Democrats will hold a voting rights discussion with Georgia voters this weekend ahead of a formal U.S. Senate committee hearing on the issue Monday.
Voting rights activist and potential gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota will meet with voters Sunday to “hear about the obstacles they have faced when voting and discuss the urgent need to protect voting rights,” according to a press notice. The event will be held at the Smyrna Community Center, where the announcement says voters waited for hours during the November election. The event is not open to the public, though it will be open to the media.
Sunday’s roundtable discussion precedes a Monday morning meeting of the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration — chaired by Klobuchar — on “protecting the freedom to vote” in Georgia. That hearing will feature testimony from Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock and others.
Democrats from President Joe Biden on down have blasted Georgia’s Senate Bill 202, which imposes new voter identification requirements for absentee ballots and other measures critics say will adversely affect many voters of color. The law has sparked numerous lawsuits, including one filed last month by the U.S. Justice Department.
Republicans say the law is not discriminatory and is a response to legitimate concerns about election security. They say the criticisms are intended to motivate Democratic voters for future elections.
U.S. Senate hearing on Monday
The Senate Rules Committee will hold a field hearing at 10 a.m. July 19 at the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta. Details and livestream link.
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