During the 2020 presidential election, Donald Trump lost narrowly to Joe Biden. Georgia’s ruling Republicans have since changed voting laws. A measure denounced by the Democrats.
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Six months before the presidential election, the Democrats are campaigning in Georgia. In this conservative southern state, Joe Biden created a surprise in 2020 by narrowly beating Donald Trump. Since then, the Republicans in power in this state have modified the electoral laws. “An atrocity, an attack on the right to vote”Joe Biden reacted. “Let the people vote!”
Because these new rules, officially supposed to protect the vote against possible fraud, seem designed to complicate the task of minority voters. From the black community in particular, which votes more than 85% for Democrats. Upon learning of these changes, Donald Trump, moreover, approved: “Too bad these changes didn’t come sooner.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is democracy! says Patti Hewitt, a Democrat campaigning in Savannah. I am an opponent of an undemocratic state.“This woman is aiming for a position in Congress, supports Joe Biden and does not accept the new rules imposed here, by the Republicans. “There are so many forces in the United States trying to obstruct our vote,” she laments.
We now have to travel further to vote
Example of a measure: the limitation of “drop boxes”, these sealed boxes in which American voters can deposit their ballots, before election day. You now have to travel further to find them in Georgia. And they are accessible during more restricted hours. “How are you getting there?asks Patti Hewitt. How are people who have two or three jobs going to vote in these circumstances? So the idea is really to make voting more complicated, hoping that people will say: ‘I’m not going to bother, it’s just too hard’.”
“It affects everyone, estimates Michael Hodge, professor of sociology in Atlanta. But especially people who work every day and who cannot take a day to go vote and wait for hours. They’re losing money.”
“It especially affects black and non-white communities, who have fewer resources. I think, yes, this legislation was designed to prevent a particular group of voters from voting Democratic.”
Michael Hodge, professor of sociologyat franceinfo
Enough to annoy these voters in South Fulton, the self-proclaimed blackest city in America. “Oh yes I’m going to go vote, assures Miranda. I was very shocked. It really upset me.” “In this country, these attempts at restrictions have always existed. Especially for minorities, explains a 73-year-old man. So ok. But we have the right to vote. You have to use it. That’s all you can do, and hope for the best.”
“It’s very important that our voices are heardadds another voter. What I do know is that Biden will be our president!” The presidential election in the United States will take place on a Tuesday, which is therefore a working day. And long lines are common in Georgia.