Stacey Abrams described Republican efforts to restrict voting rights in Georgia as “racist” and “a Jim Crow redux in a suit and tie”.
Abrams, who helped Democrats win two run-off elections to the US Senate in his home state in January, which gave the party strict control of the House, is one of the main critics of Republican suppression efforts.
The Georgia bill, SB241, includes several measures, including ending the right to vote by mail without having to provide an excuse, and other new identification requirements. Republicans maintained what they say was a risk of electoral fraud as a justification for the legislation, despite the lack of evidence of irregularities.
Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, Abrams said measures by lawmakers in Georgia would significantly reduce access to voting after a record number of voters boosted Democratic victories in the 2020 race.
“Well, first of all, I totally agree that you are racist. It is a Jim Crow redux in a suit and tie. We know that the only thing that precipitated these changes is not that it was the question of security.
“In fact, the secretary of state and the governor went to great lengths to assure the United States that the elections in Georgia were safe. And so the only connection we can find is that more people of color voted, and that changed the election results to a direction that Republicans don’t like.
“And so, instead of celebrating better access and more participation, their response is to try to eliminate access to voting mainly for black communities. And there is a direct correlation between the use of drop-down boxes, the use of early voting in person, especially on Sundays, and the use of postal voting and a direct increase in the number of black people who vote. “
Obstruction reform
Abrams, a former senior state legislator and unsuccessful candidate for government in Georgia, also called on Sunday for the US Senate to exempt the House of Representatives’ electoral reform legislation passed on the Republican opposition from a procedural obstacle called obstruction.
“The protection of democracy is so fundamental that it should be exempted from the rules of obstruction,” Abrams told CNN.
The Democratic-led House passed a bill on March 3 aimed at reforming voting procedures, increasing voter participation and requiring states to assign independent commissions the task of redesigning electoral districts to avoid party manipulation. .
There is a debate among Democrats, who closely control the Senate thanks to these two victories in Georgia, over the possibility of modifying or even removing obstruction, a longstanding situation that means that most legislation cannot move forward without 60 votes in a Senate of 100 seats, instead of a simple Majority.
The obstruction has already been reduced and does not apply to court or cabinet nominations and some budgetary measures, noted Abrams, so it should be suspended for voting rights legislation. Abrams, a former minority leader in the Georgia House of Representatives, has emerged as one of the leading Democratic voices on the right to vote.
Joe Biden said he would sanction the electoral legislation if passed by Congress, but he also indicated opposition to the total removal of the obstruction.
The House-approved bill faces great odds in the Senate under current rules, where all 48 Democrats and the two independents who run against them would need to join 10 of the 50 Republican senators to overcome an obstruction.
Democrats argued that legislation is necessary to reduce barriers to voting and to make the US political system more democratic and responsive to voter needs.
Republicans said they would take away state powers and promised to fight it if it became law.