Massive Voter Suppression Effort by the GOP Underway

 Because they hate democracy because they can't win any other way. 

Stacey Abrams on twitter:

This week, there is a coordinated attack on voting rights. 

GOP-led legislatures in GA, AZ & NH are pushing dozens of bills to make it harder for people of color & young people to vote. 

We voted in Nov & instead of listening, they are trying to shut us out of the process.   

In GA, SB 241 would end no-excuse vote-by-mail (VBM), risk identity theft of voters + allow the legislature to steal power from state & local election officials. It's one of the worst VBM bills in the nation & part of the largest push to restrict voting rights since Jim Crow. 

GA HB 531 is a direct attack on our communities of faith. It would limit weekend voting, curtailing Souls to the Polls and may create an impossible position for Jewish Georgians who celebrate the Sabbath and vote on Sundays. HB 531 could force counties to raise taxes on working families to cover the $52.7 million needed to implement the bad policies in this bill. Worse, this legislation also blocks counties from accepting critical grant funding, which GOP + Dem counties of all sizes used in 2020. 

Like GA, voters of color drove record turnout in AZ. Last week, the AZ Senate voted to approve SB 1485 to purge the highly-popular Permanent Early Vote List. Advocates estimate this could purge up to 200,000 voters—including 50,000 Latinx voters. 

SB 1068 will shift significant election authority and oversight power from the Arizona Secretary of State (D) and the Attorney General (R) to the partisan state legislature. 

SB 1713 would force Arizona voters to include personal information on their absentee ballot envelopes, increasing the risk of identity theft and making it harder for people to vote by mail.   

SB 1593 would shorten the early voting period and discard ballots not postmarked 5 days BEFORE the election. These blatant efforts will make it harder for Latinx, Native American and young people to participate because they are the most likely to vote early. 

The New Hampshire legislature is hearing HB 531 today. This bill would allow anyone to challenge an eligible citizen’s right to vote by provisional ballot, significantly impacting new Americans by demanding extensive, unnecessary documentation or risk having their voice silenced. 

HB 554 similarly tries to intimidate young people by introducing confusing residency requirements. 

HB 86 effectively bans out-of-state college students from voting, requiring tax-paying students who wish to vote in NH to prove they receive in-state tuition. 

There’s no question about what Republicans in GA, AZ and NH are doing: targeting vulnerable voters who may prevent them from winning & using taxpayers’ dollars to do so—at the expense of working families, small biz + others. Making it hard for us to make it easy for them. 

Georgia, Arizona and New Hampshire voters: we are at an inflection point and it’s going to take ALL of us to advocate for those who the Republicans are trying to silence. 

So here’s what I need you to do: 

If you live and vote in Georgia, contact your state legislator by going to bit.ly/VotingRightsGA and telling them to vote NO on HB 531 and SB 241. 

If you live and vote in Arizona, pick up the phone and call 877-406-6303 to tell your State Senator to vote NO on the suppressive bills SB 1713 and 1593. Stay tuned for how to tell your House Rep to vote NO on SB 1485. 

If you live and vote in New Hampshire, sign your name to the New Hampshire Coalition for Voting Rights petition telling the legislature to reject HB 86, 531 & 554 and additional anti-voter bills. 

These bills in GA, AZ, & NH do more than restrict voting. They also aim to steal power from local boards and state elections officials who did their lawful jobs and instead consolidate power in partisan state legislatures that supported the Big Lie. 

This is why Congress must pass the For the People Act to safeguard critical protections, and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which will re-establish Federal oversight to guard against racial discrimination in voting. Republicans cannot have it both ways. 

They can’t fight for the filibuster and claim Democrats do not respect existing rules, while simultaneously snatching power from election officials in their states so they can change the rules. 

To stay up to date on our efforts to protect the vote in other states, make sure you bookmark https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ZbakSAuONXb63yM2bgPKUW-NMUhTMn-Y4Aq1WzgDiec/edit