A year following the passage of Georgia's election integrity legislation, there's been historic turnout so far in 2022 early voting, shattering records in the Peach State despite the so-called "voter suppression" that the Democrats had so gravely warned of. In fact, Georgia's early voting numbers outpace the figures that were seen in the state's 2018 and 2020 elections. Here's a breakdown of the latest voting data and a flashback to the moments when President Joe Biden, woke CEOs, and progressive politicians claimed that such election security reform would threaten America's democracy as we know it. The numbers don't lie but the Democrats surely do.
The Numbers
While the third week of early voting for Georgia's 2022 primary elections marched on, voters were turning out in record numbers across the state. Last week, through Thursday, more than 700,000 residents had early voted in Georgia, an eye-popping 180 percent increase from the same point in the early voting period during the 2018 primary election as well as a commendable 149 percent increase compared to the 2020 primary.
Georgia experienced record-breaking turnout since day one of early voting this year, surging to almost three times the number on the first day of primary voting in 2018 and double that of 2020. In regards to the early in-person count, Georgia witnessed 655,512 voters cast ballots through Thursday, far out-lapping the 234,035 turnout numbers throughout the same day two election cycles ago and the 263,308 in the year 2020, according to data published by the Georgia secretary of state Friday. The data visualization is embedded below:
Then, by the end of Friday, the final day of early voting in Georgia, short lines, easy ballot access, and confidence in ballot security ushered in more than 850,000 residents to cast a ballot in-person or return an absentee ballot. Compared to early-voting turnout in recent Georgia primaries, the amount represented a 168 percent increase over 2018, the year of the last gubernatorial primary, and a 212 percent jump above 2020, the last presidential primary year. The data visualization for that timeline is embedded below:
"The record early voting turnout is a testament to the security of the voting system and the hard work of our county election officials," Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger said in a press release issued Saturday by his office. "The incredible turnout we have seen demonstrates once and for all that Georgia’s Election Integrity Act struck a good balance between the guardrails of access and security."
Increasing turnout was a trend that Raffensperger's office highlighted multiple times since May 2, when early voting for the 2020 Georgia primaries began. The Republican state official touted the findings a total of nine times, each moment citing an uptick in voting Georgians, over the three-week period.
Black voter turnout this primary season is three times higher than it was in 2018, according to the Republican National Committee. Citing cross-referenced voter registration demographic data with early-voting records from the secretary of state, an RNC spokesperson said more than 150,000 black voters had submitted early or absentee ballots as of last Monday, compared with just over 48,000 at the same point in 2018.
Voting rights organization Black Voters Matter's Georgia state coordinator Fenika Miller affirmed the RNC’s statistics, saying data analyzed by the group found a similar jump in black early-voting turnout, according to black-led news outlet Capital B.
The Lies
Biden had painted a picture of a big, bad election-security boogeyman that wants to take your voting rights away, sounding the alarm on what he predicted would be a modern-day return to Jim Crow-era discrimination.
"It is reassuring to see that for-profit operations and businesses are speaking up about how these new Jim Crow laws that are just antithetical to who we are," Biden told reporters at an April 2021 press conference after events and sponsorships were pulled out of Georgia over the state's election security law.
President Biden: "It is reassuring to see that for-profit operations and businesses are speaking up about how these new Jim Crow laws are just antithetical to who we are." pic.twitter.com/4vIi2Akkkb
— The Hill (@thehill) April 7, 2021
It wasn't the first time Biden invoked the segregationist imagery of Jim Crow. In a racial equality-themed speech a week later, Biden doubled down on the historical allusion during remarks at the Rev. Al Sharpton-founded National Action Network's convention, one of the largest civil rights conferences in the country. The president claimed to the virtual audience that parts of the country are "backsliding" to the days of Jim Crow.
Joe Biden continues to spread his big lie that voting laws that vast majorities of Americans support are "backsliding into Jim Crow." pic.twitter.com/LbHwvbtuUA
— MRCTV (@mrctv) April 14, 2021
Rob Manfred on MLB moving the 2021 All-Star Game out of Atlanta:
— Clayton Collier (@ClaytonJCollier) April 2, 2021
“Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box. ... Fair access to voting continues to have our game’s unwavering support.” pic.twitter.com/qxZzVQvUC3
Manfred made the announcement just one day after the season began over mounting pressure to change the location over the GOP-backed election legislation then-signed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp.
Biden told ESPN in an interview that he would "strongly support" the July 13, 2021, game being moved as a reaction to the law that he nicknamed "Jim Crow on steroids."
Un-athletic romance-erotica novelist Stacey Abrams, a voting rights activist running again for Georgia governor after she refused to concede in the 2018 gubernatorial race, endorsed MLB's decision that same day.
