An hour before a key committee meeting, lawmakers added 91 pages to an omnibus bill, intending to limit access to the ballot box
On Wednesday, Georgia state House Representative Barry Fleming introduced a surprise substitution to a bill aimed at restricting voting rights merely an hour before a scheduled committee hearing, further demonstrating the need to pass the For the People Act (H.R. 1/S. 1) to protect our democracy.
“This is a blatant attempt by Georgia Republicans to restrict the voting rights of many Georgians, especially communities of color,” said ECU // LAV Action Fund President Tiffany Muller. “Their shameful tactics underscore what is at stake as Georgia and other Republican-controlled state legislatures across the country seek to restrict the voting rights of millions of Americans. In order to combat these dangerous voter suppression provisions, the U.S. Senate needs to pass the For the People Act now.”
Senate Bill 202, which passed the Georgia Senate on March 8th as a 2-page bill, was originally focused on blocking third-party groups from distributing absentee ballot applications to voters who had previously requested one. Yesterday, Fleming introduced a substitute adding 50 additional sections to the original bill, allowing legislators and voting rights groups only an hour to review the additional 91 pages.
This new version of the bill adds elements of Senate Bill 241 and House Bill 531, two other omnibus bills that the Georgia Legislature is considering this legislative session, including creating additional ID requirements for absentee ballots and reducing the number of early voting days.
The For the People Act, introduced in the U.S. Senate as S. 1 yesterday, has become a centerpiece of the Democratic agenda in Congress following the 2018 and 2020 elections when Democrats took and held the House and won back the Senate running on a platform of cleaning up corruption and unrigging the system in Washington. A wave of Republican-led voter suppression bills across the country designed to help the party hold onto power has increased the urgency to pass the bill quickly. Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) urged his Senate colleagues to protect voting rights by passing the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act in his first floor speech yesterday.
ECU and LAV Action Fund has been leading the charge to pass this bold package of anti-corruption, voting and ethics reforms, working with candidates and elected officials to make pro-democracy reforms a top priority and encouraging Americans to demand that their congressional representatives pass the bill.
As reported by The New York Times, ECU // LAV Action Fund and NDRC are investing $30 million in television and digital advertising; major grassroots activation, including putting boots on the ground in key states; and grasstops education and outreach. The campaign will fund key national and local allied organizations––from good government and voting rights groups to a wide array of issue advocacy groups. This historic investment will harness the grassroots energy for unrigging the system in Washington to make it work for everyone, not just those on top, and will make it clear to the Senate that we must pass this bill.
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