By Jack McEvoy
Georgia’s early voter turnout for the November midterm elections broke the state’s early voting record Thursday; Despite this, President Joe Biden and other Democrats previously declared that the state’s election laws resembled “Jim Crow” era restrictions.
After the polls opened Monday, 434,567 Georgians voted early and 38,235 of those individuals voted absentee as of Thursday, exceeding the 2020 election’s record by almost 24,000 votes, according to the office of Georgia’s Secretary of State. After Georgia passed a law in March 2021 that ramped-up verification procedures and placed restrictions on absentee ballots, Biden said that the new rule was “Jim Crow in the 21st Century” and accused the Georgia Republicans of engaging in voter suppression.
Georgia’s law requires absentee drop boxes to be available in each of Georgia’s 159 counties, but limits the number each county can provide and mandates that boxes must be located inside the county’s election office or early voting locations. Absentee ballots must also be verified by photo ID instead of the previous signature-match verification process.
Biden’s Justice Department filed a legal challenge in response to Georgia’s law in June 2021, stating that the new voting rules were “racially discriminatory.” Nearly 150,000 black individuals have voted so far in Georgia, with the demographic accounting for 34.4% of early voting, according to the University of Florida’s United States Election Project which aggregates state voting records.
However, Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams claimed on Tuesday that the state was still engaging in voter suppression despite its record early turnout, attributing the high early voting numbers to Democratic efforts.
“It does not mean voter suppression doesn’t exist,” Abrams said during a rally. “But we’re stronger, better, and faster than it.”
Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia, who will face off against Republican challenger Herschel Walker on Nov. 8, also alleged that Georgia’s bill targeted minorities’ rights, according to an April press release.
“Some people don’t want some people to vote,” Warnock stated.
The White House, Abrams’ campaign and Warnock did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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