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Georgia poised to join Florida with Republican-backed law to police elections -Breaking

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© Reuters. As voters queue up to vote in the U.S. Senate race-off, a sign can be seen at Marietta, Georgia. This was on January 5, 2021. REUTERS/Mike Segar

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Joseph Ax

(Reuters). -Republican Georgia lawmakers were set to push a bill that expands law enforcement’s powers to investigate election corruption on Tuesday. It adds to a wider push by U.S. Conservatives for stricter voting laws in response to former President Donald Trump’s false claims about the 2020 election being rigged.

Georgia’s House of Representatives was scheduled to vote on the legislation late on Tuesday, less than a week after Florida’s Republican-controlled legislature approved a law creating a new election police force, the first of its kind in the nation.

Voting rights advocates and Democrats in both state claim the legislation is meant to appease Trump’s supporters, even though election fraud in the United States is very rare.

These new laws are also said to result in voter intimidation for persons of color and a false pretense that politicians can undermine the results of the elections.

Stephanie Ali, the policy director of New Georgia Project Action Fund (a group that advocates for voting rights, said, “It doesn’t have to involve billy clubs.” This is just a way of stopping people from voting in the exact same manner that they have always done in this country.

On Tuesday, a coalition of groups, including Fair Fight Action (the voting group created by Democratic candidate Stacey Abrams), announced that they would be opposing the Georgia bill with a campaign totaling nearly $1.5million.

Georgia and Florida had already passed sweeping voting restrictions last year, part of a wave of such legislation among Republican-controlled states.

Georgia’s newly passed law would give the Georgia Bureau of Investigation the legal authority (and subpoena) to investigate allegations of election fraud. According to current law, the investigation of claims of electoral and voting irregularities is first done by the state election board or secretary of state.

Trump criticised Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger as well as Governor Brian Kemp for not overturning the state election results. Trump falsely claims they were marred by fraud. Trump has supported both of the incumbents in their bid to be reelected this year.

The bill would be signed by Kemp if both the Georgia House of Representatives and Senate approve it.

Kemp spokesmen said that they do not comment about pending legislation. James Burchett is the Georgia bill’s sponsor. He did not return an email requesting comment.

OTHER STATES CAN FOLLOW

Florida’s new bill establishes an Office of Election Crimes and Security. It is an executive branch of Republican Governor Ron DeSantis.

The legislation also calls on the Governor to appoint Florida Department of Law Enforcement sworn officers as special agents to investigate election crime.

This will enable the Department of State to investigate a variety of possible illegal activities. A spokesperson for the Department of State said that this includes threats to election officials and forged signatures on petitions.

Trump ally DeSantis is seen widely as the top candidate for 2024 and has declared that the law will increase public trust in elections.

Christina Pushaw, DeSantis’ press secretary, stated that “allocating sufficient resources to prevent fraud and ensure our electoral laws are enforced should be not controversial or politicized.” She also said that Governor DeSantis plans to sign it.

However, Mark Earley (Leon County Supervisor of Elections), the new president of the state’s association of election supervisors said that the legislation supports the notion of voter fraud being a real problem.

Earley stated that “Senate Bill 524″ doesn’t really serve any purpose in meeting the needs of Florida voters.” “The context is clear – there’s a massive disinformation campaign across the nation, and this bill plays right into that.”

Numerous courts and election officials across the nation have found no basis for Trump’s fraudulent claims. The former president insists that the 2020 election victory of President Joe Biden was fraudulent, but polls indicate that a large number of Republican voters agree with him.

A handful of lawmakers from other states have also proposed bills to increase investigation into election fraud. According to Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law however, the prospects of their passage remain uncertain.

Arizona’s Republican legislator tried to establish a new investigation agency for election frauds, but it was rejected by the committee.

According to Wendy Weiser who is the Brennan Center’s director of democracy, some states like Texas have spent more resources on prosecuting electoral cases even though there has not been any new legislation.

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