Burns said when presenting the bill, ticking through provisions like a new fraud hotline for the attorney general's office to a new expansion of early voting.

Earlier law required three weeks of in-person early voting Monday through Friday, plus one Saturday, during "normal business hours. The new bill adds an extra Saturday, makes both Sundays optional for counties, and standardizes hours from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. or as long as 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.

SB 202 also criminalizes passing out food or drinks to voters waiting in line, except for a self-serve water station.

Many of the measures in SB 202 will streamline the election administration process at the local level, such as allowing officials to process absentee ballots sooner, require them to count ballots nonstop once the polls close and allow flexibility with voting equipment for smaller, lower-turnout races. Poll workers could serve in neighboring counties, after the pandemic saw a shortage of trained workers.

Precincts with more than 2,000 voters that have lines longer than an hour at three different points throughout the day have to add more machines, add more staff or split up the poll. The absentee ballot request window is narrower, starting for most Georgians 11 weeks before the election and ending 11 days before.

Third-party absentee ballot applications must be more clearly labeled, and state and local governments are not be allowed to send unsolicited applications.

The bill will also shorten Georgia's nine-week runoff period to four weeks by sending military and overseas voters instant-runoff ranked choice absentee ballots and only requiring in-person early voting starting the Monday eight days before election day.

Democrats opposed several pieces of the bill, including language that removes the secretary of state as chair of the State Election Board, allowing the SEB and lawmakers a process to temporarily take over elections offices and limiting the number, location and access to secure absentee drop boxes.

Drop boxes were enacted as an emergency rule of the SEB because of the coronavirus pandemic, so this codifies their existence, requires all counties to have at least one, and would only allow voters to use the drop boxes during early voting hours and inside early voting locations.

"How does this bill help to build voter trust and confidence?" state Rep. Debbie Buckner said. "The bill adds up to more burdens and cost and returns to old practices that were abandoned years ago for security, convenience and safety."

Voters who show up to the wrong precinct will not have provisional ballots counted, unless it's after 5 p.m. and they signed a statement they could not make it to the correct poll.

A performance review of local elections officials could be initiated by the county commission or a certain threshold of General Assembly members. The SEB could also create an independent performance review board, and no more than four elections superintendents could be suspended at any given time.

Democratic Rep. Kim Alexander said county elections officials shared concern about the timing and the cost of the legislation, including a requirement for more expensive security paper for ballots.

"We have heard testimony from county election officials ... that more time is needed to fully understand the fiscal and logistical impacts the provisions in these bills would have," she said. "Given the substantial changes we'd be making with this legislation, why not take more time to get county input on the proposed legislation and take this up next session?"

In the Senate, Democrats objected to the bill being brought up without a fiscal analysis of the cost to the state and counties, but Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan ruled that the bill did not meet requirements that needed that sort of analysis.

Elsewhere in the bill, the secretary of state will be required to conduct a pilot of posting scanned ballot images from elections, and those images would be public records. Ballots used in the election will have to be on special security paper, which will cost more to use.

Overall, the bill will touch nearly every facet of elections, like a section that aims to provide more information about vote totals as results come in.

As soon as possible, but no later than 10 p.m. on election night, counties must publish the total number of votes cast by each method, and all absentee ballots have to be counted by 5 p.m. the day after the election, otherwise a county supervisor could face the state's new performance review process.

The 20-candidate special election to fill the remainder of Sen. Johnny Isakson's term and accompanying runoff between then-Sen. Kelly Loeffler and current Sen. Raphael Warnock is no more: special elections have special primaries.

Fulton County is no longer be able to use its two mobile voting buses for early voting, as the bill limits mobile polls to emergencies.

https://www.npr.org/2021/03/25/9813...erhaul-including-changes-to-absentee-vot

They have to cater to the "the election was stolen" crowd to get reelected after rebuffing trump the way they did.