When Vice President Kamala Harris travels to Atlanta on Tuesday to meet with voting rights advocates, she’s likely to hear an earful from Georgia Democrats and their allies who are at a low point in their fight to expand ballot access.
They have suffered a string of legal setbacks, including a recent ruling that found mass challenges to voters’ eligibility in Georgia didn’t violate federal law and another that allowed GOP-drawn political maps that preserved Republican majorities.
State Republican leaders could seek significant changes to Georgia voting laws ahead of the November vote, as efforts could be in the works to end no-excuse absentee voting, allow new probes of Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and tighten ballot processing procedures.
And Congress has blocked a federal voting rights bill that President Joe Biden and Harris have long championed, and there’s no sign the standstill over the legislation is breaking.
For Biden and Harris, the visits to Georgia and other political battlegrounds are part of an opening 2024 campaign swing that aims to energize Black voters who helped fuel their 2020 victory even as key parts of their “racial equity” platform have yet to pass.
Credit: Natrice Miller
Credit: Natrice Miller
Still, to many activists — including some who plan to join Harris at the Gathering Spot on Tuesday — the failure to pass new federal voting protections represents unfulfilled promises.
Some also hope to use her visit to encourage more attention and investment in Georgia, one of a handful of competitive states on the 2024 electoral map.
Biden was the first Democrat to capture the state since 1992, but his narrow 2020 victory depended on a tenuous coalition of liberals, swing voters, independents and disaffected Republicans.
Stacey Abrams, a voting rights advocate and two-time gubernatorial candidate, said Harris’ visit marks another sign that Georgia is “ground zero for assaults on voting rights” amid legal challenges to the Voting Rights Act.
“The White House recognizes this new dynamic, and they refuse to relent to those who would pretend to care about the freedom to fully participate in our democracy,” she said.
Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
“We welcome the continued focus on Georgia and our voices. Our state’s threshold for defending voters must be higher than simply not committing treason.”
Republicans accused Harris and other Democrats of using “dangerous and inflammatory rhetoric” to incite fears about Georgia’s voting law, including a 2021 overhaul that restricts drop boxes, requires additional forms of ID for absentee voting and shortens absentee ballot application deadlines.
“But since we know Democrats are only interested in lawfaring their way to victory in a state that is clearly moving toward Republicans,” state GOP Chair Josh McKoon said, “I expect her to use more of the dishonest, irresponsible language we have endured for the last decade.”
‘Round and round’
It’s far from the first time Biden or Harris have trekked to Georgia to focus on voting rights. In 2022, Biden used a speech in Atlanta to unequivocally endorse rolling back the filibuster in the U.S. Senate to advance federal voting rights legislation.
And last year, when Biden became the first sitting president to deliver a Sunday sermon at Ebenezer Baptist Church, he framed the protection of ballot access as part of a broader pledge to “redeem the soul of America.”
Biden enters 2024 in a precarious political position. The latest Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll shows Biden in a tight race in a potential rematch against former President Donald Trump and his top GOP rivals, echoing national surveys.
Republicans have promised to pour tremendous resources into Georgia, which they consider a must-win to recapture the White House in November, and they have stepped up voter outreach initiatives in hopes of surpassing the Democratic mobilization efforts.
State Rep. Saira Draper, who once led the state Democratic Party’s voting rights arm, said the stalled federal voting measures raise the importance of the Biden-Harris campaign to invest “fully” in Georgia voter infrastructure.
“Georgia organizers did more with less in 2020. Compared with many other battleground states, Georgia received a fraction of the voter protection resources provided by the campaign,” said Draper, who succeeded Abrams in the Georgia House. “But the landscape has changed since 2020, and anything short of full support by the Biden-Harris campaign in Georgia won’t cut it.”
While senior Democrats say they’re confident Biden’s standing will strengthen when the Republican nominee is determined, they often acknowledge they need to sharpen their outreach to liberal voters.
Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com
Credit: Natrice Miller / Natrice.Miller@ajc.com
“The polls will go up and down, round and round, and they will change. We have work to do,” said U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, who chairs the state Democratic Party. “Until people understand they’re reaping the benefits coming directly from the Biden-Harris agenda, we haven’t completed our job.”
Draper said she’s particularly worried about the long-serving local election officials who are leaving office, along with the strain from mass voting challenges poses on beleaguered staffers.
“Democrats still have the time to mount the movement needed to make voting accessible to Georgians,” she said. “But the extra challenges posed this cycle will require maximum campaign support.”
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