The most harmful are HB 1207 and SB 189

ATLANTA – Yesterday, Georgia’s 2024 Legislative Session ended with the passage of harmful election bills that will burden our county election offices and make it harder for Georgians to vote in the 2024 election.

HB 1207 gives election superintendent’s discretion to have fewer voting machines than the minimum of 250 per elector in each county, discriminates against noncitizens by prohibiting them from working at the polls and codifies increased access for poll watchers.

HB 189 is another omnibus elections bill that was combined with HB 976 and ushered through the legislature at the eleventh hour. This bill would require unhoused voters to use the county registrars’ office as their mailing address, making it harder for them to practically receive mail and add another burden for county offices, open the door for even more mass voter challenges by expanding the criteria to sustain them, allow for all paper ballots to be used in some elections, tighten the timeline that election offices have to county absentee ballots, and add new and unnecessary chain of custody procedures. 

Now these bills are headed to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law. 

In response, Anne-Gray Herring, policy analyst of Common Cause Georgia issued the following statement:

“These election bills do nothing to help Georgia voters. Instead, they add unnecessary burdens on an already safe and secure voting process. These bills will make it harder, not easier to vote in Georgia.

“The legislature ignored the input of election directors from across the state about these provisions and how it would impact their ability to conduct elections, continuing their pattern of imposing unfunded mandates in the name of solving problems that do not exist. 

“We oppose these bills and the burdensome impact they will have on voters and election workers. We urge the Governor to veto these bad election bills that will only cause more harm to Georgia voters.”

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