As the Georgia General Assembly seeks to pass a bill that would provide more legal recourse to ensure the integrity of the state’s elections, so-called “voting rights” groups are preparing to spend a small fortune preventing the law from passing.
The Atlanta Journal- Constitution reports that three groups are ready to spend “seven figures” battling the bill.
HB 1464 was introduced Friday.
Its summary says its purpose is “to provide the Georgia Bureau of Investigation with original jurisdiction to investigate election fraud and election crimes; to provide the Georgia Bureau of Investigation with subpoena power to further such investigations …”
It would also make original paper ballots public record upon request and would strengthen existing laws regarding chain-of custody documentation for absentee ballots.
The Georgia Star News has provided in-depth coverage on chain-of-custody issues from the 2020 election. Thousands of those legally-required documents remain outstanding to this day.
Two of the groups battling the new bill are Fair Fight Action and the New Georgia Project, are deeply involved with Democrat gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams.
Abrams founded Fair Fight Action in 2014, and before that served as the CEO of the New Georgia Project.
In other words, Abrams has ties to both nonprofits that will spend millions to fight against voter integrity measures as she runs for governor against incumbent Governor Brian Kemp (R).
Neither group returned a comment request regarding the potential conflict of interest.
Election integrity has been a major issue in Georgia since the 2020 elections, during which former President Donald J. Trump was bested by a tiny margin by President Joe Biden.
Trump blames election fraud – particularly via 2020’s universal mail-in voting – for the loss.
Republicans already passed and signed into law SB 202, which ended the automatic mailing of absentee ballots to voters who did not request one, shortened the period in which absentee ballots can be filed from 180 days to 78 days prior to an election, and requires voter identification on all absentee ballots.
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Pete D’Abrosca is a reporter at The Georgia Star News and The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Stacey Abrams” by Innisfree987. CC BY 3.0. Background Photo “Election Day 2020” by Phil Roeder. CC BY 2.0.
