So many of you, Dear Readers, asked us to discuss Georgia’s new voting law. Why is it 100 pages long? Is it voter suppression? Are there voter ID restrictions? Why are President Biden and Stacy Abrams calling it a new form of Jim Crow? Are corporate companies choosing to boycott the state of Georgia in response to the new voting law? Why is Trump calling for a boycott of “woke companies”? Dear Readers, keep reading to find out the truth about Georgia’s new voting law and what it means for the future of American politics.
Welcome to new and returning readers to the Branding24Seven community!
This blog is the brainchild of JMStrategy LLC (JMS). As a boutique consulting firm, JMS offers strategic solutions to strengthen the brands of organizations and individuals. Brands must be able to navigate the ups and downs of business cycles, especially when economic growth clashes with public policy priorities if they want to have a lasting impact. Such clashes are the sweet spot for the JMS team to do its magic! In short, JMS provides up-to-date yet tailor-made strategic plans that incorporate out-of-industry forces. With JMS policy recommendations, clients can successfully manage any crisis!
Changes to absentee voting.
Perhaps the most explosive change of the Georgia new voting law concerns the mail-in absentee process. While voters over 65, serving the military, living abroad, or with a disability can still apply for a ballot once per election cycle. But the earliest voters can request a mail-in ballot is 77 days (down from 180) before an election. Also, Georgia’s new voting law has moved the final deadline to complete an application two Fridays before election day rather than the Friday before. Republican sponsors of the bill and local officials profess that the extra time will help reduce the number of ballots rejected for coming in late. What do you think, Dear Readers? Let us know in the comment section below!
Democrats, however, decry the fact that requesting and returning a ballot comes with a new set of ID rules.
Indeed, Georgia’s new voting law requires either a state ID or driver’s license number or a copy of an acceptable voter ID. Applications can be returned online after the office of the Secretary of State launches a virtual request portal using the state ID or driver’s license number before the next general election. Dear Readers, do you think that the new voting bill is a new version of Jim Crow? After all, poll workers will use the state ID or driver’s license number along with your name, date of birth, and address to verify your identity. Also, you now have to sign an oath and swear that everything is correct rather than simply checking your signature. Is this a security enhancement or outright voter suppression? Tweet us your answer, Dear Readers!
You can find out more information regarding additional changes concerning unsolicited applications, third-party groups, and secure absentee ballot drop boxes.
What about early voting?
Dear Readers, did you know that Georgia’s new voting law expanded early voting access regardless of what you might have heard from establishment media rants and scolding?!! Indeed, it added additional mandatory Saturday hours. It allows counties to operate from 9 am to 5 pm at a minimum, or 7 am to 7 pm at most. And it codifies Sunday hours as optional. Thus, depending on where you live, Dear Readers, you might see an expansion of voting hours. In Fulton County, however, you will no longer have access to the two mobile voting buses. Indeed, the Republican legislature wanted to eliminate a mobile polling option. Is that voter suppression, though?
Besides, Georgia’s new voting law prohibits anyone except poll workers to hand out water to the public while waiting in line to vote. It even outlawed passing out food and water to voters within 150 feet of the building serving as a poll, inside a polling place, or within 25 feet of any voter standing in line. Democrats complained that Georgia’s new voting law was forcing the public to starve to death. Imagine, Dear Readers, that you had to stand in line for more than 5 hours. Wouldn’t you be hungry? Are poll workers planning to operate a food truck or concession stand to feel starving and dehydrated voters? Are these changes reasonable or outright barbaric? Let us know in the comment section below!
Dear Readers, you can find out more information regarding additional changes around daily reporting during early voting, runoffs tightening schedule, and proper notice for polling place changes/closure as well in Georgia’s new voting law.
How differently are votes counted?
As we’ve seen, Dear Readers, counting the votes can take several days! We all hated it! And so did Governor Kemp. It should therefore come as no surprise that Georgia’s new voting law addressed this lag time. Local officials can now begin the processing of ballots two weeks before the election. Yet, the new voting law incentivizes the tabulation to end by 5 pm the next day or, the local officials will possibly face investigation. Dear Readers, what do you think of these changes? Is that a security-enhancing measure or a simple efficiency improvement? After all, since the tabulation has a deadline, lawmakers moved the election certification deadline to six days rather than ten after the closure of polls.
