Group applauds Georgia voters for turning out in force amid myriad restrictive barriers stemming from Georgia Republicans' anti-voting bill SB 202

ATLANTA Fair Fight today released a statement celebrating the re-election of Reverend Raphael Warnock to the U.S. Senate. The national voting rights organization applauded Georgia voters for turning out for a second statewide runoff election–and fourth federal election–in two years, all amid myriad new barriers and restrictions on voting.  

This turbulent election was a choice between moral clarity and egotistical ambition, said Fair Fight Executive Director Cianti Stewart-Reid.  Georgia voters were able to cut through the noise and see past the demagoguery to re-elect a public servant who from politics to the pulpit has devoted his career to fighting on behalf of Georgians from all walks of life. Fair Fight congratulates Senator Warnock on his hard-won victory and applauds our fellow voters, organizers, and Georgians for their tireless efforts on behalf of our democracy.

After Georgia voters made history in the 2020 General Election and 2021 Runoff turning out in record numbers to elect the state's first Black and Jewish U.S. Senators Georgia Republicans responded by passing a sweeping voter suppression bill, SB 202. SB 202 severely restricted access to the ballot box and placed significant new burdens on voters by shortening voting windows, restricting mail voting, and erecting barriers specifically designed to make it harder for Black, brown, and young Georgians to cast their ballots.  

In the face of Georgia Republicans' ongoing voter suppression from the severely truncated runoff Early Vote window to attempts to block Saturday voting the historic turnout that led to Senator Warnock's re-election is further proof of Georgia voters' determination to elect leaders who reflect their values, said Cianti Stewart-Reid.  This victory is also a testament to the necessity of long-term investment in Southern grassroots organizing, and the result of years of tireless work by Black-led organizations across Georgia to ensure all eligible voters are able to register to vote, cast their ballots, have them counted, and make their voices heard. SB 202 also cut the statewide runoff period by more than half, and reduced mandatory Early Voting from three weeks to just five days thereby giving organizers less time to engage voters, burdening poll workers who already lack the resources and support they need to do their important work, and providing voters with half as much time to get to the polls.

Georgia also remains one of only two states in the country to require candidates meet a 50% +1 threshold in order to avoid a runoff a lamentable holdover from the Jim Crow era.  It is not a coincidence that the December 6th runoff is the second major election in a row where Georgians have been forced to carve out time to cast their ballots in just a few short weeks, said Stewart-Reid. Georgia's runoff threshold is a living relic of institutional racism, and the shortened runoff and early voting period only further burdens voters who already face the greatest barriers to the polls.

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