As the Daily Wire reported, “Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed the Republican-backed ‘Election Integrity Act of 2021,’ or SB 202, into law Thursday as Democratic lawmakers protested the bill.”
“The legislation seeks to tighten up elections and reduce fraud by enforcing conformity across the state, amping up voter ID, restricting drop boxes, and expanding in-person voting, among additional election-related overhauls,” the Daily Wire report continued.
“With Senate Bill 202, Georgia will take another step toward ensuring our elections are secure, accessible and fair,” Kemp said on Thursday. “Ensuring the integrity of the ballot box isn’t partisan, it’s about protecting the very foundation of who we are as Georgians and Americans.”
The bill adds identification requirements for absentee-by-mail ballots, and aims to address the many expansions and disparities in voting processes introduced during the 2020 presidential election — supposedly in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Leftists reacted to the notion that voters should be required to prove their identity before voting by … comparing it to the Jim Crow era.
Elizabeth Warren
Sen. Warren — while referencing a now debunked conspiracy theory that Stacey Abrams is the rightful governor of Georgia — claimed that SB 202 was a “voter suppression bill,” which will take Georgia back to “Jim Crow.”
“The Republican who is sitting in Stacey Abrams’ chair just signed a despicable voter suppression bill into law to take Georgia back to Jim Crow. The Senate must pass the #ForThePeople Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Act immediately – our democracy is at stake tonight,” Warren tweeted.
The Republican who is sitting in Stacey Abrams’ chair just signed a despicable voter suppression bill into law to take Georgia back to Jim Crow. The Senate must pass the #ForThePeople Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Act immediately – our democracy is at stake tonight. https://t.co/xDolZO9Bf3
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) March 26, 2021
Stacey Abrams
Former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams also described it as a “voter suppression bill.”
“From passage of the #SB202 voter suppression bill targeted at Black and brown voters to the arrest of a Black legislator who was advocating for the voting rights of her constituents, today was a reminder of Georgia’s dark past. We must fight for the future of our democracy,” she tweeted.
From passage of the #SB202 voter suppression bill targeted at Black and brown voters to the arrest of a Black legislator who was advocating for the voting rights of her constituents, today was a reminder of Georgia’s dark past. We must fight for the future of our democracy #gapol pic.twitter.com/IZWZGAX9RT
— Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) March 26, 2021
Raphael Warnock
Sen. Warnock used the bill to advocate in favor of the controversial “For the People Act.”
“Tonight the Georgia legislature rushed through a bill that will make it harder for millions of Georgians to cast their ballot and make their voice heard in our democracy,” he tweeted. “Voting rights are foundational and the Senate must act to protect them by passing the For The People Act.”
Tonight the Georgia legislature rushed through a bill that will make it harder for millions of Georgians to cast their ballot and make their voice heard in our democracy.
Voting rights are foundational and the Senate must act to protect them by passing the For The People Act.
— Reverend Raphael Warnock (@ReverendWarnock) March 26, 2021
Jon Ossoff
Sen. Ossoff also condemned the bill on Twitter.
“Tonight Georgia’s legislature passed a bill brazenly intended to make it harder for Georgians to vote,” he wrote. “Among its outrageous provisions: it criminalizes *giving water to voters who are waiting in line.* It’s no wonder Gov. Kemp hid behind closed doors while he signed it.”
Tonight Georgia’s legislature passed a bill brazenly intended to make it harder for Georgians to vote.
Among its outrageous provisions: it criminalizes *giving water to voters who are waiting in line.*
It’s no wonder Gov. Kemp hid behind closed doors while he signed it.
— Jon Ossoff (@ossoff) March 26, 2021
Joy Reid
MSNBC’s Joy Reid tweeted, “Make no mistake, this Georgia Jim Crow law and the similar ones being proposed in Arizona, Iowa dozens of other states are as much about motivating Republican voters who are downcast after the 2020 and January 2021 losses as they are about suppressing Democratic votes.”
Make no mistake, this Georgia Jim Crow law and the similar ones being proposed in Arizona, Iowa dozens of other states are as much about motivating Republican voters who are downcast after the 2020 and January 2021 losses as they are about suppressing Democratic votes.
— Joy-Ann Pro-Democracy & Masks Reid 😷 (@JoyAnnReid) March 26, 2021
Jaime Harrison
Harrison, the DNC Chair, tweeted, “I guess part of @GOPChairwoman best practices included making it a crime to give folks water and food when they have to stand in lines for hours just to cast their ballots to vote. The GOP is hellbent on ushering in Jim Crow 2.0 but let’s be clear #WeWillNotGoBack.”
