STATEMENT FROM THE NEW GEORGIA PROJECT ON PASSAGE OF VOTER SUPPRESSION BILL SB 241
Georgians have had no-excuse absentee voting for 16 years, and today, Georgia’s State Senate passed SB 241, a dangerous omnibus bill that restricts voting rights by gutting access to no-excuse absentee voting. The bill would create barriers for eligible voters to cast their ballot including: requiring an ID to apply for an absentee ballot on paper, requiring that absentee voters get their ballots signed by a witness and include a copy of their ID with their ballot, limiting the use of mobile voting facilities, and additional measures to make it harder to vote.
In response to the passing of SB 241, Nsé Ufot, CEO of the New Georgia Project Action Fund, issued the below statement:
“Make no mistake: SB 241 is a dangerous bill that will strip voting rights from Black, Brown, young, and immigrant communities here in Georgia. Through this bill, Republican lawmakers make it explicitly clear what we have known along: they will do everything in their power to keep us quiet and systematically destroy our rights. This bill is a direct response to the way our communities exercised our power in the November election and January runoff. Its passing will have ramifications for years to come.
“No-excuse absentee voting has been safe, secure, and effective in Georgia for 16 years. It has allowed voters more options to cast their ballots and participate in our elections, particularly during COVID-19. The expansion of no-excuse absentee voting has led to an enormous surge of democracy here in Georgia, and now this progress is immediately under threat.
“We need all hands on deck — especially Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Governor Brian Kemp — to pick up the mantle and stand up for Georgia voters. We also call on Georgia-based companies that have donated to the supporters of these destructive bills to immediately withdraw their funding and publicly denounce SB 241: AT&T, Aetna/CVS/Caremark, Delta, Comcast, Southern Company, Coca-Cola, UPS, Home Depot, and General Motors.
“Though SB 241 represents a critical setback, we will not be silenced. Georgia’s voters are powerful and here to stay — we won’t stop until our voices are heard loud and clear. We will continue knocking on doors, calling our neighbors, and rising up until each one of us can exercise our most basic American right freely: the right to vote.”
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