Georgia's state legislature on Thursday passed a new Republican-sponsored bill that restricts voting by mail and reforms elections in several ways in response to the 2020 elections, reports The Associated Press.
President Biden had sharp criticism for bills like these earlier on Thursday during his first press conference. Asked about a Democratic voting rights bill that would overhaul federal election laws and make it easier for more people to vote, Biden expressed worry that state-level voting restriction bills in Republican legislatures could deepen voter suppression in "despicable" ways.
"What I'm worried about is how un-American this whole initiative is. It's sick," he said. "Deciding in some states that you cannot bring water to people standing in line waiting to vote? Deciding that you're going to end voting at 5:00 when working people are just getting off work? Deciding that there will be no absentee ballots under the most rigid circumstances? ... The Republican voters I know find this despicable."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Georgia's legislation is part of a larger "Republican war on voting," The New Yorker says, outlining the 253 restrictive bills under consideration in 43 states this year, and noting that Arizona and Georgia are two of the states with the largest number of vote-limiting bills. Georgia's new law will require a photo ID to vote absentee by mail, cut the time period voters have to request an absentee ballot and limit where ballot drop boxes can be placed and when they can be accessed, AP reports.
Georgia's Gov. Brian Kemp (R) took issue with Biden's "un-American" comment after the press conference, and argued Biden must simply not fully understand Georgia's voting bill. Kemp is expected to sign the newly passed bill into law shortly. Summer Meza
-
August 30 editorial cartoonsCartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Donald Trump's role reversal and King George III
-
5 bullseye cartoons about the reasons for mass shootingsCartoons Artists take on gun worship, a price paid, and more
-
Lisa Cook and Trump's battle for control the US FedTalking Point The president's attempts to fire one of the Federal Reserve's seven governor is represents 'a stunning escalation' of his attacks on the US central bank
-
RFK Jr. names new CDC head as staff revoltSpeed Read Kennedy installed his deputy, Jim O'Neill, as acting CDC director
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich throwerSpeed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
White House fires new CDC head amid agency exodusSpeed Read CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after butting heads with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official saysSpeed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judgesSpeed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policingSpeed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa CookSpeed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates
-
Abrego released from jail, faces Uganda deportationSpeed Read The wrongly deported Kilmar Abrego García is expected to be detained at an ICE check-in and deported to Uganda