"Disappointed @MLB will move the All-Star Game, but proud of their stance on voting rights. GA GOP traded economic opportunity for suppression," Abrams, who's likely never seen a baseball before let alone watched a game, tweeted.
Disappointed @MLB will move the All-Star Game, but proud of their stance on voting rights. GA GOP traded economic opportunity for suppression. On behalf of PoC targeted by #SB202 to lose votes + now wages, I urge events & productions to come & speak out or stay & fight. #gapol
— Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) April 2, 2021
During a July 2021 webinar, Abrams said in an interview with Clinton ally John Podesta that the battle boils down to "a question between democracy and authoritarianism." According to the saber-rattling Georgia Democrat, the southeastern coastal state is "ground zero for this national assault on our right to vote."
Pop soda joined baseball in throwing their two cents in on the political issue and a major airline followed suit.
Facing the threat of boycotts from activists, Atlanta-based brand names like Coca-Cola and Delta Airlines publicly opposed the election security law, regurgitating the same argument that the election integrity legislation would make voting less accessible for black Americans.
"After having time to now fully understand all that is in the bill, coupled with discussions with leaders and employees in the Black community, it’s evident that the bill includes provisions that will make it harder for many underrepresented voters, particularly Black voters, to exercise their constitutional right to elect their representatives. That is wrong," Delta CEO Ed Bastian said in a March 2021 memo to employees.
Here's the link to the memo from the CEO of Delta Airlines about election law changes made by the GOP in Georgia. Ed Bastian says the legislative changes were based on lies about widespread voter fraud in 2020. https://t.co/tEqwY3k2I8 pic.twitter.com/StP0ElwsZX
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) April 1, 2021
Delta had reversed course after it displayed praise for the law in a prior statement via an internal memo leaked by a confidential insider to left-leaning MeidasTouch. Black Voters Matter co-founder LaTosha Brown questioned if the statement was written by Kemp's communications team or "the Grand Wizard of the KKK."
Did Kemp’s communications team or the Grand Wizard of the KKK write this statement @Delta?!
— LaTosha Brown (@MsLaToshaBrown) March 28, 2021
Every news outlet in the world is calling out the voter suppression bill and you are claiming the bill expands access? This is terrible, untrue AND disrespectful!https://t.co/DVChNhP4x9
Coca-Cola chairman and CEO James Quincey echoed Bastian's sentiments, stating at the beginning of April 2021 that the coke-gone-woke company was "disappointed in the outcome of the Georgia voting legislation."
We believe voting is a foundational right in America and access should be broad-based and inclusive. Learn More: https://t.co/Cidf8CyNUb pic.twitter.com/giiAKerkK3
— The Coca-Cola Co. (@CocaColaCo) March 26, 2021
More industry staples answered to the liberal mob.
UPS said to CNBC that it believes "in the importance of the democratic process and supports facilitating the ability of all eligible voters to exercise their civic duty." A Home Depot spokesperson told Fox Business that the home improvement retailer supports "broad voter participation" and that the company will work to guarantee that its "associates, both in Georgia and across the country, have the information and resources to vote."
Publishing ads in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution to "raise awareness around voter suppression" in its campaign to urge legislators and corporate leaders to take action, Black Voters Matter had called on the four Georgia-headquartered companies, among other entities, to denounce the legislation.
Good morning to everyone except corporations who donated to co-sponsors of voter suppression bills. #StandWithGA ???@ATT@cvspharmacy@Aetna@Delta@comcast@SouthernCompany@CocaCola@UPS@HomeDepot@Publix@Verizon@Walmart@Allstate@Walgreens@aflac@lyft@SunTrust@TMobile pic.twitter.com/HaB1RvjWPJ
— Black Voters Matter (@BlackVotersMtr) March 28, 2021
JPMorgan Chase's CEO Jamie Dimon insisted in a statement to CNN that the multinational investment bank believes voting must be "accessible and equitable" as it is "fundamental to the health and future of our democracy." Dimon added that JPMorgan Chase "regularly" encourages its "employees to exercise their fundamental right to vote" and stands "against efforts that may prevent them from being able to do so."
Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a statement to Reuters that "equitable access to voting rights for all people - including our colleagues and dealers in all 50 states - is sacred." While not specifically addressing Georgia's election security law, Farley asserted that the auto manufacturer wanted U.S. lawmakers "to assure everyone who's entitled to vote is able to exercise that freedom."
Big Tech giant Microsoft, which in February of 2021 announced a major investment in Georgia's capital, added its voice to the chorus of complaints when its president Brad Smith alleged that provisions of the law "unfairly restrict the rights of people to vote legally, securely, and safely."
