SB 202 is a 98 page document passed by the Georgia legislature and signed into law by Governor Kemp.SB202 was carefully crafted to suppress…errr I mean fix… the massive voter fraud in Georgia during the 2020 election. It was signed into law a little over a year ago–March 2021. At the time it was clear there would be a lot of folly engendered by this massive overhaul of voting laws that didn’t need a complete rework.
Here’s one I noticed and posted around that time the text of the bill was released.
SECTION 15.
Said chapter is further amended by revising Code Section 21-2-229, relating to challenge of
applicant for registration by other electors, notice and hearing, and right of appeal, as follows:
(a) Any elector of the county or municipality may challenge the right of any other elector of the county or municipality, whose name appears on the list of electors, to vote in a election. Such challenge shall be in writing and specify distinctly the grounds of such challenge. Such challenge may be made at any time prior to the elector whose right to vote is being challenged voting at the elector’s polling place or, if such elector cast an absentee ballot, prior to 5:00 P.M. on the day before the election absentee ballots are to begin to be scanned and tabulated; provided, however, that challenges to persons voting by absentee ballot in person at the office of the registrars or the absentee ballot clerk shall be made prior to such person’s voting. There shall not be a limit on the number of persons whose qualifications such elector may challenge.
(b) Upon the filing of such challenge, the board of registrars shall immediately consider such challenge and determine whether probable cause exists to sustain such challenge. If the registrars do not find probable cause, the challenge shall be denied. If the registrars find probable cause, the registrars shall notify the poll officers of the challenged elector’s precinct or, if the challenged elector voted by absentee ballot, notify the poll officers at the absentee ballot precinct and, if practical, notify the challenged elector and afford such elector an opportunity to answer.
There are several more pages outlining how the challenge is worked out. Take it from me, this is a huge time sink and will drag its feet through the process, ultimately keeping electors from voting.
Notice, the challenges by any one elector are UNLIMITED. What could possibly go wrong with this folly laden section of SB 202 I hear you ask.
Here’s what can go wrong:
https://www.wabe.org/georgia-man-challenges-eligibility-of-1…
A Georgia man is challenging the eligibility of more than 12,880 registered voters in his county in the northern part of the state.
Frank Schneider filed the challenge on Tuesday with the Forsyth County Board of Voter Registration and Elections, which will consider it during their regularly scheduled Thursday evening meeting, news outlets reported.
Does this qualify as Folly in Georgia? Indeed it does. And on a day like today, the primary in GA, we need to know just how bad the new voting laws are. This is just one part of the 98 page bill.
What did Mr. Schneider do? He submitted around 12,880 names of electors he was turning in for violations of address changes rules. Schneider filed the challenge with the Forsyth County Board of Voter Registration and Elections. Evidently, Mr. Schneider has a lot of time and he compared all those Forsyth County voters addresses to the US Postal Service’s National Change of Address database, NCOA, and found they did not match. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported this was a pretty darn big challenge–largest one to date. Did I mention we could have predicted folly and malfeasance in such stupendously folly-riddled legislation?
So what happened? Are 12,880 electors going to get snarled up in the long process of responding to the charges? Response involves a subpoena, gathering documents, appearing before a board, presenting the evidence, arguing the against the challenge, then waiting for the ruling to be sent by mail. Imagine now 12,880 electors having to respond to such a challenge and get it all done before the GA primary. What could go wrong? They had a solid 14 days to get it all done.
Fortunately,GA denied the challenges citing no time for the process to work its way through the process codified in the bill and additionally, the information did not amount to probable cause.
Board member Joel Natt, a Republican appointee, encouraged Schneider to return after he’s done more thorough research
Schneider, undeterred, submitted an additional challenge to 580 voters. Ten of these challenges were allowed. Seems like Mr. Schneider has an agenda, too much time and too EZ-access to NCOA.
Folly indeed.