Postal voting: Republican state lawmakers observe restrictions in Georgia and other key states

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The three states were fiercely contested in the 2020 election and saw a record number of advance and postal voters, many of whom were Democrats, after rules were relaxed due to the pandemic – sparking allegations of fraud without foundation by President Donald Trump and other Republicans that culminated in the deadly Jan.6 insurgency on Capitol Hill.

Despite the absence of widespread security concerns with postal voting, GOP lawmakers in all three states are arguing for increased security and are proposing measures that would make qualifying or postal voting more difficult.

In Georgia, even Republicans who broke with Trump over his election demands support a party-approved move to require photo ID. In Pennsylvania, the state GOP decided to overturn a 2019 absentee vote law without excuse. And in Arizona, lawmakers want voters to re-demand the ballots in every election.

“I think they received the wrong information about the availability, efficiency and data relating to postal voting. Postal voting and postal voting benefit all voters, regardless of their political or partisan allegiances.” Group CEO Amber McReynolds told CNN.

The measures, if passed, could have a significant impact on the upcoming 2022 midterm elections, as Republicans failed to hold a Senate majority but significantly gained members in the House.

Jonathan Diaz, who is a voting rights legal adviser at the Campaign’s non-partisan Legal Center, said the current pressure from some GOP-controlled legislatures to make voting more difficult in the next election is part of what he has been described as a “long jerk” by some Republican politicians.

“The rationale that all of these lawmakers have cited is that ‘the public has lost confidence in our electoral system.’ What these lawmakers are leaving out is their role in creating that mistrust,” Diaz told CNN.

“No allegation of fraud was substantiated in the 2020 elections,” he added. “There is no reason to make voting more difficult, other than to give them a partisan advantage.”

Proposed identity requirements in Georgia

Georgia Republican State Senator Jason Anavitarte tabled a bill on Wednesday that would require voters to show photo ID when requesting and returning their mail-in ballots – a move backed by Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan, a Republican who, like other senior Georgian officials, challenged Trump’s decision. false accusations.
“I think the best step forward is simply to look for an opportunity to create a photo ID process,” Duncan, who chairs the state Senate, said at a press conference Tuesday. “I think this best meets the needs of 11 million Georgians, or at least the people who are going to vote.”
False allegations of fraud stoked the riot on the Capitol. Now they are fueling the GOP's efforts to restrict voting.
David Ralston, president of Georgia House, also said he supported a voter identification law. Spokesman Kalen McMichen said the president appointed a special committee on electoral integrity as a result, “which will take a thorough and factual approach to review our electoral processes and see if any changes need to be made.”

“Their goal is to ensure that our elections are fair, accessible, secure and transparent,” McMichen said in an emailed statement to CNN on Wednesday.

The enactment of a photo ID law reflects the state party’s platform call to change voting laws.

“As soon as we can meet constitutionally, we will reform our electoral laws to secure our electoral process by eliminating absentee voting at will. We will require photo ID for those absent voting for a valid reason, and we will crack down on the collection of ballots by prohibiting abandonment. boxes, ”the GOP State Senate said when announcing their legislative priorities for 2021 in December.
The legislatures of Minnesota, Nebraska and Wyoming are also currently considering voter identification laws. Overall, 36 states have laws requiring or requiring voters to show some form of identification at the ballot box, according to the National Conference of Legislatures.

Pennsylvania GOP plans to repeal vote without excuse

In Pennsylvania, Republicans are seeking to completely repeal an absentee vote without excuse law passed in 2019 by the state’s GOP-led legislature.
State Representative Jim Gregory, Republican co-sponsor of the bill, told CNN the goal is not to “fix what happened but to restore integrity and trust” in the process to vote.

“It’s about repealing it,” Gregory said. “The confusion that took place afterwards, and just the lack of confidence in how things turned out, really affects people’s belief and desire to want to vote again. This is especially true in my district. . “

Gregory has said he hopes the bill will be the starting point for important electoral reforms.

“We have to strike up the conversation somewhere, so I’m going to throw a full repeal and see where it goes, because you won’t get what you want when you start trading, but you are hoping to get something more appetizing.” Gregory added.

Arizona GOP plans to change mail-in registration

In Arizona, a GOP-sponsored bill would repeal the state’s permanent early voting list – which allows a voter to automatically receive one ballot in the mail for every election.

Another bill introduced by the chair of the State House Elections Committee, Senator Michelle Ugenti-Rita, would remove PEVL voters who do not vote in primary and general elections in two consecutive electoral cycles and fail to vote. also do not respond to a final notice.

Ugenti-Rita called the bill “good administrative management” in a telephone interview with CNN and said it was “to keep an accurate voters list”.

“People who can be fired are people who have shown or demonstrated that they do not prefer this preference. They do not vote by mail, so you cannot take something away from someone that someone does not do. not, “said Ugenti -Rita.

She also said the Election Committee was considering several other election standby bills, including one that would require voters to cast their ballots in the mail before election day.

CNN’s Fredreka Schouten contributed to this report.

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