“American democracy means that every eligible person has the right to vote in a fair, open and secure election. It must be flexible enough to meet the changing needs of the electorate. As Georgians, we must protect these values,” said the former Democratic president wrote in a statement. “We must not lose the progress we have made. We must not promote trust among one segment of the electorate by restricting the participation of others. Our goal should always be to increase, not decrease, the electoral participation.”
Carter’s rebuke comes at a time when the Republican-led Georgia legislature is proposing a broad electoral bill with restrictions on voter access, revoking the absent vote without excuse. The bill creates identification requirements to request an absentee ballot and establishes a hotline to register complaints and allegations of voter intimidation and illegal election activities.
Republican Party officials said the bill is necessary to restore confidence in the voting system, but it was Republican lawmakers and former President Donald Trump who made unfounded allegations of electoral fraud around the 2020 election.
Carter did not quote Trump in his statement, but addressed the denied allegations.
“Many of the proposed changes are reactions to allegations of fraud for which no evidence has been produced – allegations that have, in fact, been refuted through various audits, recounts and other measures,” said Carter.
Republican state governor Brian Kemp did not say whether he would sign the bill in its current form in law, but a spokeswoman told CNN via email that Kemp “was clear about his support for enhanced voter identification provisions on the absent vote. “
Georgia has been an important political focal point after the state fell into the blue, for the first time in almost 30 years, during the 2020 presidential elections. In addition to the presidency, Democrats also won two seats in the Georgian Senate in the second round. of January.
Meanwhile, Republicans in state houses across the country have lobbied efforts to reverse access to voting. On Monday, Republican Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a new law that makes it more difficult to vote in advance.
Carter’s statement was issued by the Carter Center, an organization founded by former President and First Lady Rosalynn Carter. The organization has helped to support democratic elections in countries during fragile and volatile times for more than three decades, observing more than 100 elections in 39 countries.
The first time that the non-profit organization, which observed elections around the world, monitored any part of an electoral process in the United States was after the 2020 election – during the manual recount of the presidential election results in Georgia.
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