Peach Tree Times

Georgia is one of several states enacting new election laws which promise partisan battles over transparency and fairness in future elections.

After Gov. Brian Kemp signed Senate Bill 202 into law in March, the state finds itself on the defense as several lawsuits, including from the U.S. Department of Justice, have been filed challenging the law, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Groups that support absentee voting filed one of the first lawsuits, taking aim at new limitations on the mass mailing of ballot applications, according to the newspaper.  

“This law makes it virtually impossible to run vote-by-mail application programs that help Georgians cast their ballots,” Tom Lopach, president of the Voter Participation Center and the Center for Voter Information, told the Journal-Constitution. “That’s why we’re fighting back today against this assault on democracy and will keep working to ensure every American can make their voice heard.”

While the Georgia law has come under fire from Democrats, it turns out that some key provisions in the legislation in the Peach Tree State may be quite similar to voting rules in some Northern states, according to northjersey.com, which noted that the Georgia law requires voters applying for mail-in ballots provide a driver’s license or state-issued ID, identical to a Pennsylvania law. 

Ray Murphy, coordinator of Keystone Votes, a Pennsylvania voting rights group, told the website that Georgia’s law could push some states to move in the opposite direction by easing voting restrictions. 

"People don’t like legislators changing the rules to help their own political party,” Murphy told northjersey.com. 

Pennsylvania may consider proposals that go beyond election reforms in Georgia. In 2019, Pennsylvania passed “no-excuse” mail-in voting, according to The Daily Review. Earlier this year, that law came under fire from a lawsuit claiming the law is unconstitutional. Gov. Tom Wolf recently vetoed legislation he said did not expand voting rights, including voter ID restrictions. The effort in Pennsylvania gained momentum after former President Donald Trump made unfounded claims about fraud in the 2020 presidential election, according to the Erie Times. 

"The governor will not agree to a bill which increases restrictions on popular voting options, including limiting drop boxes, making it much more difficult to vote by mail, and limiting early voting, in addition to voter ID," Lyndsay Kensinger, a spokeswoman for the governor told The Times. "Reintroduction of a vetoed bill does not change this."

Other differences also indicate that Georgia's laws may be less restrictive to voters than Pennsylvania's. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger pointed out that the state will provide for 21 days of early voting in the 2022 election cycle. While ballot boxes are becoming permanent in Georgia, proposed legislation in Pennsylvania would place new limits on locations for mail-in ballot boxes, according to 10 Philadelphia.

A Wall Street Journal editorial also pointed out that in addition to replacing signature matching with voter ID, third parties in Georgia can no longer provide food and drink to voters waiting in line.

While the voter ID component has proven to be a sore spot for opponents for the law, Heritage Action pointed out that 97% of Georgia's registered voters have a driver’s license or can easily obtain one. Moreover, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll earlier this year found that 74% of Georgia voters support voter ID, including 63% of Black voters.  

By contrast, Ballotpedia reported that Pennsylvania requires that first-time voters at a polling place show a voter ID.