Ex-president Carter ‘saddened, angry’ over Ga. voting proposals

— Former President Jimmy Carter declared his opposition Tuesday to a slate of restrictive voting proposals moving through his native Georgia’s General Assembly, saying he is “disheartened, saddened and angry” over moves to “turn back the clock” on ballot access after Democratic successes in 2020.

Carter, a Democrat, said in a long statement that the Republican-backed proposals, which would end no-excuse absentee voting, “appear to be rooted in partisan interests, not the interests of all Georgia voters.”

The GOP push comes after Georgia favored President Joe Biden in November and elected two new U.S. senators in January, giving Democrats control of the U.S. Senate and cementing Georgia as a clear battleground.

Carter, 96, alluded to false assertions by former President Donald Trump, saying the proposed restrictions “are reactions to allegations of fraud for which no evidence was produced —allegations that were, in fact, refuted through various audits, recounts, and other measures.”

Georgia’s Republican legislative leaders insist their measures are necessary to restore public confidence in the election, a position Carter dismissed.

“As our state legislators seek to turn back the clock through legislation that will restrict access to voting for many Georgians, I am disheartened, saddened, and angry,” Carter wrote.

Carter’s statement came a day after the Georgia Senate passed a sweeping bill that would sharply limit who could cast absentee ballots. More than 1 million voters — or more than a fifth of the November electorate — used the no-excuse absentee ballot process in the general election.

That slice of the electorate tilted solidly to Biden but still included many Republican voters. Biden won Georgia’s 16 electoral votes by about 12,000 votes out of 5 million cast.