ALERT! Voter Suppression Bills: HB531 and SB241
Call and Write Today!
From our friends at Fair Fight Action:
Georgia now has TWO of the worst voter suppression bills in the nation moving quickly through our legislature: SB 241 and HB 531. These proposals are assaults on democracy, founded on baseless and racist far-right conspiracy theories. These bills constitute one of the worst attacks on voting rights since Reconstruction, and would erect a juggernaut of barricades to voting access. They revive Georgia’s dark history of voter suppression and racism as state policy. It is critical Congress pass HR 1 and HR 4 to protect voters and safeguard our democracy.
Republicans wrote Georgia’s election laws, but they were humiliated on November 3 and January 5, so now they are seeking to silence Georgians, particularly communities of color, who exercised their power to change Georgia.
Each day we get closer to stopping these bills, but we MUST continue applying public pressure and holding bad actors accountable. Below, we have compiled, in one document, all the most up-to-date action items to help us fight these bills and hold voter suppressors accountable.
HB 531 passed out of the Special Election Integrity committee; next it will be heard in the House Rules Committee. It would restrict dropbox access, add new ID requirements for mail voting, restrict weekend voting, and criminalize volunteers for handing out food and water to voters waiting in 2-8 hour long lines. The GOP-led GA legislature is unrelenting in their attacks on voting rights.
Not only are these ID requirements suppressive and unnecessary, they are outwardly discriminatory, but they would also have a disproportionate impact on Black, minority, and rural voters across our state.
HB 531 contains provisions that would pass on serious unfunded mandates to our counties that would have extremely costly taxpayer impacts. An independent analysis by Voting Rights Lab found that HB 531 could incur over $50 million in total new costs statewide.
GEORGIANS: Call/Email these Representatives to demand they vote NO on HB 531.
Sample Script: “Hi my name is [Insert Name] and I am a resident of [COUNTY YOU LIVE IN]. I am contacting you to ask you to withdraw and recommit HB 531, and to oppose any other attempts to roll back voting rights in Georgia. This bill will significantly harm my right to vote.”
- Speaker David Ralston: 404-656-5020, david.ralston@house.ga.gov
- Richard Smith: 404-656-5141, richard.smith@house.ga.gov
- Rick Jasperse: 404-656-7153, rick.jasperse@house.ga.gov
- Mandi Ballinger: 404-656-7153, mandi.ballinger@house.ga.gov
- Shaw Blackmon: 404-656-5103, shaw.blackmon@house.ga.gov
- Jon Burns: (404) 656-5052, jon.burns@house.ga.gov
- Chuck Efstration: (404) 656-5125, chuck.efstration@house.ga.gov
- Barry Fleming: (404) 656-5105, barry.fleming@house.ga.gov
- Gerald Greene: (404) 656-9210, gerald.greene@house.ga.gov
- Jan Jones: 404-656-5072, jan.jones@house.ga.gov
- Trey Kelley: 404-656-5024, trey.kelley@house.ga.gov
- Eddie Lumsden: 404-656-7850, eddie.lumsden@house.ga.gov
- Chuck Martin: 404-656-5146, chuck.martin@house.ga.gov
- Alan Powell: (404) 463-3793, alan.powell@house.ga.gov
- Ed Setzler: (404) 656-5143, ed.setzler@house.ga.gov
- Lynn Smith: (404) 656-7149, lynn.smith@house.ga.gov
- Ron Stephens: (404) 656-5115, ron.stephens@house.ga.gov
- Jan Tankersley: (404) 656-7855, jan.tankersley@house.ga.gov
- Darlene Taylor: (404) 656-7857, darlene.taylor@house.ga.gov
The attacks on vote by mail in Georgia are a direct attack on the voting rights of Georgians of color. State legislators should celebrate high turnout. What they should not do is play into the hands of conspiracists who stormed the U.S. Capitol. Instead, you see some state legislators wanting to change who makes up the electorate rather than serve the people and continue to fuel conspiracy theories.
SB 241 would implement new ID requirements to vote by mail, add MILLIONS in unfunded costs to county governments, create a new so-called “voter fraud” hotline staffed by the Attorney General, and more. SB 241 is a disastrous bill that amounts to one of the most restrictive voting proposals in the country.
GEORGIANS: Call/Email these Senators to demand they vote NO on SB 241.
Sample Script: “Hi my name is [Insert Name] and I am a resident of [COUNTY YOU LIVE IN]. I am contacting you to ask you to vote no on SB 241 and oppose any other attempts to roll back voting rights in Georgia. This bill will significantly harm my right to vote
- Max Burns: (404) 656-7586, max.burns@senate.ga.gov
- Dean Burke: (404) 656-0040, dean.burke@senate.ga.gov
- Jason Anavitarte: (404) 656-0085, jason.anavitarte@senate.ga.gov
- Mike Dugan: (404) 656-7872, mike.dugan@senate.ga.gov
- Steve Gooch: (404) 656-9221, steve.gooch@senate.ga.gov
- Bo Hatchett: (404) 656-7454, bo.hatchett@senate.ga.gov
- Butch Miller: (404) 656-6578, butch.miller@senate.ga.gov
- Randy Robertson: (404) 463-3931, randy.robertson@senate.ga.gov
- Brian Strickland: (404) 463-6598, brian.strickland@senate.ga.gov
