The Georgia GOP legislature seeks to imitate the “draconian” electoral legal guidelines of Delaware

When the Delaware Democrats attempt to widen electoral access for citizens, a Georgia Republican lawmaker said he wanted to emulate current First State laws and called them “draconian.”

In a Facebook post last week, which Georgian MP Wes Cantrell described as a “political stunt,” the Metro Atlanta Republican targeted President Joe Biden’s recent comments on Georgia’s new electoral law. The bill was passed late last month.

Biden called the law “un-American” and said it was “Jim Crow in the 21st century”. Other prominent Democrats, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y. – which Cantrell also targeted in the Facebook post – have rejected the reforms.

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Georgia is one of several Republican-controlled states that have or intend to introduce more restrictive voting rules following widespread and largely unfounded allegations of election fraud in the 2020 elections.

At least 47 states had introduced bills restricting electoral access late last month, according to the impartial Brennan Center for Justice at New York University. The four states that have the most bills submitted are Georgia, Arizona, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, all of which went for Biden last year.

In his hilarious Facebook post that raised nearly 1,000 shares on Monday, Cantrell said he intended to name his bill “President Joe Biden Jim Crow on the Steroids Voting Act.”

“Since President Biden appears very concerned about our laws here in Georgia, this law will make Georgia’s electoral laws identical to those of his home state, Delaware,” Cantrell wrote. “As a result, it will have 5 main characteristics.”

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Cantrell’s suggestions

Cantrell’s first proposal is to limit Georgia’s early parliamentary term. Instead of offering almost three weeks, “we’ll have ZERO days to vote, just like DELAWARE!” he wrote.

Currently, Delaware residents cannot vote early, but this will change over the next year. In 2019, the General Assembly passed a law to allow early personal voting in 2022.

The bill allows voters to cast their vote up to 10 days before a general, primary or special election – including the weekend leading up to election day. Democrat David Bentz, who represents Christiana and sponsored the bill, said the extra time to vote would cut long lines and help those who cannot easily travel to the polls on election day.

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Cantrell’s second proposal seeks to free Georgia from apologetic postal voting – a reform legislature in the southern state originally proposed this as part of recently passed law, but later dropped it.

Delaware law requires residents to provide a valid reason; B. sick or disabled to vote absent. State lawmakers changed the requirement in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and are now trying to make it permanent.

In January, Bentz introduced House Bill 75, which was intended to conduct an apologetic absentee ballot. This will likely be the toughest piece of law for Delaware lawmakers to bend, though many other states are already allowing it.

In the Facebook post, Cantrell said he also wanted to emulate Delaware’s policy on ballot boxes – although his suggestion is not entirely correct.

“Instead of having lots of secure Dropboxes in Georgia, there won’t be Dropboxes LIKE DELAWARE!” he wrote.

There are currently Dropboxes in Delaware, but they are located in the county electoral offices. Residents must also submit their ballot to the district office that issued their postal ballot.

In Georgia, all county polling stations must have a drop box, but other polling stations can offer the boxes as well.

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While recent Georgia restrictions are reducing the number in each county – Gwinnett, a metro Atlanta county with a little more residents than the state of Delaware, had 23 dropboxes but is now limited to fewer than 10 – Georgia always has it even more locations than Delaware.

Cantrell’s Facebook post also inaccurately addressed food and water distribution in polls in Delaware.

“Rather than being able to get drinks / groceries from a non-polling officer outside the 150-foot buffer and drinks from a polling officer inside the barrier in Georgia, it’s illegal to get anything of value while you’re in line stands to vote ONLY LIKE DELAWARE! “he said.

As in many states, Delaware law prohibits election campaigning and bribery. However, no mention is made of food and water distribution in the state’s electoral laws.

Cantrell isn’t the only Georgian to falsely claim that Delaware prohibits food distribution. Gabriel Sterling, a senior state election official, said late last month that the Georgia election restrictions “are actually the law in the president’s home state of Delaware.”

The Georgia GOP legislature seeks to imitate the “draconian” electoral legal guidelines of Delaware

Finally, Cantrell said he wanted to mimic Delaware by revealing the names of voters before they cast their ballots.

In Georgia, residents can vote “relatively calmly,” he said. His suggestion is that voters’ names, along with their party affiliation, be announced aloud during a primary, “so that anyone in the district can contest your vote, just like DELAWARE!”

Although much of Cantrell’s post was satirical, the Delaware Democrats have tried to reform state electoral laws, especially the outdated ones.

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The legislature is not only pushing for an excuse-free postal vote, but would also like to allow an automatic voter registration system in the department for motor vehicles.

Senate Bill 5 proposes that anyone who gets a driver’s license with proof of citizenship be automatically registered. They would later be notified by mail where they could then choose their political party.

Another bill, HB 25, would allow voters to vote on the same day as an election. The registration deadline is currently around four weeks in advance. Applicants will need government-issued photo identification and proof of address.

“We’re in a position in Delaware where we’re trying to expand voting rights in really meaningful ways, with most of the headlines these days being states pushing electoral restrictions,” said Dwayne Bensing, legal expert with American Civil Liberties Union of Delaware.

“But in a way, I think Delaware is also trying to catch up with a lot of states.”

Send tips or story ideas to Isabel Hughes at ihughes@delawareonline.com or 302-324-2785. Follow her on Twitter at @izzihughes_ for the latest news