We need laws that ensure that all people can vote legally and securely. There are key aspects of Georgia’s election law that fall short of this mark. We will use our voice and work with others to oppose laws that undermine these rights. https://t.co/j4oE4fLrdT
— Brad Smith (@BradSmi) March 31, 2021
Citi's chief financial officer Mark Mason said in a LinkedIn post he was "appalled by the recent voter suppression" in Georgia.
CITI CFO: “As an American, I am appalled by the recent voter suppression laws passed in the state of Georgia.”$C #georgia https://t.co/6ktCMCzHn3 pic.twitter.com/vZo3frFwWO
— Carl Quintanilla (@carlquintanilla) March 31, 2021
Meanwhile, Patagonia's communications director Tessa Byars said in a press release that America's democracy is "under attack by a new wave of Jim Crow bills that seek to restrict the right to vote," urging American businesses to "use their brands as a force for good in support of our democracy."
The list goes on.
Dozens of black executives also led the mob to pressure their peers in corporate America to push back against the state's election reform. A letter supporting the crusade—championed by Merck & Co chief executive officer Kenneth Frazier and former American Express Co CEO Kenneth Chenault—was signed by 72 black executives from a swath of management fields, including Xerox, Citigroup, and Uber's top brass.
This morning our Chairman & CEO Kenneth C. Frazier appeared on @CNBC taking a stand on Georgia’s restrictive new voting law. pic.twitter.com/P92KbhN1aL
— Merck (@Merck) March 31, 2021
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, made a grandiose declaration at a Zoom signing ceremony attended by Abrams that he would be expanding early voting in his jurisdiction to nine days. To which, Kemp fired back on Twitter that his home state has 17 mandatory days of early voting with two additional optional Sundays, while Murphy fell short with half as much.
Congratulations to the state of New Jersey on now having 9 days of early voting!
— Governor Brian P. Kemp (@GovKemp) March 30, 2021
Georgia has 17 mandatory days of early voting with two additional optional Sundays. https://t.co/bzJAjWuMxb
The Bill
Turns out it was all just fear-mongering ramblings from Washington elites and their corporate cronies versus the power of an informed electorate. The liberal media firestorm that ignited in response had attempted to frighten minority voters but the propagandist language failed to dupe the masses in the long run.
So what did the bill actually do if America is still standing and black voters can still vote? Unlike the falsely dubbed Don't Say Gay bill, the Election Integrity Act of 2021's title can be taken literally: it's about restoring integrity in the election process.
With the backdrop of pandemic-era election procedures, the frenzy surrounding the 2020 presidential election triggered election security-related fears among the state's constituents and elsewhere in America. It was widespread concern that the state's GOP majority took to the Georgia legislature by passing S.B. 202.
Republican lawmakers argued that the sweeping election reform would ensure free and fair elections, securing races in the future while also making it easier to vote by strengthening ID verification and mandating three weeks of early voting with weekend availability. (Democrats have pushed the bizarre and inherently racist claim that the identification requirement itself is racist, implying that black Americans don't know how to acquire IDs when they're required for the most universal activities of adult life like flying, driving, opening bank accounts, and ordering alcohol). As part of a broader ban on handing out money or gifts, the legislation also barred outside actors from passing out food and water to voters standing in line within 150 feet of a polling location.
Not Just Georgia
Georgia isn't just a standalone case study. Wisconsin passed its own election security law in 2011, attracting criticism from the same type of talking heads a decade prior. The state has enjoyed parallel results since, according to the legislation's legacy being touted by former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker on social media Wednesday. Walker said when he signed a photo ID-to-vote law on May 25, 2011, the head of the state's American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) called the measure "unnecessary voter suppression." Later in 2020, more than 70 percent of the eligible voters cast a ballot—that's higher than before the law, Walker noted on Twitter. "We see the same thing in GA. Make it easy to vote, hard to cheat!" Walker tweeted.
When I signed a photo ID to vote law on 5/25/11, the head of WI ACLU called it an “unnecessary voter suppression measure.” In 2020, more than 70% of the eligible voters cast a ballot-higher than before the law. We see the same thing in GA.
— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) May 18, 2022
Make it easy to vote, hard to cheat! https://t.co/rg7m2nCHAT
Texas, which was spurred to pursue its own election integrity law, also exposed an inconvenient truth that Democrats have tried to suppress: that Americans are emboldened to cast a ballot if they're assured that their vote counts. During its early March primary elections, the Lone Star State saw voter turnout that was higher than it was in the last midterm cycle. Back in 2018, there were about 2.6 million votes cast. Compared to 2022, that number increased to over 2.9 million. That doesn't sound like disenfranchised voters as the Democrats fretted about; it looks like more Americans are participating confidently in the democratic process.
