Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger joined fellow Republicans on Wednesday, calling for an end to allowing all voters in the state to submit absentee ballots without justifying why they cannot vote in person.
Many states introduced “no excuse” absenteeism votes in 2020 so that voters could avoid crowds at polling stations during the coronavirus pandemic, even though Georgia has had it for 15 years. Following the high voter turnout and the tumultuous aftermath of the 2020 election, Raffensperger backed eliminating the practice at a Georgia House hearing.
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“The no-excuse system that was passed into law in 2005 – long before most of you, if not all of you, long before I was in the General Assembly – it makes no sense if we have three weeks of personal early voting available , “said Raffensberger.” It opens the door to potentially illegal voting, especially in light of federal rules that deny us the ability to keep voter lists and registration files clean.
Raffensberger also noted that it creates logistical problems that everyone can vote through an absence vote.
In addition to changing the default for who can vote absent, Raffensberger also called for imposing a voter ID requirement for absent ballots instead of the current signature matching system, which could be subjective.
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The suggestions to improve election security came immediately after Raffensberger claimed that most allegations of voter fraud in the November election were invalid. He opened the hearing by saying that while “there are real, substantive questions,” “the vast majority of allegations we’ve seen online and in the media, and even discussed in the halls of the Capitol, are simply unfounded. “
When asked why Raffensberger’s office wanted to eliminate absenteeism voting, General Counsel to Secretary of State Ryan explained Germany, “It’s harder to instill confidence in that process.”
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To date, voters in Georgia have applied for more than 1.3 million absentee ballots for the January 5 Senate elections, while 1.2 million people have voted early.
Republicans in the Georgia State Senate have said they will push for this change, as well as the requirement of voter identification for absentee ballots, after President Trump narrowly lost the state by less than 12,000 votes. According to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, President-elect Joe Biden received nearly 850,000 votes in his absence, compared to just over 450,000 for Trump.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.