https://www.wabe.org/house-republicans-pass-sweeping-changes-to-georgia-voting-laws/

A bill that would overhaul many of the ways Georgians vote has passed the state House of Representatives along party lines.

House Bill 531, sponsored by Republican Rep. Barry Fleming, adds additional ID requirements for absentee ballots and places limitations on the use of absentee ballot drop boxes. It also bans private funding of election operations, restricts the use of private venues as polling sites except in the case of an emergency and reduces early and weekend voting.

“House Bill 531 is designed to begin to bring back the confidence of our voters back into our election system. A main component of that effort is by enacting several revisions, which will make the administration of elections easier by our local elections officials,” said Fleming.

The bill would also reduce the time between the general election and runoffs and would eliminate free-for-all primaries like the one for the U.S. Senate race last year that featured more than 20 candidates. It also lets legislators pick the chair of the State Election Board, a position currently held by the secretary of state.

“This bill separates that legislative function from the officer who will be required to carry out the executive function of making sure those laws and those rules are followed,” said Fleming.

The bill also attempts to institute several measures that are already in place such as poll worker training, special security paper for ballots and public notices for testing of election equipment.

Committee Office

Committee Office