Georgia Primary: Republican Voter Supression Backfired

That Republican- engineered shitshow that was Georgia's primary election last week was doubtless intended as a dry run for Republicans in November. The obstacles they put in the way of voting included purging voter rolls, a new and overly complicated Republican- contracted computer system that caused long lines, especially in Democratic precincts, and a bollixed effort to get absentee ballots to all who requested them. Sounds pretty impressive (also, repressive).  So, in retrospect, how did this latest attempt at voter suppression work out for Republicans?

Democrats set a new turnout record for primary voting in last week’s Georgia vote, soaring past 1 million voters to outpace Republicans during an election plagued by significant obstacles at polling sites.

The latest results, still being tallied as absentee ballots are counted, show Democratic turnout in Georgia surpassed 1,060,851 – the previous high-mark set during the 2008 presidential primary when then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama trounced Hillary Clinton. [snip]

Georgia Democrats pointed to the high numbers as another sign of voter enthusiasm headed into the November election. Joe Biden aims to be the first Democratic presidential contender to carry Georgia since 1992, and state Democrats are racing to flip two U.S. Senate seats and a suburban U.S. House seat. 

The turnout numbers soared mainly due to a surge in absentee ballots after an expansion of mail-in voting ordered by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, amid coronavirus restrictions. A review showed those mail-in ballots were roughly split between Democrats and Republicans. [snip]

The increase in Democratic votes comes after recent demographic trends that encourage  party leaders. An AJC analysis found that more than 320,000 new voters registered in Georgia since 2019, and many are younger and racially diverse – blocs of voters who tend to favor Democrats.

And top state Democrats hope to channel frustration over the federal and state coronavirus response, as well as the outrage over police brutality that’s sparked nationwide protests for racial justice, into votes in November. (our emphasis)

As with their spectacularly unsuccessful attempts to suppress Democratic votes in a state supreme court election Wisconsin in April, Republicans efforts to keep people from voting is pissing them off to such an extent that they'll stay in line to vote for hours, even during a pandemic.

There's voter enthusiasm out there;  it's enthusiasm to get Republicans at every level out of office so that we can have some semblance of sanity and humanity in our public life again.  Those are powerful motivators that Republicans haven't yet figured out how to squelch.

Keep calm, and vote.

(Image: Steve Sack, Minneapolis Star Tribune)