Who knew that proving your identity to vote, in the form of a driver's license or state ID, is comparable to the odious era of Jim Crow? The left is not letting a new hysteria go to waste, claiming that Georgia's legislation to improve ballot security and strengthen the integrity of elections is equal to racial segregation. Desperate for public outrage, leftists are spreading fake news about not providing water to people waiting in line. So, what is the real story about Georgia's Election Integrity Act of 2021? As the public has come to expect, social media is the primary source for progressives’ digital disinformation campaigns.
Election Security – You're a Peach
Governor Brian Kemp (R-GA) signed the GOP-supported Election Integrity Act of 2021, also known as SB 202, on March 25. The purpose of the bill is to reduce electoral fraud and beef up election security. Gov. Kemp emphasized the importance of the legislation by noting that "it’s about protecting the very foundation of who we are as Georgians and Americans.”
One of the primary aspects of the bill is improving voter ID. Should voters wish to cast their absentee-by-mail ballots, Georgia will require them to prove their identity by providing a driver's license, state identification number, or other forms of ID instead of signature verification. Some of the other measures consist of restricting drop boxes, expanding in-person voting, and facilitating early voting before general elections.
The Peach State will also increase the total voting hours for voters across Georgia by mandating two Saturday voting days and two optional Sunday voting days prior to Election Day. And, no, there is not a ban on providing water to voters in line. Contrary to the fake news President Joe Biden and failed Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams are spreading, the bill states:
"No person shall solicit votes [or] distribute or display any campaign material, nor shall any person give, offer to give, or participate in the giving of any money or gifts, including, but not limited to, food and drink, to [a voter] … This Code section shall not be construed to prohibit a poll officer…from making available self-service water from an unattended receptacle to [a voter] waiting in line to vote."
This provision applies to 150-foot radius around polling stations or within 25 feet of voters standing in line at a polling facility. People are allowed to bring their own food or beverages, and others can donate water and snacks to voters, but it must be provided to poll workers. Other states, such as New York and Minnesota, have laws that prohibit approaching voters in line to prevent influencing their decision.
Leftists Freak Out
In what would seem like common sense efforts to secure elections that would generate bipartisan enthusiasm, leftists are losing their minds. They are firing off accusations of racism and comparing these measures to Jim Crow, defying logic and diminishing the iniquitous history of this era.
President Biden called it "an atrocity" that was "designed to keep people from voting." Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) described it as a "despicable voter suppression bill," adding some conspiracy that Kemp "is sitting in Stacey Abrams' chair." Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) falsely claimed that "it criminalizes giving water to voters who are waiting in line." Meena Harris, the niece of Vice President Kamala Harris, tweeted that the bill is "The new Jim Crow, except that it’s actually the old Jim Crow," which does not make any sense after even a minute of scrutiny. MSNBC's Joy Reid labeled the measure a "Georgia Jim Crow Law" that suppresses Democratic voters. But if it is racist and targets black voters, would it not impact black Republican voters, too?
A coalition of civil rights organizations, including the New Georgia Project, Black Voters Matter, and Rise, have filed a federal lawsuit that challenges the state's new voting rules.
What Do the Data Say?
With all this handwringing and conspiracy theories, is there any data to support claims that requiring identification to vote prevents people from participating in the democratic process? Progressives typically cite a January 2017 study by researchers at UC San Diego, Michigan State University, and Bucknell University to confirm their supposition that voter ID laws disenfranchise minorities. But a follow-up study from researchers at Stanford, Yale, and the University of Pennsylvania argued that the research was skewed and inaccurate, concluding that there was no evidence in the analyzed data the voter ID rules maintain a statistically significant effect on voter turnout.
In February 2019, the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) published a working paper that combed through numbers from 2008 to 2018 and discovered that even the strictest of ID laws do not stop voters – Caucasian or minorities – from casting ballots.
Stop Insulting Minorities
In today’s toxic and woke environment, everything is racist. Mathematics, grammar, computer algorithms, and even climate change possess racial prejudice. “You ain’t black” if minorities do not vote for a particular candidate, or black Americans are enslaved on a plantation if they support a certain party. Overall, both sides are guilty of insulting minorities, with the disparaging comments predominantly emanating from the left. Who knows? As Liberty Nation’s Joe Schaeffer recently reported, perhaps The Boston Globe will prove, once and for all, that everything and everyone is indeed racist.
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