Georgia Republicans’ best efforts to define GOP as anti-voting, anti-civil rights party

Few Georgia Republican politicians, in a puzzling move, seem to be determined to ensure that the GOP is officially labeled as the party that wants less participation in the voting process. Their message seems to be: ”the more people vote, the less likely we are to win. I guess the labels of being against women and against Hispanics weren't enough. If one wants to become fully irrelevant, one must alienate all voting groups. 

On September 9, Georgia state Sen. Fran Millar ranted on his Facebook page about DeKalb County in Georgia allowing for early voting on Sunday, October 26, ahead of the November 4 election.  

”Now we are to have Sunday voting at South DeKalb Mall just prior to the election, said Millar. ”Per Jim Galloway of the AJC, this location is dominated by African-American shoppers and it is near several large African-American mega churches such as New Birth Missionary Baptist. Galloway also points out the Democratic Party thinks this is a wonderful idea—what a surprise. I’m sure Michelle Nunn and Jason Carter are delighted with this blatantly partisan move in DeKalb.

Millar vowed to fight to ”eliminate Sunday voting, calling it ”an election law loophole.

After some backlash, Millar said that he’d simply like to have ”more educated voters than a greater increase in the number of voters, also adding that if the voting was at the Perimeter Mall (with more racially diverse clientele), he’d be fine with it. It’s worth noting that nothing is stopping Georgia GOP from organizing early voting on that same Sunday at the Perimeter Mall.

To the same tune, last week the Bibb County Boar of Elections voted down Sunday early voting plan 3-2, along partisan lines with one independent voice siding with Republicans.

One of those Republicans, Rinda Wilson, said that the idea of allowing people a work-free day to vote in elections is a ”partisan thing that works for Democrats only.

”There have been six states that have been targeted, Georgia being one of them, that this would be a way just to wring out every last vote, said Wilson. 

Yes, because the worst thing that can happen in a political election is if ”every last vote is cast.  Some of these people would clearly feel more comfortable living in Vladimir Putin’s Russia. But even Russia holds its elections on Sundays.

Almost all weste countries, and frankly many developing and third world countries, hold their elections on a weekend - mostly Sunday. Some countries even organize their elections on a national holiday, to ensure high participation. Only 14 countries, globally and including U.S., hold their elections on weekdays.

It’s difficult not to notice what a horrible PR machine Republicans have. There are no apologies here; no one in the party decries these statements.  And history keeps repeating itself. Just like few GOP voices back around 2012 elections started the ”illegitimate rape controversy, helping Democrats paint Republicans as the party that is engaged in a ”war on women, the same way the above incidents help Democrats paint the GOP as racist and anti-civil rights.

It really is quite irrelevant if the early voting push is politically-inspired. While Democrats are clearly trying to get as many voters as possible in Georgia, knowing full well that only extremely high numbers put them on the same footing as Republicans in midterm elections, the GOP’s message of keeping people from voting is damaging to the party, mind-boggling, and, to put it mildly, unwise.  Republicans have an easy election cycle ahead of them, but this sort of foolishness can easily tip the scale in the opposite direction. 

As one Facebook user Julie Brown of East Point put it, in response to the controversy on Millar’s feed:

”Senator, Fulton and Lowndes County have joined Dekalb County, adding Sunday voting. You deserve all the credit and I want to thank you for waking up the sleeping giants!!!