On the heels of the Senate Committee on Rules & Administration hearing in Georgia this past Monday, Republicans across the country have continued their attack on voting rights nationwide.
The Brennan Center for Justice released an updated report revealing that 30 new laws have passed and been signed into law in 18 states since January that restrict voting rights. These new laws are predicated on the Big Lie that led to the January 6 insurrection and will prevent Americans who were able to vote in the safe and secure 2020 election from voting in future elections. Many of these new GOP-backed laws include restrictions on mail-in voting and early voting and allow for faulty and discriminatory voter purges.
In Texas, House GOP Representative Steve Toth introduced a bill calling for a sham audit into the 2020 election results across Texas’ largest counties. The bill would allow partisan officials, namely, the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and the Speaker of the Texas House to choose a third party to investigate election results in counties with populations greater than 415,000. This includes the most diverse and Democratic counties in the state. All but three counties with populations above 415,000 voted for Joe Biden in 2020.
In Arizona, the sham review into the 2020 election results continues. The fake review has failed to conclude by its deadline and faces scrutiny surrounding its failure to comply with federal election law.
With Republican attacks on the right to vote increasing week to week, it’s becoming more and more crucial for the Senate to act and pass the For the People Act to counteract these nationwide Republican attacks on democracy and the freedom to vote.
See below for a state-by-state recap of the most egregious anti-voter policies and actions Republicans across the country have instituted in the past week:
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Texas
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A GOP member of the state House introduced HB241, a bill seeking a sham audit into the 2020 election results in the state’s largest counties. This is the latest GOP act in a series of costly sham audit bills nationwide.
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The bill would authorize the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker of the Texas House to select an independent third party to conduct the election audit focused on the votes cast in Texas’ 13 counties with populations over 415,000.
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Arizona
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Amidst an ongoing sham review into the 2020 election results, Arizona state Republicans were caught lying about over 74,000 legally cast ballots as part of their effort to restrict the right to vote and perpetuate the Big Lie.
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Georgia
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This past Monday, the Senate Rules Committee held a field hearing on the repercussions of the enacted restrictive voter law in Georgia. Georgia’s SB202 includes shortening the window to apply for mail-in ballots; limiting or outright eliminating sending mail ballot applications to voters who do not specifically request them; limiting the number, location, or availability of mail ballot drop boxes; and imposing harsher identification requirements for mail voting.
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Additionally, SB202 includes provisions banning providing snacks and water to voters waiting in line and limiting early voting days or hours.
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