FEBRUARY 16 — Republican lawmakers in battleground states are rushing to enact stricter voting laws that Democrats worry could dampen Black and Hispanic turnout, but the moves could end up backfiring because of the changing face of the GOP coalition.
Written by Ryan Teague Beckwith
“Voting laws in Georgia have long been a source of contention. A report from the ACLU of Georgia released last fall found that 198,000 voters removed from the voting rolls had not actually moved, with purges higher among younger people and minorities. The ACLU and other groups are suing the state.
But Kathleen Unger, president of the nonpartisan voter ID assistance group VoteRiders, said that the new proposals sweep up a different set of voters.
She said the photocopied ID requirement would be particularly onerous for people who don’t have a valid photo ID or easy access to a copy machine or a printer. That would include many rural, lower-income and older voters — three groups that are now a big part of the Republican base — as well as those with disabilities and college students who lean Democratic.”
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