By Michele Chadwick and Sahaily Zazueta
ATLANTA, GA – Georgia House Republicans advanced a bill that would grant the state’s bureau of investigations jurisdiction over election crimes and voter fraud—but critics of the plan say they aren’t so sure about the law.
The Republican majority House last week passed a 39-page bill that would empower the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to search for election code violations.
In doing so, the statewide agency would gain the power to subpoena documents with the attorney general’s consent and conduct audits, without a request from the secretary of state’s office.
Additionally, the bill would restrict nonprofits’ funding of elections.
Milton Kidd, who oversees elections in Douglas County, west of Atlanta, addressed how the more direct involvement by the Bureau of Investigations will deter poll workers and voters from participating in democracy.
“Poll workers … have told me that they have moved away from the election space because they feel like these are actions that are going to come against them… It’s going to have a chilling effect on voters participating in the process because, in most cases, the election issues that the secretary of state has found have been administrative issues. They’re issues that the current mechanism can actually deal with,” Kidd said.
This legislation follows Republicans’ new laws from last year that restricted voting, said critics.
Last March, the law changed to restrict the accessibility of mail-in voting, requiring mail-in voters to include their driver’s license numbers or other documentation to verify their identities, instead of using signature verification.
Drop box locations are restricted to election offices, and early voting locations and the window to request absentee ballots shortened. Additionally, the laws prevent people from distributing food and water to the voters who often wait hours in the heat.
As the bill heads to the state Senate, also with a GOP majority, Fair Fight Action and the New Georgia Project are among the many advocates opposing the bill.
Nsé Ufot, the CEO of the New Georgia Project, said this about the bill: “The way it’s always worked up to this point is that the secretary of state’s office—the people who actually understand the election—they do the initial investigation.”
Georgia Democrats also oppose the bill, stating that greater police involvement in elections could intimidate voters and lead them to fear casting a ballot.
Representative Derek Mallow, a Democrat from Savannah, stated: “The use of threat of law enforcement in elections is not something new and is not conjecture. Members of the majority party are doubling down on voter suppression. … This is another attack on the right to vote.”
Ordinarily, election code violations are overseen by the Elections Division in Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office.
Raffensperger, a Republican, refused to bow to pressure from President Donald Trump to overturn his loss in Georgia in 2020 and has been criticized by Trump allies. The bill from last March removed Raffensperger from chairing the Election Board.
The bill that would allow the Georgia Bureau of Investigations to look into alleged election crimes and voter fraud would also limit the required number of voting machines counties must provide on Election Day by changing the formula for how many machines must be supplied.
Voting rights advocates such as Ufot argue that the change could create long lines at the polls and deter voters.
The bill would also provide new rules dictating how outside groups could provide donations or grants to election workers. It would require groups to request permission before offering donations and require contributions to the State Election Board. These contributions would then be distributed in a “fair and equitable” manner.
The restrictions on funding would impact struggling counties. In 2020, counties applied for and received millions of dollars in grants from organizations to help them run elections during the coronavirus pandemic.
Voting rights advocates warn that these requirements would stop nonprofit organizations from donating food and water to voters waiting in line at the polls and keep counties from much-needed grant money.
The bill would also add restrictions to how ballots are handled before elections and remove the requirement that ballots be sealed for two years after elections. Advocates state that unsealing ballots would make it easier for third-party groups to conduct audits.
In 2021, Trump supporters in Georgia seeking an audit went to court in an attempt to get ballots unsealed. The lawsuit was dismissed after state investigators told the court they did not find any counterfeit ballots.
The bill now advances to the state Senate for final votes before this year’s legislative session concludes April 4.
