Peach Tree Times

After Georgia lawmakers recently passed a bill to advocate for stricter election laws that caused the state to face backlash, election laws in other states are being called into question.

According to the text of the bill itself, Georgia’s Senate Bill 202 institutes a voter ID requirement, provides free voter ID, promotes ballot drop box security, forms stricter rules for absentee voting, expands access to early voting—promoting robust protections of election integrity.

On March 26, President Biden called Georgia’s recently passed SB202 “Jim Crow in the 21st Century," in a statement published by CNN. 

In contrast, 97% of registered Georgia voters have and or can easily obtain a driver's license or state ID, according to Heritage Action, meaning most Georgia voters are in agreement with the ID requirement. 

In addition, an AJC poll conducted in January found that 74% of Georgia voters support it, including 63% of black voters, and 89% of those making under $25,000 a year.

For those concerned what the new restrictions could mean for early voting,  the Georgia Secretary of State states there will be 21 days of early voting in Georgia during the 2022 election cycle. 

While stricter election laws are becoming popular in some states, other states, like Connecticut, have already implemented stricter policies in the past. The Hartford Courant published a piece stating that Connecticut has some of the most restrictive voting laws in the country, including no early in-person voting, extremely limited absentee voting, and no voting for incarcerated individuals or those on parole. 

Connecticut is among a number of states in the Northeast that limit the time in which opponents can rally a base through policies that prevent most early voting. However, Connecticut's population of about 3.6 million is far smaller than Georgia's nearly 11 million. 

Since the debate over Georgia's voting laws began, political writers have published statements weighing in on the conversation. Russell Berman has recently criticized Democrats who never spoke out against similar voting laws before. 

“Democrats who have won election after election in states such as New York, Delaware, Connecticut, and Rhode Island have had little incentive to change the rules that helped them win," said  Berman, in an article published by The Atlantic.

Monte Frank, an opinion writer at the Connecticut Post,  also recently wrote that Connecticut’s voting laws are far more restrictive than those being passed by Georgia. Connecticut has very restrictive voter ID laws, does not allow early voting, and it only allowed no-excuse absentee voting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In his opinion piece, Frank argues that Connecticut should loosen restrictions on some of its voting laws.

"Although Connecticut has not affirmatively acted to suppress voting, it has steadfastly held onto its outdated and restrictive rules, which make it a backwater on voting and ballot access,' he wrote.

Nationwide, however, a majority of Americans do not believe rules like ID validation are a form of voter suppression.

A March 2021 poll by Rasmussen found that 75% of likely U.S. voters believe Americans should be required to show photo ID before being allowed to vote, and 21% are opposed to such a requirement.