I guess part of @GOPChairwoman best practices included making it a crime to give folks water and food when they have to stand in lines for hours just to cast their ballots to vote. The GOP is hellbent on ushering in Jim Crow 2.0 but let’s be clear #WeWillNotGoBack https://t.co/gQ0cI15WYE
— Jaime Harrison, DNC Chair (@harrisonjaime) March 26, 2021
Ted Lieu
Rep. Lieu described the supposed “GOP voter suppression bill” as “ludicrous.”
“Remember when the former President lost Georgia because voters waiting in line were given water? Me neither,” he tweeted. “He lost because he dramatically mishandled the epidemic, messed up the economy and repeatedly said racist and stupid stuff.”
Remember when the former President lost Georgia because voters waiting in line were given water? Me neither.
He lost because he dramatically mishandled the epidemic, messed up the economy and repeatedly said racist and stupid stuff.
This GOP voter suppression bill is ludicrous. https://t.co/lkntiL1YgX
— Ted Lieu (@tedlieu) March 25, 2021
Nikema Williams
Rep. Williams also referred to the act as a “sweeping voter suppression bill.”
“We played by their rules & WON. Now #Georgia Republicans are changing the rules to make it harder to vote. Brian Kemp just signed a sweeping voter suppression bill into law,” Williams tweeted. “Here in the south we know how to fight Jim Crow. We’ll see you in court AND in Congress with #HR1.”
We played by their rules & WON. Now #Georgia Republicans are changing the rules to make it harder to vote. Brian Kemp just signed a sweeping voter suppression bill into law.
Here in the south we know how to fight Jim Crow. We’ll see you in court AND in Congress with #HR1.
— Nikema Williams (@NikemaWilliams) March 25, 2021
Park Cannon
As reported by the Associated Press, “Democratic state Rep. Park Cannon, who is black, was arrested by Capitol police amid a protest after knocking on the door of the governor’s office during his remarks.”
“Cannon was charged with felony obstruction of law enforcement, punishable by one to five years in prison, and with disrupting a session of the General Assembly. She was released late Thursday night,” the report added.
Gloria Butler
As reported by the Associated Press, “Democratic state Senate Minority Leader Gloria Butler called the efforts by Republicans ‘voter suppression tactics.’”
“We are witnessing right now a massive and unabashed assault on voting rights unlike anything we’ve seen since the Jim Crow era,” Butler said.
Rhonda Burnough
Rep. Burnough claimed that the bill is built on the “lies” told by Republicans after the November election.
“Georgians turned out in record-breaking numbers because they could access the ballot,” Burnough said. “Lies upon lies were told about our elections in response, and now this bill is before us built on those same lies.”
Jon Cooper
Cooper, the former National Finance Chair of Draft Biden 2016, tweeted, “A bunch of Southern white men sign Georgia’s new Jim Crow bill disenfranchising Black voters in front of a painting of a notorious slave plantation. How fitting.”
A bunch of Southern white men sign Georgia’s new Jim Crow bill disenfranchising Black voters in front of a painting of a notorious slave plantation. How fitting. https://t.co/STV8Bzql8m
— Jon Cooper 🇺🇸 (@joncoopertweets) March 26, 2021
Jamaal Bowman
Rep. Bowman attempted to compare the election integrity bill to gun rights, tweeting “Georgia Republicans are banning passing out water bottles in voting lines before they ban possession of AR-15s.”
“They work harder to stop the Black vote than mass shootings,” he added.
Georgia Republicans are banning passing out water bottles in voting lines before they ban possession of AR-15s.
They work harder to stop the Black vote than mass shootings.
— Jamaal Bowman (@JamaalBowmanNY) March 26, 2021
Meena Harris
Harris, known only because she is the niece of Vice President Kamala Harris, described the bill as the “new Jim Crow.”
“The new Jim Crow, except that it’s actually the old Jim Crow,” she tweeted.
The new Jim Crow, except that it’s actually the old Jim Crow. pic.twitter.com/y8N6PhPgzd
— Meena Harris (@meenaharris) March 26, 2021
Bill Pascrell, Jr.
Rep. Pascrell, Jr. tweeted, “Here is the new Jim Crow. Republicans want to steal your right to vote to rig elections. Passing #HR1 is essential to saving our democracy.”
Here is the new Jim Crow. Republicans want to steal your right to vote to rig elections. Passing #HR1 is essential to saving our democracy. https://t.co/I5kA6Uoi6Y
— Bill Pascrell, Jr. (@BillPascrell) March 26, 2021
Ian Haworth is an Editor and Writer for The Daily Wire. Follow him on Twitter at @ighaworth.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.