BY STAFF
Governor Brian Kemp of Georgia recently signed an election integrity bill that will require voter identification for absentee ballots, among other measures.
The bill easily passed through Georgia’s Republican-majority House and Senate.
The new state law requires absentee voters to provide identification rather than election officials verifying signatures through the controversial processes they used in 2020.
Under the new law, the state is no longer permitted to mail out absentee ballot applications unsolicited, as happened during the pandemic.
The 95-page bill also addresses ballot drop box security, permissible voting time frames, and acts that could inappropriately influence voters waiting in line to vote.
Critics of the new law say it is an effort at voter suppression and denies equal opportunity to minority voters.
Others say reform was necessary to ensure confidence in Georgia’s election integrity after widespread questions about voting practices and fraud in the 2020 presidential election.
