Democratic board member Sara Tindall Ghazal voted against the measure. Rick Jeffries, a newly appointed board member and former GOP state representative, backed Johnston’s proposal Tuesday. “We should not only a few months before the election…bring confusion and start to limit the ability of people in our state to vote, particularly people who oftentimes find it most difficult to stand in line because of certain life situations,” Lindsey said. 5 general election, which is expected to be headlined by a rematch between Trump and Biden. Georgia’s 2024 election cycle begins with the presidential primary on March 12 leading up to the Nov. The legislative session is scheduled to end on March 28. The state Legislature still has the power to approve new absentee rules this year even though the election board rejected a no-excuse ban recommendation. Lindsey also referenced the new election security measures approved by legislators since 2021. On Tuesday, the election board member said he opposed returning to the old rule when there hasn’t been evidence supporting systemic voting fraud in 2020 or subsequent elections. The changes to absentee voting included eliminating signature verification by instead requiring voters to provide their driver license or other state ID numbers and also limiting where and how many dropboxes local election officials can provide for people to deposit ballots.ĭuring his tenure as a Fulton County Republican state legislator, Ed Lindsey supported the switch to no-excuse absentee voting. Republican legislators passed a sweeping overhaul of voting laws several months after the 2020 presidential election. Georgia Democratic lawmakers and progressive voting rights organizations have opposed recent Republican-backed absentee proposals they contend unfairly add barriers for legal voters. “For me it comes down to the will of the people and the will of the people has been voted on by the General Assembly,” Fervier said. Brian Kemp appointed the longtime Waffle House executive to chair the board in January following the resignation of former federal court judge William Duffey Jr. Georgia lawmakers in 2005 adopted the no-excuse law that allowed any registered voter to request an absentee ballot without having to provide a specific reason. However, he said he believes Georgia lawmakers made the decision to open up the vote-by-mail process to all registered voters because it was in the public’s interest. “Simply put, the risk outweighs the benefit.”įervier acknowledged the strong opinions on both sides of the issue. “The idea of no-excuse for absentee voting seems easy and convenient, but the loss of control of the ballot, the loss of the right to vote by secret ballot, the risk of fraud and the occurrence of subtle or outright voter intimidation is real,” she said. Johnston said that widespread use of absentee voting undermines confidence in elections. She proposed to reinstate the prior law, which limited mail-in ballots to military service members, the elderly and to voters with disabilities. Johnston, who was nominated to the board in 2022 by the Georgia Republican Party, referenced the high frequency of complaints and investigations into absentee errors and illegal voting that have been brought to the board’s attention in the last couple years. Trump and many of his supporters would blame his loss in 2020 on unfounded accusations of rampant voting fraud while trying to pressure state officials in Georgia to put an end to no-excuse absentee voting.Įlection Board member Janice Johnston said Tuesday that she wanted to have legislators take action because she fears that unilaterally allowing voters to fill out paper ballots outside of their polling place violates federal and state laws protecting ballot secrecy while also posing a higher risk of voter fraud. A record number of Georgians voted by mail-in ballot in the 2020 general election cycle highlighted by the presidential race between Republican Donald Trump and then-Democratic nominee Joe Biden and a pair of U.S. In a 3-2 vote on Tuesday, the election board struck down the recommendation to no longer allow any Georgia voter to request an absentee ballot after Chairman John Fervier declined the request from a fellow board member that the General Assembly dissolve a rule passed in 2005.Ībsentee ballots in Georgia have been under increased scrutiny after the State Election Board adopted emergency rules in the 2020 in response to the pandemic’s public health emergency. This story also appeared in Georgia Recorder Find Your County Services, Officials Open dropdown menu.
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