Sweeping election law changes proposed in state GOP Senate bills – including ending automatic registration
ATLANTA — Republican state senators have rolled out a legislative package aimed at overhauling Georgia’s election laws by limiting who can vote by mail, outlining how to prove identification and outlawing absentee-ballot drop boxes.
The eight bills, filed late Monday, Feb. 1, by top Senate Republican leaders, mark the most sweeping attempt to change local voting laws after the 2020 election cycle stirred mistrust among many conservative Georgians over the state’s election integrity.
The bills especially target absentee voting in Georgia after all three major elections in the
2020 cycle saw more than 1 million mail-in ballots cast amid the COVID-19 pandemic, helping Democrats carry Georgia in the 2020 presidential election and flip both of the state’s U.S. Senate seats.
Democratic lawmakers quickly cried foul, slamming the move by Republicans as attempts at voter suppression seeking to halt Democrats’ momentum in statewide elections that are likely to be close for the next several years.
Republican lawmakers including Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger have called many of the proposed changes necessary to restore voter confidence in the state’s election system and rein in mail-in voting after local elections officials complained they were overwhelmed during the 2020 cycle.
Three of the bills focus on absentee voting by requiring a driver’s license or other form of ID to request an absentee ballot; banning the mail-in drop boxes voters used often in the 2020 elections; and ending registered Georgia voters’ ability to vote by mail for any reason.
No- excuse absentee voting was installed by Republican lawmakers under then- Gov. Sonny Perdue and touted by Raffensperger as proof against claims of voter suppression, particularly after Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams’ loss to Kemp in the 2018 gubernatorial election.
However, Raffensperger called
Gov. Brian Kemp unveiled a legislative package Tuesday, Feb. 2, aimed at recruiting more teachers from the ranks of retired educators and military veterans to boost the quality of Georgia schools.
Tops among the governorbacked bills is a measure allowing retired teachers to return to work at full pay while they continue drawing retirement benefits. Returning teachers would be slotted into vacant positions in “highneeds areas” picked by regional education officials, according to Kemp’s office.
“These hard- working men and women have a wealth of experience and knowledge with decades spent raising up the next generation of leaders,” Kemp said at a news conference. “This initiative will help our retirees, retirement systems and education as a whole.”
Other bills would give military veterans with certain degree and testing requirements better access to teacher certificates; boost training, resources and mentorships for new teachers; and require the state Professional Standards Commission to work with historically Black colleges and universities to increase the number of
minority teachers in Georgia schools.
The bills – dubbed the “Teacher Pipeline Package” – will be carried by state Rep. Dominic LaRiccia, R-Douglas, and state Sen. Russ Goodman, RHomerville, both of whom are floor leaders for Kemp in their respective chambers during the 2021 legislative session.
Teacher- focused bills follow moves by Kemp to avoid more budget cuts to K- 12 public schools through June 2022 amid the COVID-19 pandemic, add liability protections for schools from lawsuits brought by virus-infected persons and give educators a one-time $1,000 check.
Many schools across Georgia have struggled
after shuttering in-person classes last spring due to the pandemic and battling bouts of COVID-19 outbreaks among students and teachers this past fall. Some school districts are still holding online-only classes or “hybrid” models involving a mix of in-person and virtual instructions.
More than $2 billion in federal aid has been allocated for Georgia schools through two separate relief packages dating to March of last year. Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan said Tuesday, Feb. 2, the new bills package for teachers aims to help struggling schools keep rebounding from the pandemic.
“We have to continue to prioritize education here in Georgia,” Duncan said.