Critics: GOP Measures Target Black Voter Turnout In Georgia

A voter drops a ballot off during early voting in October in Athens. After record turnout led to stunning GOP losses in the once reliably red state, Republican lawmakers are forging ahead with an aggressive slate of voting legislation that critics argue is tailored toward curtailing the power of Black voters.

John Bazemore / Associated Press

Fueled by Black turnout, Democrats scored stunning wins in Georgia in the presidential and U.S. Senate races. Now, Republicans are trying to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

GOP lawmakers in the once reliably red state are rolling out an aggressive slate of voting legislation that critics argue is tailored to curtail the power of Black voters and undo years of work by Stacey Abrams and others to increase engagement among people of color, including Latino and Asian American communities.

The proposals are similar to those pushed by Republicans in other battleground states: adding barriers to mail-in and early voting, major factors in helping Joe Biden win Georgia’s 16 Electoral College votes and Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff take the two Senate seats that gave Democrats control of the chamber.