Voting Rights / Lawsuits / Voter Supression / HR1 / S1 / Gerrymander Congressional Districts / Gerrymandering

[MN-Skeptic]

Apparently the Georgia voter suppression law has passed their legislature. Their governor will sign it. One of the provisions is that you can’t give water or food to folks standing in line. I wonder what the law actually says. “Get your bottled water here! Only one penny!”

[Luke]

Marc Elias & groups have already filed a lawsuit. https://www.democracydocket.com/cases/g ... sion-bill/

Marc E. Elias @marceelias 17h

The new Georgia law is terrible, unconstitutional and illegal. But it would have been even worse without the work of
@staceyabrams
@gwlauren
@fairfightaction
and the network of civil rights groups they helped lead and organize.

We are in court now, but their work was essential.

Marc E. Elias @marceelias 1h
States I am monitoring for new voter suppression laws:
Ballot box with ballotArizona
Ballot box with ballotIowa (lawsuit filed)
Ballot box with ballotFlorida
Ballot box with ballotGeorgia (lawsuit filed)
Ballot box with ballotMontana
Ballot box with ballotNew Hampshire
Ballot box with ballotTexas
Expect the GOP to pass more bad voting laws.
Expect more litigation to protect the right to vote.
It is only March 2021.

[Frater I*I]

Apparently the Georgia voter suppression law has passed their legislature. Their governor will sign it. One of the provisions is that you can’t give water or food to folks standing in line. I wonder what the law actually says. “Get your bottled water here! Only one penny!”

Any providing of such, whether free or at charge, is considered "solicitation of votes", of course this will only be enforced in poor and minority precincts, where the minimum required number of voting machines are provided, resulting in long lines, and hours of waiting.

[Luke]

And how about this:

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signs voting bill under portrait of a slave plantation
The governor’s office has not commented.
By Anagha Srikanth | March 25, 2021
Story at a glance
Months after a historic election in Georgia, the state passed legislation giving lawmakers more control over elections and imposing new voting restrictions.
The legislation was signed by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp under a painting of a former slave plantation.
Online, the history of the plantation and its symbolism came under scrutiny.

Internet sleuths dug up ties to slavery in the history of a painting under which Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed a bill imposing new voting restrictions that critics say would disenfranchise the state's Black voters. The law gives state lawmakers more power over elections and imposes new voting restrictions that have been challenged in court by voting rights groups, which say the changes will disproportionately affect the ability of Black voters and other minority groups. Will Bunch, author and opinion columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, tweeted out the finding and the history of the portrait, "Brickhouse Road -- Callaway [Plantation],” claiming "the symbolism is no accident."

2. Notice the antebellum-style portrait behind Kemp as he signs the suppression law? Thanks to Twitter crowdsourcing and particularly @TheSeaFarmer, I can report the measure to limit Black voting was signed under the image of a notorious slave plantation in Wilkes County, GA

— Will Bunch Sign Up For My Newsletter (@Will_Bunch) March 26, 2021

“Brian Kemp and his white henchmen have created an image for our times, in working to continue a tradition of inhumanity and white supremacy that now spans centuries, from the human bondage hat took place behind the placid scenery of Brickhouse Road in Wilkes County, to the suppression now hidden behind a phony facade of ‘voter integrity.’ This legacy is a crime against humanity, and it cannot stand,” said Bunch.

Changing America has reached out to Kemp’s office for comment. The painting, identified in the Georgia State Capitol's exhibit guide and originally titled “Callaway Road” by artist Olessia Maximenko, appears to be of Callaway Plantation, which is listed on the state's official tourism website as a "historic restoration project" that "offers a glimpse into the by-gone era of working plantations in the agricultural South." Besides a note of the Dally Slave Cabin, one of six historical structures open to the public, the entry — and the plantation’s website — does not acknowledge the enslaved Black Americans who were forced to work that plantation. What the plantation does offer is "the intimate story of one family's legacy," the family of Job Callaway, which gifted the property to the city of Washington. In addition to public tours, the plantation also operates as an event space for everything from movie nights to weddings, which isn’t uncommon for historic plantations. But plantation weddings have been criticized for glorifying the era of slavery in United States history and not acknowledging the violent and racist past of these plantations.

On TripAdvisor, the site has 71 overwhelmingly positive reviews, except one from last June that says, "disappointing that there was little to no acknowledgement of the 100+ slaves that worked the plantation and lived on the property." The guide apparently noted that Callaway mentioned slaves by name in his will ("apparently that was unusual to do") and documents show that after the Civil War some remained as sharecroppers. "The Willis family was kind and religious and saw to it that their slaves were given plenty of food to eat," according to an interview with Mariah Callaway, a former slave born on the plantation under the ownership of Jim Willis, on Access Geneology that Bunch linked to in his post. But the daughter and granddaughter of slaves also recalled the violent and racist history of her ancestry. "My grandfather came directly from Africa and I never shall forget the story he told us of how he and other natives were fooled on board a ship by the white slave traders using red handkerchiefs as enticement. When they reached America, droves of them were put on the block and sold to people all over the United States," she said. One of those people, it appears, was the owner of the plantation depicted in the painting behind the state governor during the signing of a law governing the voting rights of the descendants of slaves.

https://thehill.com/changing-america/re ... ortrait-of

[Estiveo]

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[AndyinPA]

Not one woman or person of color there.

[Estiveo]

Not one woman or person of color there.

