Hey Wil thanks for sharing this. You are in Georgia. How are the people feeling about these new rules and all down there?

Since late July, a partisan majority on the Georgia State Board of Elections has enacted a series of last-minute changes to the state’s election procedures, including changes that could threaten the ability of people of color in Georgia to vote and have their votes counted equally. Our organization has vigorously opposed efforts to alter the election certification process and will continue to do so. While we expect the courts to block the Georgia board’s most egregious attacks on the votes, we must recognize that these attempted changes would have been harder, if not impossible, to implement in the coming election if the Supreme Court had not eviscerated the Voting Rights Act of 1965, or if Congress had passed the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Under the former preclearance provisions of the Voting Rights Act, the Department of Justice or a federal court undoubtedly would have had to first review data about the reasoning for the Georgia board’s rule changes, the potential impact on voters of color, and any racialized rhetoric.

Although it has traditionally been a noncontroversial and nondiscretionary process, in recent years election deniers in numerous states have attempted to delay or prevent the certification of election results. These efforts are often based on lies that target Black and brown voters, and allow for more leeway in the tabulation of votes, freezing voter lists and limiting advance voting. In Georgia, election deniers have not only illegally challenged the certification process, but also sought to change the rules governing election administration, contrary to state law. Unsurprisingly, their attacks have focused on Fulton County, with its plurality of Black Georgians. In August, the state board approved rules that would allow county election boards to launch unfettered inquiries and individual board members to examine “all election related documentation” prior to certification. These changes exceeded the board’s rulemaking authority, all while ignoring the existing procedures to investigate election fraud. It is part of an effort that has created opportunities for board members to abuse the law and place unreasonable burdens on Georgia election workers, with the ultimate risk of delaying and potentially overturning any result these partisans don’t like.