What’s really in the account?
Among the most important provisions of Georgia’s controversial new electoral law is a change in the way the state verifies the identity of absentee voters who request and vote.
The move eliminates signature matching – a process that can sometimes be subjective – as a method of confirming the identity of absent voters. Instead, if voters have a driver’s license number or state identification number, they are required to use that to verify who they are.
This change has been criticized by many as likely to make it more difficult for Georgians, specifically minorities who are more likely to vote for Democrats, to vote in the mail.
“The new electoral bill in Georgia is not about showing identity to vote,” wrote Atlantic writer Jemele Hill. “Republicans are evil because the state has turned blue and they resent that their power has been taken away by black voters. They want a fraudulent game because they are too lazy to present a new vision and compete for votes.”
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“Georgia’s new law imposes a new identification requirement to return an absentee ballot. There is no reason to do that other than Trump’s lies,” added Judd Legum, popular information writer.
“Previously, Georgia law required voters to simply sign their absent voting forms. Now, they will have to provide a driver’s license number or an equivalent state issued ID, ”wrote the New York Times in an explainer about the law. “This is virtually certain to limit access to absent voting.”
But under the new law, Georgia voters who do not have a photo ID still receive a menu of options to confirm their identity when requesting or voting absent.
According to the office of Georgia’s Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, voters can also verify their identities with the last four digits of their social security number; a utility bill; a bank statement; a government check; a paycheck; or other government document with your name and address.
Missing voting requests can be sent electronically so voters can attach an image of their photo ID – or one of the other forms of identification allowed, if they don’t have them. For ballot papers, voters can write their photo ID number. If they don’t have it, they can write the last four digits of their social security number plus their date of birth, said Raffensperger’s office. And in the extraordinarily rare case that a voter has neither, he can attach a copy of a utility bill or other similar document with his name and address.
This practically guarantees that voters will never have to pay for copy services to submit an absentee ballot.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger speaks during a press conference on Monday, December 14, 2020 in Atlanta. Raffensperger, who criticized former President Donald Trump for his false claims that he won the presidential election, defended Georgia’s new electoral law. (AP Photo / John Bazemore)
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Raffensperger’s office noted that Georgians needed a photo ID to register to vote before this new law and will continue to need one after it is passed. The difference is simply limited to what is required when requesting and voting for absent votes.
During an interview with The Daily Signal, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp also noted that voters without a driver’s license or state identity can still prove who they are with different documents.
“And I think it will be a great help and it will not in any way alienate or prevent anyone from voting because most people have these identifications,” said Kemp. “If they don’t, we will give it away for free. And even if you don’t have it, there are clauses in the bill where you can still get an absence ballot by sending other documents that are listed in the legislation.”
Raffensperger separately defended the requirement to identify the state for absentee votes.
“There is no rational argument against the requirement for state identity – provided free to those without a driver’s license – for absentee votes,” the Secretary of State said in a statement late last month. “I implemented our first version last year; every absentee vote request that came through the state’s website was cross-checked with the driver’s license database and other records.”
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp speaks during a news conference announcing the statewide expansion of COVID testing on August 10, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. Kemp recently signed a new electoral law in Georgia.
(Elijah Nouvelage / Getty Images)
Notably, Georgia’s photo identification requirement for in-person voting, which has existed for years, has not changed.
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Raffensperger added: “The left said that photo identification for in-person voting would suppress votes. It did not. Registration and participation soared, reaching new records with each electoral cycle. Its cataclysmic predictions about the effects of this law are simply unfounded. The next election will prove it, but I will not hold my breath hoping that the left and the media will admit they were wrong. “
The Secretary of State also recalled that the vast majority of voters should not encounter difficulties with the new law. This is because 99% of active voters already have a driver’s license, CPF or other valid identity number filed in the state.
“Totally absurd to be pressured by Stacey Abrams and the Democrats,” said Stephen Lawson, deputy executive director of Kelly Loeffler’s “Greater Georgia” group. “The fact is that this law expands access while strengthening the integrity of our elections – which is why Greater Georgia is proud to support it.”
Republicans outside Georgia also strongly criticized opponents of the law for allegedly mischaracterizing it.
“More than 70 percent of Americans, including most Democrats and a super majority of independents, favor the common sense voter identification requirements; even so, Georgia will accept alternatives to driver’s licenses to verify absentee voters,” he said. Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in a statement Monday. “All facts refute the big lie.”
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“You will have every voter being able to have multiple ways to prove who they are. Driver’s license, the last four numbers of their social security number, even their electricity bill or a free ID card provided by the state of Georgia,” ex-New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday.
“Georgia’s new electoral integrity law includes a common sense clause to guarantee its absentee voting system,” Heritage Action President Jessica Anderson said in a statement to Fox News.
“Georgia has been demanding photo IDs to vote in person for years, and now the same requirement applies to absentee ballots,” she continued. “This is a smart step to ensure that it is easy to vote and difficult to cheat in Georgia and restore Georgians’ confidence in their electoral system. Anyone who calls for boycotts has clearly not read the facts about the law.”
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Outrage over the new voting law has led to immense pressure on Georgia-based companies like Delta and Coca-Cola to condemn it. The Major League Baseball even transferred its annual Atlanta All-Star Game.
The bill also includes a variety of other provisions, many of which are controversial.
It legalizes polling stations, which would not have been allowed in future elections regardless of the new law – but imposes some limits on when these polls are accessible. It also reduces the window so that missing ballots can be requested; expands early voting; and transfers the responsibility on the State Electoral Board of the Secretary of State to a nominee “non-partisan” selected by the state legislature; Among other things.
Cameron Cawthorne of Fox News contributed to this report.