Common Dreams: ‘Reprehensible Power Grab’: Outrage as Georgia House Passes GOP Bill Restricting Voting Rights

Alexander's remarks were echoed by Aklima Khondoker, Georgia state director at the advocacy group All Voting is Local, who said in a statement that "these new bills are a reprehensible power grab that were rushed through committee and never intended to solve the real issues that plagued our elections like long lines, machine malfunctions, and staffing scarcities." "Georgia voters turned out in November and January, making their voices heard through ballot drop boxes, expanded absentee voting, and increased early voting hours," added Khondoker. "That increased access empowered voters to change Georgia's political landscape, and now, the legislature is trying to ensure it never happens again. Georgians must have the freedom to vote in the way that works best for them."

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There Are A Lot Of Voting Bills In The Georgia General Assembly. Here’s What You Need To Know.

Fair Fight has joined with other voting rights groups, including All Voting is Local, in forming the Election Protection Coalition to continue to organize support against the Republican-backed bills. Aklima Khondoker, the Georgia state director for All Voting is Local, said there has been no evidence of the fraud these bills are purported to address. “The most concerning part is that these bills appear to all be politically motivated, as opposed to being motivated by making the process of voting easier for voters and more beneficial for election workers. What these bills will do is suppress voter access and depress turnout,” Khondoker said.

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After Series of Democratic Victories, Rights Advocates Blast Georgia GOP for ‘Brazenly Trying to Silence Voters’

"Georgia Republican lawmakers are brazenly trying to silence voters through House Bill 531, which includes deliberate restrictions on early voting, absentee voting, and ballot drop boxes," declared Aklima Khondoker, Georgia state director of All Voting Is Local Action, a campaign of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. "This is a desperate attempt to solidify their own power by silencing others," Khondoker said in a statement Friday. "Despite a global pandemic and repressive legislative attempts to block access to the ballot, record numbers of Georgians voted in 2020 using every method available, and now that accessibility is under attack." "This bill targets all Georgians, and particularly punishes low-income voters, people in rural communities, the elderly, and religious communities of color," she added. "It's critical that lawmakers reject this alarming legislation that aggressively limits voting in communities that have long suffered diminished access to the ballot.

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