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“American democracy means that every eligible person has the right to vote in an election that is fair, open and secure. It must be flexible enough to meet the changing needs of the electorate. As Georgians, we must protect these values, ”said the former Democratic president. written in a statement. “We must not lose the progress we have made. We must not promote confidence among one segment of the electorate by limiting the participation of others. Our goal must always be to increase, not decrease, participation. election. “
Carter’s rebuke comes as Georgia’s Republican-led legislature pushes forward a sweeping election bill with restrictions on voter access, repealing the absentee vote without excuse. The bill creates identity requirements for requesting a postal vote and establishes a hotline for filing complaints and allegations of voter intimidation and illegal election activity.
GOP officials have said the bill is necessary to restore confidence in the electoral system, but it was Republican lawmakers and former President Donald Trump who pushed baseless allegations of voter fraud around the 2020 election. .
Carter did not name Trump in his statement, but responded to the denied claims.
“Many of the proposed changes are reactions to allegations of fraud for which no evidence has been produced – allegations that have, in fact, been refuted by various audits, recounts and other measures,” Carter said.
Republican state governor Brian Kemp has not said whether he will sign the bill in its current form into law, but a spokeswoman told CNN by email that Kemp “was clear on its support for strengthened voter identification provisions on absentee voting. “
Georgia has been a major political focal point after the state went blue, for the first time in nearly 30 years, in the 2020 presidential election. In addition to the presidency, Democrats also won the two US Senate seats in the January runoff election.
Meanwhile, Republicans in state houses across the country have pushed efforts to reduce access to the vote. On Monday, Republican Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed a new law that makes early voting more difficult.
Carter’s statement was released by the Carter Center, an organization founded by former president and former first lady Rosalynn Carter. The organization has helped support democratic elections in countries in times of fragility and volatility for more than three decades, observing more than 100 elections in 39 countries.
The first time the nonprofit, which observed elections around the world, monitored part of an electoral process in the United States was after the 2020 election – during the manual recount of the results of the presidential election in Georgia.
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