Gov Kemp: 'Outrageous' what the left is saying about Georgia election law, 'hypocrisy rampant'
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp on facing progressive backlash over election reform and lifting remaining coronavirus restrictions.
In their blatant assault on local election systems across the country, Democrats and the mainstream media are spreading lies and misinformation about Georgia’s Election Integrity Act that I recently signed into law.
Instead of addressing specific proposals in SB 202, they have resorted to demonizing Georgians – and Americans – who support commonsense election reform measures.
Democrats and partisan activists across the country, including President Biden, have falsely labeled Georgia’s new voting law as "Jim Crow 2.0."
This rhetoric is disingenuous and completely false. Here is what SB 202 actually does:
- It expands access to early voting statewide by requiring two mandatory Saturdays and allowing local election officials the option of up to two Sundays during early voting. This change would apply to all 159 counties in Georgia for the first time and result in hundreds of hours of increased early voting opportunities across the state.
- SB 202 requires all voters to provide a driver’s license or a free state ID card number to request and submit an absentee ballot. This would replace the cumbersome signature match process, thereby significantly streamlining – and securing – absentee ballot verification and tabulation. Every Georgia voter must already present some form of photo ID to vote in-person.
- For the first time ballot drop boxes – which were not available to Georgia voters prior to the COVID-19 pandemic – are mandated in every county, while also ensuring all drop boxes are secured around the clock.
- SB 202 protects polling locations from electioneering by private individuals. Within 150 feet of the precinct, election officials may provide water at stations. Beyond 150 feet, as previous Georgia law allowed, private individuals may campaign and provide food and water for voters.
- It also requires local election officials to continue tabulating votes until counting is complete and mandates the use of security paper to ensure complete authentication of ballots.
As you can see, these reforms have nothing to do with "voter suppression" or "Jim Crow." The Election Integrity Act makes it easy to vote by expanding access to the polls and harder to cheat by ensuring the security of the ballot box.
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For Democrats, the left and their mainstream media cheerleaders, criticism of the Election Integrity Act is not about what SB 202 does to make our elections fairer and more accessible – it is about fundraising off fear and giving them more power.
They believe that if they continue attacking hardworking Georgians who support election integrity by calling them "racists" and "vote suppressors," we will be silenced.
They will of course ignore that President Biden’s home state of Delaware does not currently have early voting options for its citizens, while SB 202 guarantees at least 17 days of early voting access with the option of an additional two Sundays.
They will also forget to mention that Georgia – unlike Delaware – continues to have no-excuse absentee balloting and secured ballot drop boxes statewide.
I refuse to back down from this fight because the integrity of our elections is the foundation of who we are as Georgians and Americans.
Even the Washington Post recently gave President Biden "Four Pinochios" for his totally false claim that SB 202 restricts voting hours. It is abundantly clear that their relentless attacks and disregard for the truth are meant to distract from their own dangerous agenda.
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It should surprise no one that the left will do whatever it takes to achieve their ultimate goal: complete control of our elections in Georgia and across the country.
As a former secretary of state, I am no stranger to the name-calling, frivolous lawsuits and personal threats favored by these partisan activists. For nearly 10 years, I fought to keep Georgia elections secure, accessible and fair. I sued the Obama Justice Department to implement a citizenship check before you register to vote, and I stood up to the media repeatedly by following the law and keeping our voter rolls accurate.
I frankly lost count of the number of times we went to court against a cast of left-wing interest groups to protect our voter ID requirement for voting in Georgia elections.
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However, the implications of this fight today go far beyond the borders of the Peach State. They hope to scare, intimidate and threaten you so they can ram an unconstitutional power-grab through Congress. House Resolution 1 would put the federal government in charge of elections across the country, encourage ballot harvesting, ban voter ID requirements, and stop states from keeping their voter rolls clean.
As governor, I refuse to back down from this fight because the integrity of our elections is the foundation of who we are as Georgians and Americans. In Georgia, we will always protect the sanctity of the ballot box and keep working to restore complete confidence in our democracy.