Georgia’s Big Problem with Voter Suppression

The past week has been a much-needed response to the issues in our government and has shone a light on social change and its impact. Between the pandemic and protests, another topic has been floating around- the primary elections. As states have had their elections during all this chaos, as well as some preparing for it, Americans are faced with a clear view of just how flawed the voting system in this country has become. 

Back in 2018, journalist Ari Berman uncovered some questionable moves being made by the Georgia government, citing that  “Georgia had closed 214 polling places... cut back on early voting... purged almost 10 percent of people from its voting rolls” with more than 0ne and a half million people purged from 2012 to 2016. The 2020 primary was no different. That year, Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s office denied about 53,000 voter registrations due to not having an exact name match in the databases- the people it mainly affected? Minorities. About 70% of that total were African American; an obvious scheme to suppress minority votes. 

On June 9th, 2020, Georgia held its primary election and were heavily criticized for their poor management and clear voter suppression tactics. The state election was filled with “ equipment failures... dramatic reduction in the number of polling precincts, voting centers that failed to open on time, insufficient number of paper ballots, [and a] nearly seven-hour lines in many minority communities contrasted with the breeze in whiter, wealthier suburbs.” It was fuel to the fire for a lot of American citizens who are ordering change and an end to the systematic racism African Americans endure in this country. It is a reminder that the work has merely begun and the issue stems from deep within the government and there needs to be a massive overhaul. 

Sources: https://www.npr.org/2018/10/23/659784277/republican-voter-suppression-efforts-are-targeting-minorities-journalist-says

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jun/11/georgia-election-chaos-november

Add caption