Georgia’s new “election integrity” law has gained a notable — and unexpected — critic: Donald Trump.
In two separate statements, the former president criticized the law for not doing enough to combat voter fraud and Georgia officials for not pushing for stronger legislation.
Trump’s first statement, issued on April 5, decried the law as “watered-down” and stated: “Too bad the desperately needed election reforms in Georgia didn’t go further, as their originally approved Bill did, but the Governor and Lt. Governor would not go for it.” Trump went on to criticize the lack of “Signature Matching and many other safety measures.”
In a statement the following day, Trump again blasted the bill as “far too weak and soft to ensure real ballot integrity.” He then elaborated on the bill’s problems:
Election Day is supposed to be Election Day, not Election Week or Election Month. Far too many days are given to vote. Too much “mischief” can happen during this very long period of time. You saw that in the 2020 Presidential Election. How’s Ruby Freeman doing?
Governor Brian Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State should have eliminated no-excuse, widespread mass Mail-In Voting, gotten rid of the dangerous and unsecure Drop-Boxes, and should have kept and EXPANDED Signature Verification to do matches against the historical voter file, among other things! Hope the RINOs are happy.
Ruby Freeman, mentioned in the president’s statement, was an election worker in Georgia who was filmed alongside others engaging in alleged election fraud. The incident illustrated the necessity of robust pro-integrity voting laws.
Trump ended his second statement by pointing out the futility of caving to the Left:
Kemp also caved to the radical left-wing woke mob who threatened to call him racist if he got rid of weekend voting. Well, he kept it, and they still call him racist!
The Georgia Law
Trump’s statements are backed by the Georgia bill’s text and legislative history.
As The New American previously reported, the bill — Senate Bill 202 — actually worsens Georgia’s election laws in certain respects.
For example, the bill expands the number of early weekend voting days. Previously, counties were required to offer at least one day of early weekend voting. However, the bill changes that to two, while giving counties the option of offering an additional two days. Not only is this contrary to The John Birch Society’s list of pro-integrity voting solutions, but Georgia Republicans abandoned a previous bill version to reduce the number of early voting days.
Additionally, the bill institutionalizes ballot drop boxes. As page 5 of the bill admits, drop boxes were only adopted in 2020 by a unilateral State Election Board decree. This provision essentially amounts to legislative legalization of a formerly illegal practice.
Furthermore, the bill includes multiple provisions restricting poll watching. It does this by limiting who can qualify to be a poll watcher and making it harder for them to document fraud, should they see it occurring.
In another example of capitulation to the Left, Georgia’s legislative leaders abandoned a proposal to prohibit no-excuse absentee voting. This puts a damper on the bill’s positive inclusion of a photo ID requirement to receive an absentee ballot.
Conclusion
As Trump noted in his second statement, the Left smeared and attacked Governor Kemp and other Georgia Republicans even after they watered down the bill to appease its critics. This illustrates why capitulation to the Left is a futile exercise.
It is a good sign that Trump is speaking out against ineffective “election integrity” bills, such as Georgia’s S.B. 202. If legislators actually want to ensure accurate and secure elections, they will heed his advice.
