Georgia House passes GOP bill rolling back voting access

ATLANTA — A bill to restrict ballot drop boxes, require more ID for absentee voting and limit weekend early voting days passed the Georgia House on Monday amid protests that the proposals would make it harder for voters to participate in democracy.

The House voted along party lines, 97-72, on the sweeping elections bill supported by Republicans who want to impose new voting requirements after losing presidential and U.S. Senate

races in Georgia.

The bill now heads to the state Senate, where a committee voted Monday to end no-excuse absentee voting, which would require most voters to cast ballots in person. That legislation could receive a vote in the full Senate within days.

Georgia is at the center of a nationwide debate over election access and security, brought on by former President Donald Trump’s false claims of election fraud. Election officials, including Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, have said there’s no evidence of widespread fraud that could have changed the election, and the results were verified by recounts and audits.

During a 2½-hour debate in the Georgia House, Democrats said the bill would lead to voter suppression by creating hurdles to casting a ballot.

But Republican legislators said their proposals will build voters’ trust in elections. Their policies would put new limits on absentee voting, used by a record 1.3 million people in the presidential election, two-thirds of whom voted for President Joe Biden.