Georgia Governor Brian Kemp (R-GA) signed a sweeping election reform bill into law on Thursday that aims to crack down on fraud by bolstering voter identification requirements and tightening restrictions on mail-in voting. Kemp said that the bill will ensure that elections in the Peach State are “secure, fair and accessible.”
The legislation triggered an uproar of outrage from Democrats who claim that the reforms are representative of “voter suppression.” Democrat activist Stacey Abrams, who lost to Kemp in 2018 and still has not formally conceded, likened the legislation to Jim Crow laws and argued that voting access will be compromised.
Georgia Republicans want to hide their shameful actions from public scrutiny. It’s Jim Crow in a suit + tie: cutting off access, adding restrictions, encouraging more “show me your papers” actions to challenge a citizen’s right to vote. Facially neutral but racially targeted. 2/
— Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) March 25, 2021
Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) piled onto the outrage about the reforms, and claimed that Kemp is “sitting in Stacey Abrams’ chair.”
The Republican who is sitting in Stacey Abrams’ chair just signed a despicable voter suppression bill into law to take Georgia back to Jim Crow. The Senate must pass the #ForThePeople Act and John Lewis Voting Rights Act immediately – our democracy is at stake tonight. https://t.co/xDolZO9Bf3
— Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) March 26, 2021
In reality, Abrams lost to Kemp by a substantial margin of nearly 55,000 votes. There is no proof that voter suppression was responsible for Abrams' loss.