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Democrats say the Republican measures are designed to lessen the
impact of Black voters, whose heavy turnout helped propel Biden
to victory and delivered Democrats two U.S. Senate victories in
Georgia in January. Georgia passed major new voting restrictions
in March.
The bill in neighboring Florida, also a political battleground,
includes stricter requirements about drop box staffing and
requires voters to apply more frequently for mail-in ballots.
The bill also stipulates a widening of the "no-solicitation"
area around polling places and expands the definition of
solicitations to include "the giving, or attempting to give, any
item to a voter by certain persons." Rights groups warn that
will dissuade activists from handing out water and food to
voters standing in long lines in the often-sweltering state.
Republican Governor Ron DeSantis is expected to sign the bill
into law.
Marc Elias, a Democratic lawyer who is representing a coalition
of civil rights groups suing Georgia over its voting
restrictions, tweeted that the Florida business community should
have stood up against the bill.
"These voter suppression laws are targeted at Black, Brown and
young voters," Elias tweeted. "Bill now heads to Governor's
desk. Watch this space for more news once it is signed."
A record 158 million people voted in the November elections, in
part thanks to new rules that made voting easier during COVID-19
pandemic. New York University's nonpartisan Brennan Center for
Justice found 29 states and the District of Columbia passed laws
and changed procedures to expand voting access during the health
crisis.
(Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
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