HB 976 passes committee with provisions that further known and debunked election conspiracy theories in service of the Big Lie

Atlanta –  Voting rights in the state of Georgia took another blow after the Georgia Senate Ethics Committee moved HB 976 with new provisions that embrace theories backed by proven election deniers.

Fair Fight Action released a statement condemning the MAGA-backed attack on the freedom to vote in Georgia and called for the anti-voter, anti-democratic bill to die:

“MAGA loyalists in the state senate are ramping up their attacks on our democracy and the freedom to vote. Echoing shameful tactics utilized in the depths of Jim Crow, the bill passed out of committee today makes it even easier for MAGA vigilantes to try to throw hundreds, thousands or even hundreds of thousands of voters off the rolls at once. This kind of activity creates a climate of voter suppression that is far-reaching, and it also jams up election offices, wasting resources and time. In fact- jamming up the election system is part of their stated aim. This bill is unnecessary– there are already robust list maintenance practices to keep our voter rolls up to date, and there is no need to further empower MAGA vigilantes to decide who gets to vote in our state.

MAGA loyalists are picking up this playbook, and we’re seeing this voter suppression strategy expanding across the country to Texas, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Nevada. The conspiracy theorists behind mass challenges will not stop until they guarantee victory for the anti-voter movement over the long term, threatening our very democracy. This bill and practice must die. The people have the power to stop this, and we are ready for the fight.”

The updated version of HB 976 includes provisions that open more pathways to kick voters off of the rolls, including a provision that targets unhoused individuals. It allows right-wing election deniers to use unreliable and inaccurate databases and information from these databases to challenge voters and provisions that could dramatically increase workloads for already overburdened election workers, like requiring them to provide uncertified high-resolution ballot images on demand.  The committee rejected provisions that allowed the State to impose reasonable charges for frivolous challenges and attached requirements to attach challenges to government agency data, rather than unreliable, private databases.

Advocates are urging members of the public to call Rules Committee Chairman Matt Brass at 404-656-0057 and tell him to STOP HB 976.

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