| ATLANTA — Today, during oral arguments before the Supreme Court, Republican counsel Michael Carvin admitted that out-of-precinct ballot disqualification rules — like those in Georgia’s HB 531 — were about preventing Republicans from being “at a competitive disadvantage relevant to Democrats” because “politics is a zero-sum game” — not protecting ballot security. Listen Transcript: Justice Amy Coney Barrett: “I’m interested in knowing why the RNC is in the case. So, you know, the DNC had standing and the District court said that it had standing to challenge the out-of-precinct policy because the policy placed a greater imperative on Democratic organizations to educate their voters and because the policy harmed its members who would have voted out-of-precinct. What’s the interest of the Arizona RNC here in keeping, say, the out-of-precinct ballot disqualification rules on the books?” GOP lawyer Michael Carvin: “Because it puts us at a competitive disadvantage relevant to Democrats. Politics is a zero-sum game.” Carvin’s comments come just after Georgia House Republicans just yesterday forced HB 531 through their chamber on a party-line vote, which in addition to its provisions leading to longer lines and more restrictive rules for absentee ballots would also throw out legally cast votes that were cast out-of-precinct. Now, Republican lawyers are openly admitting in court that these provisions have nothing to do with the security of the vote, but instead are about disenfranchising voters and rewriting election rules for themselves. “After months of trying to hide behind conspiracy theories and fake voter fraud claims, Republicans just blurted out the real reason for their unconstitutional, racially-targeted voter suppression push in Georgia and around the country: they want to win at all costs, regardless if they trample on their fellow Americans’ constitutional right to vote,” said Fair Fight Action CEO Lauren Groh-Wargo. “This admission is more proof of what we know: these voting “reform” bills aren’t about ‘election security’ or preserving the integrity of the ballot box — they’re about trying to overturn the results of the last election. We need all hands on deck to stop these bills in the state as well as federal action now, via HR 1 and HR 4 to restore voting rights protections at the federal level and fight back against these anti-voting assaults on our democracy.” ### | |
