ATLANTA (AP) – After record-breaking turnout that helped propel Democrats to victory in Georgia’s presidential contest and two U.S. Senate runoffs, Republicans in the state legislature are proposing limits and additional requirements on voting.
The plans largely seek to limit absentee voting by mail, which President Donald Trump has relentlessly and falsely attacked as a source of systemic fraud in his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
Democrats and voting rights groups are gearing up for a fight, saying the changes aren’t needed and will disenfranchise lawful voters. Georgia’s 2021 legislative session begins Monday.
The Republican caucus in the state Senate was among the first to call for big changes. It wants to end no-excuse absentee voting, which was introduced by a Republican-controlled legislature in 2005. Members also want to ban ballot drop boxes and implement a photo ID requirement for voters that have a specific excuse to vote absentee.
“As soon as we may constitutionally convene, we will reform our election laws to secure our electoral process by eliminating at-will absentee voting,” the caucus said in a statement in December. “We will require photo identification for absentee voting for cause, and we will crack down on ballot harvesting by outlawing drop boxes.”