Georgia voters are no stranger to discrimination at the ballot box. Elections offices – like Fulton County – that serve a high percentage of Black voters have been relentlessly targeted by the Trump Administration in efforts to manufacture evidence of fraud in the 2020 presidential election. And the Supreme Court has severely undercut federal protections against voting discrimination, including by gutting the heart of the Voting Rights Act (VRA) in its Shelby County v. Holder decision. The VRA’s “preclearance” provision stopped discrimination before it could occur and protected voters across Georgia from 1965 until the 2013.
Black voters have also been the consistent target of voter suppression efforts in Georgia – such as 2021’s SB 202 , which restricts access to absentee voting, criminalizes providing food and water to voters in line, and imposes burdensome ID requirements, among other anti-democratic measures.
Georgia needs to act now to provide its voters with critical protections against discrimination to create a truly free, fair, and representative multiracial democracy.
The Henry McNeal Turner Voting Rights Act (also known as the Georgia VRA, and filed as SB 536) will act as a crucial safeguard for voters, particularly for those that have faced extensive discrimination in the past: Black and other voters of color, rural, and limited English-speaking voters.
Named for Henry McNeal Turner, the Georgia VRA honors one of Georgia’s foremost civil rights advocates. Turner was one of the first Black state legislators in Georgia after Reconstruction and was expelled by his white colleagues after presenting a floor speech denouncing the legislature’s racist and anti-democratic actions.
This legislation builds on the foundations of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965, as well as successful State Voting Rights Acts enacted in Colorado, Minnesota, Connecticut, New York, Virginia, Washington, Oregon, and California.
The Legal Defense Fund has been on the front lines defending Black Georgia voters from efforts to suppress and dilute their voting power. After Georgia voters turned out in record numbers for the 2020 elections and 2021 runoff elections, state legislators passed SB 202, a sweeping racially discriminatory voting law targeted at restricting access to the ballot for Black voters. With measures that criminalize offering voters food and water, restrict absentee voting, severely limit drop box usage, and impose burdensome identification requirements, SB 202 was designed to disproportionately affect voters of color.
LDF challenged this law in 2021 and obtained rulings in 2023 that lifted some of these illegal restrictions ahead of the 2024 elections. But Georgia voters know that that is likely not the end of the attacks on their right to vote in local, state, and federal elections. Black voters still urgently need protections from the discrimination SB 202 inflicted for years upon Georgians.
The problem goes beyond discriminatory state laws. Black Georgians and other residents of color are dramatically under-represented in local government across the state. Research from the Brennan Center for Justice found that, as of 2023, “the average Georgia county has about half as many people of color on its county commission and school board as would be predicted given its population and school enrollment composition” and that “10 counties where people of color make up more than 40% of the population are governed by county commissions in which every member is white.”
Confronts threats to voter participation, access to voting opportunities, or the opportunity or ability to participate in the political process.
Protect against unfair districts or election systems that weaken or drown out people’s voices based on their race.
Require certain counties or cities with a history of discrimination to obtain approval before making changes to voting practices.
Mandate translated materials and assistance for language-minority voters, including groups not currently covered by federal law.
Provide clear remedies for voters who face threats, false information, or interference.
Create a publicly available, centralized data repository and require political subdivisions to provide advance notice of changes to election rules or practices.
Direct courts to interpret laws and exercise discretion in favor of broad access and equal participation in the democratic process.
Allow both the government and individuals to go bring a case in state court to fight voting discrimination.
State Voting Rights Acts (SVRAs) are wildly popular. 78% of voters across the country support their state legislators passing a State VRA.
With federal attacks on the right to vote increasing every day, it’s more important than ever that Georgia enact the Henry McNeal Turner Voting Rights Act in order to protect elections statewide. Whether it’s lack of accessible entrances, language assistance issues, or hidden agendas in redistricting designed to silence voices of color, Georgia urgently needs to address discriminatory barriers to the ballot in order to protect the right to vote.
The Georgia VRA would go a long way to counteract both recent and historical efforts to diminish the voting power of Black Georgians. Georgia can and should lead in protecting the right to vote and promoting inclusive democracy by adopting the Henry McNeal Turner Voting Rights Act.
