Q&A of the Day – How Georgia’s voting law compares to Florida’s
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Today’s entry: With all the hysteria regarding Georgia’s voting law you’d think they have the tightest restrictions in the country. I read that several states still have stricter voting laws including Florida. Is this just a case of the left opposing any change because they won in Georgia?
Bottom Line: Yes. That’s exactly what it is. Last week I pointed out the meat of Georgia voting law changes. They are these:
- Voter ID required for absentee ballots
- Runoff elections to be held 4 weeks after the general election as opposed to nine weeks later
- Elections oversight will be conducted by a five-person board established by the state legislature rather than the Secretary of State
Now, the other change that was exploited by Biden and other political opportunists on the left is what’s referred to as electioneering. Georgia’s new law also bans the presentation of “gifts”, which are commonly food and drinks, within 150 feet of a polling place. Incidentally, that’s exactly the distance specified under Florida’s law. To your point, there isn’t a single reform passed in Georgia that is the most restrictive in the country. This is 100% pure political opportunism not based on facts but based on a narrative that any reform is, to quote President Biden “Jim Crow on steroids”. It’s an affront to Jim Crow, to suggest that voter ID to vote, which is supported by 75% of Americans including 69% of Blacks, is worse than segregation and lynching. Understand, when Biden cites Jim Crow, that’s what he’s saying. This shows that today’s so-called Civil Rights leaders are nothing more than political hacks which feed on racial division to retain power, money and relevance. It’s an affront to the real leaders like MLK who genuinely wanted unity and for people to be judged on content of character rather than color of skin. Incidentally, since every state’s voter law applies to all citizens regardless of ethnicity how could any reform be inherently racist? But this isn’t about facts, to your point. This is about continuing to exploit a flawed and failed system that Georgia had exploited last cycle.
Regarding how Georgia’s election integrity compares to other states... According the 2016 Electoral Integrity Index, which showed the United States second to last in the developed world for election integrity, Georgia scored a 57 out of 100. A failing grade. There were only seven states with worse election integrity than Georgia. Incidentally, Florida was only a 58 back then. Our more recent reforms brought us up to a 75 for the 2020 cycle. It’s unclear until a new study comes out reflecting how much progress Georgia made in addressing its provably failed election system but it’s still unlikely to be anywhere near the top. These recently passed reforms only mirror what's already in place across the country. That’s the other aspect of the backlash that’s so disingenuous.
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