Georgia state Republicans have introduced sweeping voter suppression legislation which would strictly limit eligibility criteria for absentee ballots, as well as require witness signatures and proof of voter ID for mail-in ballots. The measure also bars advance voting on Sundays, which Black churches use as part of their get-out-the-vote efforts, known as “souls to the polls.” Georgia flipped blue in both the 2020 presidential race and the two Senate runoffs, largely thanks to Black voters and the work of Black organizers.

This is AME Church Bishop Reginald Thomas Jackson speaking at a Fair Fight Action virtual hearing on the bill.

Bishop Reginald Thomas Jackson: “Let’s just be honest: This bill is racist. … This legislation is submitted only because Republicans lost, because Blacks exercised their right to vote and turned out in huge numbers.”