Not So Peachy: Voter Suppression in the State of Georgia

In November 2020, the state of Georgia shocked the country by voting for Joe Biden, the first time that the state had voted for a Democratic presidential candidate since the 1996 election. Approximately 49.5% of Georgia voters voted in favor of Joe Biden, giving him just 0.3% more votes than Donald Trump.

The results of the 2020 election brought Georgia voters to the forefront of consideration, with many branding it an official “swing state” after the 2020 election results. However, more eyes on Georgia also meant more people noticing the poor voting practices taking place and the blatant voter suppression.

Since the 2020 election, Georgia has been heavily criticized for enacting laws and engaging in practices that suppress the votes of certain demographics. Some of the voter suppression methods that Georgia has utilized in recent years include: carefully crafted voter ID laws, voter purges, poll closures, removal of ballot boxes, and early voting restrictions. Some of the main groups who are experiencing efforts to suppress their votes are people of color and college students.

In order to truly understand the gravity of what Georgia is doing to its voters, it is important to understand some of the various methods that the state is using to suppress votes that are not commonly understood. Voter ID laws are intended, in theory, to ensure that those who are voting, are actually who they say they are. Voter ID laws are meant to ensure that everyone is able to cast their vote and that no one is being impersonated for the purpose of voting. Voter purges are the process of “cleaning” the voter registration rolls to remove those who have passed away or no longer live in that state or district.

Recent years and elections have highlighted the ways in which Georgia utilizes voter ID laws for the purpose of suppressing the votes of particular demographics. While there is merit to the fact that voter ID laws help to prevent voter fraud, they also serve as a barrier to voting for those who do not have access to the limited number of accepted IDs. 18

While Georgia used to have a relatively extensive list of IDs that could be used for the purpose of voting, the list has been systematically reduced over the last several years, making it more difficult to meet the voter ID requirements. For those who do not have a driver's license or another approved form of ID, Georgia does offer a free voter ID. However, this ID can take months to come in the mail, with some never receiving it. A college student from Georgia, who wishes to remain anonymous, stated that they ordered their voter registration card (the approved free ID) on the day of their 18th birthday, and still have not received it two years later.This makes the process incredibly difficult for those who require the voter registration card in order to vote. The source also recalls the Georgia Secretary of State office telling them that there was nothing they could do to help and that their card would eventually arrive. Creating more restrictive voter ID laws also includes limiting the number of ID forms that can be used for same day voter registration. Ultimately, these measures have served to disproportionately impact minorities and people of color in Georgia who obtain state IDs at a lower rate and rely more frequently on the free voter registration card that too often never comes in the mail.

Voter purges were initially enacted in order to ensure that voter rolls were as up to date as possible, making the election process move smoothly and preventing voter fraud.

However, voter purges have been utilized to wipe active citizens who are eligible to vote from the voter rolls and subjecting these individuals to Georgia’s increasingly difficult same day registration rules. In 2021, Georgia removed the names of over 100,000 people from voter rolls, in an act of voter purging without evidence to remove them. This purge, like many of the others that Georgia has engaged in, disproportionately affected people of color. Numerous college students were also impacted, as well.. Georgia removed many college students who attended schools out of state with no apparent reason. There is speculation that this may have been due to an assumption that those students would register to vote in the state of their college. Furthermore, no notification was provided to the victims of the voter purge, with many of them not finding out until they were unable to vote in the next election.

In the last decade, the number of places in which Georgians can cast ballots and submit absentee ballots has decreased by 10%. However, the poll closures are not following a random pattern. Many of the poll closures in the last decade have disproportionately impacted communities of color, which directly affects the ability for people of color to vote. Rural counties faced issues too, with certain areas having just one polling location for over 50 miles . While many companies provide time off to vote, many still don’t.

Removing polling places decreases the likelihood of an individual getting time off to go vote and once again disproportionately impacts people of color.

Recent changes to Georgia’s early voting rules have made it increasingly difficult to vote early or through mail, limiting the ability of those with disabilities, jobs that do not provide leave for voting, and out of state college students to vote. As previously mentioned, there has been a decrease in the number of polling stations in minority communities. As a result, many minorities in Georgia have resorted to voting by mail. The process for obtaining a mail in ballot has become increasingly difficult over the last several years; many getting their ballots denied despite sending in all of the necessary information on time. Furthermore, polling locations have been slow to count and collect mail in ballots which forces them to be counted as “late” even though they were mailed and received on time. When voters are not informed that there is an issue with their mail in ballot, they are not able to fix problems to ensure that their vote is counted. This issue has particularly affected college students who are attempting to vote from their respective colleges.

The state of Georgia’s continuous efforts to suppress the votes of minorities and college students draws attention to these practices around the country and drives calls for voter reform and standardization of voting practices.

On June 25, 2021, the United States Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the state of Georgia for having racially discriminatory provisions in its new voting law. In light of Georgia’s actions, this is not likely to be the last time that the state is called out for discriminatory voting practices and voter suppression

However, Georgia voters have some power to make changes. The secretary of state department runs elections. Electing a secretary of state that will enforce election rules and ensure fair voting practices is essential. Talking to your representatives and ensuring that they understand the importance of proposing voter protection laws will also be vital. Georgia is under the microscope, but that only matters if it means change. ***