Representative Zulma Lopez, whose district on the outskirts of Atlanta has the majority of color voters, said the bill would have an overwhelming impact on color voters. In her district, she said, the number of dropboxes would be reduced from 33 to nine. This was partly due to the fact that Democrats were excluded from the discussions.
“Almost 2.5 million Democrats voted in the 2020 general election,” Ms. Lopez said. “Yet the Democrats in this House have been excluded from any significant contribution to the preparation of this bill.”
On Thursday, President Biden, along with the Georgia Democrats, condemned Republican efforts to restrict voting, calling Conservative efforts across the country “un-American”.
“I am convinced that we can stop this because it is the most damaging thing,” said Biden at his first official press conference. “It makes Jim Crow look like Jim Eagle. I mean, that’s gigantic what they’re trying to do. And it can’t be sustained. “
He vowed to “do everything in my power, together with my friends in the House and Senate, to prevent this from becoming law.”
Alan Powell, a Republican representative from northeast Georgia, defended the state’s bill, saying it would give the necessary consistency to an electoral system that was marginalized last year.
“The Georgia electoral system was never designed to handle the volume of votes it handled,” he said. (Several audits have confirmed the results of the elections in Georgia last year and there have been no credible reports of fraud or irregularities affecting the results.) How our electoral system works. “
“Show me the oppression,” said Mr. Powell. “There is no suppression in this bill.”
Thomas Kaplan contributed to the reporting.