Dear Readers, please refer to the actual text to find out the additional changes around the reporting of the total number of ballots cast on election day, during early voting, via absentee voting and provisional ballots, all by 10 pm on election night.
Changes affecting local elections offices.
The Georgia new voting law has also made significant changes that afford greater flexibility for voting equipment of lower-turnout races. As for statewide general elections, however, the new law reaffirms the old one-ballot marking device per every 250 active voters’ ratio. Furthermore, counties will have to convey the accuracy testing of voting machines and equipment where local elections officials tweak any aspect of the technical process used in the election as clearly as possible. Dear Readers, do you think that such a change provides better notice of public manipulation of voting machines? Isn’t this a way to ensure the security of the voting process in Georgia rather than voter suppression? You let us know in the comment section below!
As for the rural and urban counties that rely on grant funding from philanthropic organizations, Georgia’s new voting law has annulled such donations. Instead, the State Election Board has until October 2021 to design a method to receive and distribute such contributions in the most equitable manner. Also, polling places with long lines are now required to remedy the untenable situation of interminable wait times that so many of you, Dear Readers, experienced last year.
Thus, polling places with wait times surpassing an hour must now hire more staff, add more poll workers, or split the precinct. Finally, the GOP-backed bill requires better training for poll watchers to avoid interference during the vote-counting process. Thus, local officials have the authority to predetermine where poll watchers should stand to observe. Honestly, Dear Readers, do you know a more effective strategy to address the absolute mayhem we’ve witnessed after the 2020 election cycle?
What’s happening to the State Election Board?
Georgia’s new voting law removes the secretary of state as the chair of the Election Board. S/he becomes a non-voting ex-officio member. Thus, a majority of the state House and Senate must appoint a nonpartisan new chair. Is that a big deal? The new law prohibits the prospective chair from being a candidate, made campaign donations, or participated in a political organization for two years before the appointment. Isn’t this change designed to safeguard the neutrality of the voting process? Dear Readers, do you know a better way to protect our democracy?
There you have it! The JMS team thanks you, Dear Readers, for taking the time to read today’s publication. Remember, Dear Readers, that this article will not replace your in-depth analysis of Georgia’s new voting law. It is simply highlighting relevant changes worth noting. The JMS team pulled out the changes that answer your questions. But there are more changes you should familiarize yourself with to decide whether SB202 is security-enhancing or a voter suppression bill.
Final thoughts.
Ultimately, Dear Readers, this blog wants you to be informed and make decisions that suit you best. There were so many allegations of voter fraud around the 2020 U.S. presidential elections that the JMS team expected Republican governors to amend existing voting bills. Indeed, according to Reuters-Ipsos opinion poll, half of all Republicans maintain that President Donald Trump “rightfully” won! The JMS team believes that more governors will enact similar bills in the year to come. Thus, voting in the next election cycle could be an even more tedious matter. The more you know, the better prepared you will be, and perhaps the American people will again trust the most precious tenet of the American democracy.
As always, Dear Readers, the JMS team thanks you for your support as you continue to submit requests by email or via the contact form. Don’t stop, Dear Readers! As a small consulting firm, the JMS team feels lucky to have the ability to support clients across industries through any given crisis that rocks their daily operations. We want to do the same for you, Dearest Readers. We love creating articles that make you think, question everything you thought you knew, and change your life! Come back every week for actionable tips to level up your time management skills and optimize your financial goals.
Dear Readers, we want to hear from you!
Do you trust the outcome of the last presidential election? Is it true that we have an issue of voter fraud? Should governors enact bills to enhance the security of the election process? What are your thoughts on Florida’s new voting bill? What else can this blog cover that will help you remain informed, Dear Readers?
Let us know by email at jms@branding24seven.com or by mail at JMStrategy LLC
21 S. 11th Street, 2nd Floor, Philadelphia, PA, 19107.
Leave a Reply