What we just learned from the Georgia primaries
The Georgia primaries haven’t happened yet – but despite the draconian voting laws that made headlines in that state last year, early voter turnout is surging with Friday, the last day of in-person voting bringing out nearly 800,000 voters – a number even higher than in the 2018 midterms or even in 2020.
Unfortunately, the media has largely ignored the more important story here which is that the laws that passed are still despicable and racist – that they are still disenfranchising a large number of voters – and that there are still people who should be able to cast their vote but aren’t afforded the same opportunities, as the Souls to the Polls movement of Black voters is no longer allowed to vote on Sunday.
Voter suppression can work for the GOP and it keeps the people who are least likely to vote for them from voting, but if people still turn out in massive numbers it still isn’t enough to change the outcome.
This is why it’s absolutely crucial that we keep phone banking and volunteering for Sen. Warnock, who is up for re-election to a full term and for Stacey Abrams who will likely rematch with Gov. Brian Kemp, in addition to flipping the state legislature in order to rectify these laws and pass legislation that will secure the right to vote for all who are willing to participate in democracy. This is a winnable fight that the results of 2020 and 2021 have proved – and we can win again if we put in the work and change the state for the better.
James Sullivan is the assistant editor of Brain World Magazine and an advocate of science-based policy making