VICTOR JOECKS: Jim Crow vs. Georgia’s new voting law

Either President Joe Biden knows nothing about voting restrictions during Jim Crow or he’s being deliberately dishonest about Georgia’s new voting law.

Two weeks ago, Georgia enacted a bill changing several elections provisions. Democrats around the country have railed against the measure, frequently claiming it’s an attack on minority voters. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer called it a “racist voter suppression” law.

Biden went further. It is “Jim Crow on steroids what they’re doing in Georgia,” the president said.

If true, that would be a moral crisis and grievous evil. It’d be worthy of boycotts and universal condemnation. But his claim isn’t true. As you’ll see below, it’s a brazen falsehood told for political gain by a man who knows the national press won’t call him on it. Politifact hasn’t even bothered to check this claim.

During the Jim Crow era, some Southern Democrats used violence to suppress the black vote. That included threats, beatings and murder. For decades after the Civil War, African American voters strongly supported Republicans.

Under the new Georgia law, there are now at least 17 days of early voting. The hours available to vote early will expand in some parts of the state. Voters still can request an absentee ballot for any reason. The bill does shorten the time voters have to request a ballot from six months to a little more than two months.

If Georgia is “Jim Crow on steroids,” what does that make Nevada? In 2020, the Silver State offered just two weeks of early voting.

During Jim Crow, many states required voters to own property. Because many African Americans didn’t own property, they couldn’t vote.

The Georgia law prohibits political organizations from giving gifts to people waiting in line to vote. The logic of that should be obvious. But Biden and Democrats have claimed this is an indecent attempt to deprive people of water while waiting to vote.

Nothing prevents someone from bringing his or her own water. A voter could also walk 151 feet to grab a bottle of water provided by a campaign.

Jim Crow: You had to own property to vote. Georgia: You can’t be given property while waiting to vote.

During Jim Crow, some states instituted poll taxes. This made voting cost prohibitive for poor African Americans.

Georgia instituted a new security requirement for absentee ballots. Voters must write their driver’s license or ID card number on a return envelope. This is a much better security measure than signature matching. If a Georgia voter doesn’t have a driver’s license, they can receive a free ID card. Alternatively, voters may provide the last four digits of their Social Security numbers or submit another form of identification.

Not much of a poll tax when the government is willing to supply what is required for free.

Biden’s racial demagoguery may be effective politically, but that doesn’t make it any less false.

Contact Victor Joecks at vjoecks@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-4698. Follow @victorjoecks on Twitter.