Georgia’s New Election Law Versus Biden’s Lies
– By Howard Sierer –
Pres. Biden is taking a page from Donald Trump’s playbook: he’s telling bald-faced lies, in this case about Georgia’s new election law. He’s called the law “outrageous,” “un-American” and “Jim Crow in the 21st Century.” He joined the radical left in forcing Major League Baseball to move its July All-Star game out of Atlanta despite the objections of the local Atlanta Braves.
The liberal Washington Post awarded Biden four “Pinocchios” for his lies. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution slammed the law, but nonetheless had to post an apology for claiming voting hours had been changed: “Nothing in the new law changes those rules.”
Unswayed by facts, most of the Democrats’ left-wing media lapdogs are repeating Biden’s blatantly false claims and he’s being supported by CEOs of some of America’s largest companies, anxious to signal their virtue. Ironically, these companies are being disparaged by the extreme left for having donated heavily to Georgia’s Republican legislators and then changing their tunes only after the law was enacted.
Compare Biden’s lies with the facts.
He stated that Georgia’s Republican legislature “ended voting at 5 o’clock when working people are just getting off work.” Georgia’s polling hours are unchanged: 7 AM to 7 PM.
Biden claimed there would be “no absentee ballots.” False: Any registered voter can request to vote by mail for any reason rather than waiting for Election Day.
Georgia did change its process for counting absentee ballots. The new law eliminates the requirement for counties to rely on signatures on absentee ballots, a process subject to errors in judgment or worse, fraud.
Instead, the state now requires absentee voters to provide their driver’s license number or the number from their free, state-issued ID card or a military or tribal ID card. Even a Social Security number or a copy of a “current utility bill, bank statement, government check, or paycheck” is allowed. Matching numbers is far easier and far more reliable than matching signatures.
This seems to be the principal rationale for the claim that Georgia’s law is racist: providing ID is claimed to create a “disparate impact” on minorities. Do those opposing voter ID also believe that minorities should be able to cash a check or apply for a job or government benefits without an ID?
Voter ID requirements are popular with the public. A recent Associated Press poll found that 72 percent of the public favors a photo ID for voters, including 91 percent of Republicans and 56 percent of Democrats.
Biden’s third lie: “You cannot bring water to people standing in line waiting to vote.”
Georgia, like most states, has a longstanding law prohibiting electioneering within 150 feet of polling places or within 25 feet of voters standing in line. The new law eliminates the partisan practice of walking up to voters in line to provide free food and drink to them as they wait and, in the process, reminding them which party is supplying the goodies. Instead, election officials are allowed to provide water to any voter waiting in line who asks for it.
The stunning aspect of all this is that Georgia’s new law is less restrictive than laws long on the books in many other states. Take Biden’s home state of Delaware as an example.
Unlike Georgia, Delaware is one of 16 states that don’t allow no-excuse mail-in absentee voting, restricting the practice to those meeting specific criteria.
For the first time in its history and like many states in response to the pandemic, Georgia provided drop boxes for early ballots. With the pandemic in the rear-view mirror, the new law specifies a fewer number of drop boxes for future elections, a target for criticism. Yet Georgia will have twice as many drop boxes per 100,000 voters as does Delaware.
Both Georgia and Delaware require some form of identification at the polls although Georgia provides a state ID card for non-drivers at no cost; Delaware does not.
Georgia added an additional Saturday for in-person early voting with counties setting the hours. Contrary to Biden’s lies, Georgia Public Broadcasting says, “For most counties, you will have an extra weekend day, and your weekday early voting hours will likely be longer.”
Georgia makes it easy for its voters to cast ballots early either by mail or in person, accommodating those with conflicts on election day. As a result, 80 percent of Georgia’s votes last fall were cast early while in Delaware only 29 percent were.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp called the new law’s detractors to task, saying they “ignore the content of the new law, and unfortunately continue to spread the same false attacks.”
I’m reminded of Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s famous observation, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not his own facts.” For those encouraging this modern-day equivalent of a lynching, their opinions are far more important to them than are the facts.
Viewpoints and perspectives expressed throughout The Independent are those of the individual contributors. They do not necessarily reflect those held by the staff of The Independent or our advertising sponsors. Your comments, rebuttals, and contributions are welcome in accordance with our Terms of Service. Please be respectful and abide by our Community Rules. If you have privacy concerns you can view our Privacy Policy here. Thank you!
Click here to submit an article, guest opinion piece, or a Letter to the Editor