Well, the one female POC to show up got arrested when she knocked on the door. Uppity in public, I guess.

[AndyinPA]

Not one woman or person of color there.

Well, the one female POC to show up got arrested when she knocked on the door. Uppity in public, I guess.

That's infuriating! I know about it, but have been busy today, so have not looked up the exact charges. Is it a felony to knock on a door in Georgia?

[Lani]

That's infuriating! I know about it, but have been busy today, so have not looked up the exact charges. Is it a felony to knock on a door in Georgia?

Door knocking while Black.

[Patagoniagirl]

That's infuriating! I know about it, but have been busy today, so have not looked up the exact charges. Is it a felony to knock on a door in Georgia?

Door knocking while Black.

Silly woman! She forgot her horn headdress, bear spray and did not bust the door in!

[Luke]

Lengthy weekend read from The Hill on this: Georgia voting overhaul provokes fury from Democrats https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5 ... -democrats

Lots are saying this is going to backfire on the GOP. The voters who may be affected (if it survives Marc Elias' legal challenge) will, like the 2020 election, be even more motivated to vote. The story notes Stacey Abrams may run again for Governor, and Warnock is on the ballot. There's over a year to prepare and inform voters about this. It would be the best revenge to knock them out in 2022 even with their Jim Crow 2.0 mindset. And as we all know, there was no fraud in Georgia and the votes were counted THREE times. Fuck them.

[Lani]

So if we can't give water or food to folks standing in line, can we give out lunch boxes to people who are heading out to vote? (I guess I need to read the bill....)

[Lani]

Union president says MLB players ready to discuss moving All-Star Game from Georgia in wake of voter-restriction laws
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2021/03/26/ ... nt=event25

[Frater I*I]

Welcome to Georgia, come for the peaches....stay for the apartheid...

[Atticus Finch]

Apologies to Mark Twain: god made the idiot for practice and then made Georgia Republican legislators.

[Lani]

Screenshot_2021-03-27 .png (455.52 KiB) Viewed 4735 times

[Slim Cognito]

Lots of people on the Twitter machine say they'll pass out water and risk arrest. Here's my question:. If I *illegally* give a voter a water bottle, could THEY be arrested for accepting it, or forced to leave the line?

[Uninformed]

“2010 Georgia Code
TITLE 21 - ELECTIONS
CHAPTER 2 - ELECTIONS AND PRIMARIES GENERALLY
ARTICLE 15 - MISCELLANEOUS OFFENSES
§ 21-2-570 - Giving or receiving, offering to give or receive, or participating in the giving or receiving of money or gifts for registering as a voter, voting, or voting for a particular candidate
O.C.G.A. 21-2-570 (2010)
21-2-570. Giving or receiving, offering to give or receive, or participating in the giving or receiving of money or gifts for registering as a voter, voting, or voting for a particular candidate

Any person who gives or receives, offers to give or receive, or participates in the giving or receiving of money or gifts for the purpose of registering as a voter, voting, or voting for a particular candidate in any primary or election shall be guilty of a felony.”

https://law.justia.com/codes/georgia/20 ... 5/21-2-570

[neonzx]

Lots of people on the Twitter machine say they'll pass out water and risk arrest. Here's my question:. If I *illegally* give a voter a water bottle, could THEY be arrested for accepting it, or forced to leave the line?

I've seen people bring/offer water to people waiting in line at a polling place here in Florida. I assume as long as they are not discussing politics or advocating for a candidate/issues it shouldn't be a problem. It's Florida and hot as F sometimes -- people need to stay hydrated.

[sugar magnolia]

Lots of people on the Twitter machine say they'll pass out water and risk arrest. Here's my question:. If I *illegally* give a voter a water bottle, could THEY be arrested for accepting it, or forced to leave the line?

I've seen people bring/offer water to people waiting in line at a polling place here in Florida. I assume as long as they are not discussing politics or advocating for a candidate/issues it shouldn't be a problem. It's Florida and hot as F sometimes -- people need to stay hydrated.

Never assume anything about GA politics. You'll be disappointed.

[tek]

Any person who gives or receives, offers to give or receive, or participates in the giving or receiving of money or gifts for the purpose of registering as a voter, voting, or voting for a particular candidate in any primary or election shall be guilty of a felony.

IANAL. but it seems offering someone standing in line a bottle of water (with no speaking and no political words on the bottle) is not 'giving money or gifts for the purpose of [..] voting"

[Lani]

Any person who gives or receives, offers to give or receive, or participates in the giving or receiving of money or gifts for the purpose of registering as a voter, voting, or voting for a particular candidate in any primary or election shall be guilty of a felony.

IANAL. but it seems offering someone standing in line a bottle of water (with no speaking and no political words on the bottle) is not 'giving money or gifts for the purpose of [..] voting"

It's a gift for voting. Gift a bottle of water to someone to encourage the person to stay in line and vote.

[tek]

"I just wanted the person to not die!"

or

"Honest! I thought they were in line for Duran Duran tickets!"

[neonzx]

IANAL. but it seems offering someone standing in line a bottle of water (with no speaking and no political words on the bottle) is not 'giving money or gifts for the purpose of [..] voting"

It's a gift for voting. Gift a bottle of water to someone to encourage the person to stay in line and vote.

That's exactly what goes on... groups or orgs target polling locations that are backed-up. Bringing water (and sometimes food/treats) ... "stay in the line" -- that's why it's done.

[tek]

I'm just saying that a decent lawyer should be able to work with that language..