ATLANTA (AP) – A Georgia state Senate committee has approved a Republican-backed bill that would add a photo ID requirement for absentee voting, after a surge in absentee ballots helped Democrats win the state’s presidential election and two U.S. Senate runoffs.
The Senate Ethics Committee voted Thursday in favor of Senate Bill 67, which would require that a person include their driver’s license number, other state ID number or a photocopy of an approved ID when submitting an absentee ballot application. The bill could soon move to the full state Senate for a vote.
Currently, there is no photo ID requirement for absentee voting, and voters are verified by their signature. That verification process became the target of repeated false claims by former President Donald Trump, despite election officials in Georgia emphatically saying there was no widespread fraud.
Republican lawmakers have seized on the issue, saying photo ID should be required for absentee voters to safeguard the process and restore confidence in the system.
Democrats and voting rights groups say the measure is unnecessary and will only disenfranchise lawful voters.