Having had a chance to more fully digest this bill, here are my thoughts:
First of all, I agree that the outrage is more than a bit much. Many of the biggest changes are fairly reasonable, even if I disagree both with their content and motive. It’s not Jim Crow to require that people voting absentee have a reasonable way of identifying themselves. I don’t agree that there was widespread voter fraud, but I don’t see why the specific requirements outlined in the bill aren’t at least palatable.
I do not like the reduction in drop boxes for absentee ballots, but don’t personally believe it to be overly impactful when there isn’t a pandemic. This also applies to any further ID requirements for absentee ballots. Last year was an unprecedented situation, and future elections needn’t look like them in the future. I’d like it if there weren’t a decrease in the ability to vote this way, with fewer boxes and less time to request one, but it’s not typically a big deal.
I don’t care for the food or water rule, even if that’s been overblown to an extent. I still deeply contend that voting in a major population center needs to be easier with more polling places and more flexibility in where you can vote (something that went the other way in the bill), as the conditions leading to the rule are the real problem.
I really don’t like the idea of creating extra requirements or limits to extensions for polling place. I’m not as pessimistic as some, as I think most judges will do what’s right, but that’s still a concern worth discussing.
My biggest concern is the increased potential of ****ery in the future with some of the changes to the Election Board. The bill itself is not a problem, as most election board matters are benign and cannot meaningfully impact the results of an election, but I am always cautious of any power grabs by a ruling party. The real question on this bill will come in practice if the GOP can suspend elections officials in Democratic areas (or vice versa). It’s a power that doesn’t need to be held by the legislature, and even if it doesn’t become a problem, I just dislike the principle of it.
Overall, the bill isn’t what it was feared to be by people on my side of the aisle. I feel some of the provisions aren’t prudent or necessary, but there are a lot of tricks up state legislatures’ sleeves that are far worse than this. Wisconsin alone did worse than this over the past couple years, and I don’t recall the same focus on them. I suppose you can literally call it voter suppression, as it is slightly more difficult to vote in GA than it was before the bill passed, but it’s hardly VOTER SUPRESSION if that makes sense.
