What's the story with voting laws in Georgia?
The state of Georgia in the U.S. has introduced a new voting law, it includes:
ID requirements for mail-in ballots that previously only required a signature
A ban on the distribution of food and water in voting lines
Additional state power to take control of voting operations if problems occur
Limiting drop boxes for absentee ballots
Shortening early voting for runoff elections.
This law has attracted a lot of criticism, especially from Democrats and progressives.
How could this happen if Joe Biden, a Democrat, is President?
Most election laws in the U.S. are decided at a state level. This is separate from the federal level, which is what President Biden is part of. This means that each state in the U.S. has its own set of election and voting laws.
Republicans have a majority in both of Georgia’s state Senate and House of Representatives. Georgia also has a Republican Governor, meaning that conservative legislation passes quite easily. This new voting law is no exception.
Why are the Republicans in favour of the changes?
Republicans claim this is a way to keep elections secure, accessible and fair. Georgia Governor Brian Kemp remarked, “we quickly began working with the House and Senate on further reforms to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat”. Moves like the barring of food and water being distributed in the voting line limit potential interference before people cast their ballots according to Republicans.
So why are Democrats, activists and progressives angry?
They argue that this voting law is a response from Georgian Republicans following the election of two Democratic Senators from Georgia to the U.S. Senate. Georgia has reliably been a Republican state, so having not one, but both Senators being Democrats was a huge defeat for Republicans.
Sophia Lakin, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Union Voting Rights Project said, "this law is driven by blatant racism, represents politics at its very worst, and is clearly illegal". These arguments come from this law impacting minority groups in Georgia the most, especially the Black community. This is significant because Black Americans overwhelmingly vote Democrat.
What has Coca-Cola, baseball, and Delta have to do with it?
This debate hasn’t been confined to just the political space, private companies have now also gotten involved.
Coca-Cola CEO James Quincy said the law "does not promote principles we have stood for in Georgia around broad access to voting, around voter convenience, about ensuring election integrity”
Delta Air CEO Ed Bastian said the law was “built on a lie”
The Major League Baseball moved an All-Star game out of Atlanta (capital of Georgia)
Georgia Governor Kemp responded to reactions, saying "major League Baseball, Coca-Cola and Delta may be scared of Stacey Abrams and Joe Biden and the left, but I am not” he said.