Several prominent Democrats are demanding election reform in the form of mail-in voting following an evening of chaos during Georgia’s primary election, contending that the disorderly primary demonstrates the reality of voter suppression.
The primary in the Peach State descended into a state of chaos on Tuesday evening, hallmarked by long lines and broken voting machines, leading to extended voting hours at precincts in Fulton County, as well Gwinnett:
Progressives seized on the situation, attempting to brand it as evidence of a grander Republican scheme to oppress the vote.
“Forcing voters to wait in line for hours in the midst of a pandemic is voter suppression and a threat to our lives,” said the ACLU, which has recently signaled great support for the widespread protests featuring massive groups popping up across the nation:
“What we saw in Georgia was the latest Republican attempt to suppress the vote—and another wake-up call heading into November,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) said on social media.
“We saw it in Wisconsin back in April, and we saw it again yesterday in Georgia,” she continued. “Republicans will stop at nothing to suppress the right to vote—especially for Black communities and communities of color. This is not democracy”:
“#VoterSuppression is happening right now across Georgia, particularly in Black communities. We can’t let this happen in November. Congress must immediately pass my VoteSafe Act,” Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) said, adding “to expand vote-by-mail and early voting, and improve safety at polling places”:
“Republicans like to claim that voter suppression is a ‘myth,'” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said. “This doesn’t look like a ‘myth’ to me.”
“No one in this country should have to wait in line for hours to vote. Our job: fight voter suppression everywhere. Restore the Voting Rights Act. Create a vibrant democracy,” he added:
“Fewer polling locations, 3 hour lines, problems with the voting machines — this is what voter suppression looks like,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) added. “We cannot let this happen in November. Let’s pass my vote by mail bill immediately”:
“What happened in Georgia yesterday was by design,” failed Trump challenger Hillary Clinton assessed. “Voter suppression is a threat to our democracy”:
The Democratic National Committee (DNC) summarized the party’s demands, outlining three of their main agenda items in terms of voting, one of which is vote-by-mail:
As the Hill reported, Tuesday’s elections served as “one of the first major tests for Georgia’s new voting systems, which were bought by the state following a federal ruling last year that required Georgia to phase out paperless voting machines by 2020.”
“Many voting issues on Tuesday stemmed from these new machines, provided as part of a multimillion dollar contract with Dominion Voting Systems,” the outlet noted.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) has since vowed to investigate the matter.
“The voting situation today in certain precincts in Fulton and Dekalb counties is unacceptable,” Raffensperger said in a statement. “My office has opened an investigation to determine what these counties need to do to resolve these issues before November’s election.” He added:
Obviously, the first time a new voting system is used there is going to be a learning curve, and voting in a pandemic only increased these difficulties. But every other county faced these same issues and were significantly better prepared to respond so that voters had every opportunity to vote.
Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA), who is running for Senate, told Fox & Friends on Wednesday that “counties have the responsibility for putting up and setting up their elections as they go, and putting enough voting machines, having enough trained workers … to get that done.”
“It’s concerning to me that it seems like, especially in our metro areas, we seem to have the same problems over and over again,” he added.
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