Constitution State News

Georgia is a prime target for Democratic charges of voter suppression through state-level election laws enacted in the wake of former President Donald Trump’s loss to Joe Biden in November, the first defeat in the Peach State by a Republican presidential candidate since 1992.

But the election-reform law signed in March by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp provides, according to supporters, more voter access than the laws in many blue states whose elected officials are the sources of much of the criticism.

“The level of the double-standard is astonishing,” Ken Cuccinelli, national chairman of the conservative Election Transparency Initiative, told Constitution State News. “The changes Georgia made are meager by comparison.”

Connecticut, for instance, allows for no early in-person voting while Georgia will allow for 21 days in the 2022 election cycle. Even with the tightening of the absentee-ballot process in Georgia, it’s still easier to get one there than in Connecticut.

Connecticut’s voter-ID requirements, moreover, are more burdensome than many other states, including Georgia’s, which has won the support of 74% of voters, including 63% of black voters. Finally, Connecticut is among a number of Northeastern states that limits the time in which those challenging incumbents can rally a base due to policies that prevent early voting.

The population of Connecticut, however, (3.6 million) is about one-third that of Georgia's (10.6 million).

“Democrats who have won election after election in states such as New York, Delaware, Connecticut and Rhode Island have had little incentive to change the rules that helped them win,” Russell Berman wrote in The Atlantic.

The Georgia law, Senate Bill 202, institutes a voter-ID requirement with a provision that provides free ID, promotes ballot drop-box security, forms stricter rules for absentee voting and expands access to early voting.

Cuccinelli, the former Republican attorney general of Virginia, said that the law gives voters confidence in the system.

“Integrity in the law is the ultimate measuring stick for voter confidence,” he said.

A March 2021 study by Rasmussen found that 75% of likely U.S. voters believe Americans should be required to show photo ID before being allowed to vote. Only 21% oppose it.