The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on voting reform, entitled “Jim Crow 2021: The Latest Assault on the Right to Vote.” Democrats brought Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) and former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (D) to testify before the committee and speak out against the newly-signed voting reform bill.
Warnock claimed that the bill makes clear that “some people don't want some people to vote,” insinuating that Republicans targeted communities of color with the voting reforms.
Sen. Warnock: "The truth is, politicians—in their crave and lust for power—are willing to sacrifice our democracy by using the 'big lie' as a pretext for their true aim: some people don't want some people to vote." pic.twitter.com/83XgQVAtHF
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) April 20, 2021
WATCH: Sen. Warnock spent the last several minutes telling numerous lies about Georgia's new election reforms, but then said we shouldn't actually look at the specifics of those reforms: pic.twitter.com/WWlIGrYx6f
— John Cooper (@thejcoop) April 20, 2021
The bill signed by Governor Brian Kemp (R-GA) expands accessibility to the ballot box while implementing measures to deter election fraud, including voter identification mandates. Democrats liken these provisions to "voter suppression." Republican ranking member Chuck Grassley (R-IA) criticized Democrats' "baseless" claims of suppression.
“Baseless claims of voter suppression are just as corrosive to our democracy as baseless claims of voter fraud. We should all be committed to making elections accessible and secure to maintain the confidence of voters,” he said.
Grassley also criticized the "economic terrorism" committed by corporations boycotting Georgia in protest of the new law. Warnock encouraged the devastating boycotts that ultimately cost Georgia $100 million in lost revenue.
?????? from @ChuckGrassley: "There's an organized campaign started to make big business punish the people of Georgia for their political choices. . . When partisans and companies collude to ruin the livelihood of their opponents, there's a term for that: it's economic terrorism." pic.twitter.com/PCtV4XGnou
— Heritage Action (@Heritage_Action) April 20, 2021
Abrams also continued to spread falsehoods at the committee's hearing by claiming that voter identification requirements prevents minority voters from having access to the ballot box. She then claimed that the law eliminates "access to a mandatory weekend voting day," when, in fact, the law expands early voting and mandates increased weekend-voting options. State-issued identification cards mandated for voting are also free to all residents.