One Data Point Undercuts the “Voter Suppression” Narrative

While Democrats have claimed laws aimed at making elections more secure would lead to “voter suppression,” Georgia just had a record-breaking first day of early voting. (CNN)

The latest: A total of more than 328,000 early votes and absentee ballots were cast Monday, Georgia officials said.

• The previous first-day record? Less than 140,000 votes in 2020.

• This happened despite fears that major changes to Georgia election law in 2021 - including tighter absentee ballot verification requirements, fewer drop box locations and bans on giving food or water near polling places - would dampen turnout, especially among minorities.

This isn’t the first time: Georgia “shattered turnout and participation rates in the 2022 midterm elections,” the state’s officials announced last year.

The narrative: Over the weekend, Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., criticized a state rule requiring hand-counting of ballots, telling CNN anchor Dana Bash, “This is how voter suppression happens.”

• In 2021, President Biden said the GOP’s push to combat voter fraud “makes Jim Crow look like Jim Eagle.”

Big picture: Republican concerns about election integrity come amid a sweeping expansion of alternative forms of voting, such as mail-in ballots and early in-person voting.

• 52% of U.S. voters say they plan to cast their ballots before Election Day, according to a new NBC News poll.

Over the last 3 years, 29 U.S. states have enacted laws (like stricter voter ID requirements and shortening the window to apply or return a mail ballot) which critics claim restrict voting.

Unsurprisingly, there are big partisan differences when it comes to who supports easier voting access.

According to the University of Florida’s Election Lab, more than 3 million early votes and absentee ballots have been cast in the 2024 presidential election so far, with 51% of those votes coming from registered Democrats.