Central Georgia News

State Rep. Barry Fleming (R-Harlem), a sponsor of what he calls an election integrity bill, has left his post as county attorney after the Hancock County Board of Commissioners asked him to resign.

Following a protest in front of the Hancock County courthouse in Sparta, the board of commissioners voted 4-0 early this month to ask Fleming to resign in connection with House Bill 531, which he primarily sponsored. Critics called him a “suppressor” for filing a bill that would, among others, shorten weekend early voting and regulate access to absentee ballot drop boxes. The measure was signed into law last week by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.

"He's been part of strategic voter suppression, but this year he went all the way over the top with this House bill that he introduced," said Johnny Thornton, one of the protesters, GBP News reported. "Your attorney is supposed to be an advocate, not an adversary. You can't advocate for me and vote to suppress me at the same time.”

Georgia senators also passed a bill that would require “submission of identification in connection with absentee ballot applications.” Senate Bill 67 faced the same dispute which critics say deprives the right of the voters. State Sen. Larry Walker III (R-Perry) said it will, instead, bring election integrity.

“It’s not about disenfranchising voters,” Walker told the Associated Press.. “It’s not about overly burdening the electorate. It’s about efficiency, integrity, allowing the Georgia public to have confidence in the vote.

Fleming and other incumbent lawmakers are not the only ones supporting election changes. Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler is also advocating the law to rebuild trust in Georgia elections. She argued that many Georgians may not have voted because of a loss of confidence in the elections, although much of the mistrust was fostered by former President Donald Trump's unfounded claims of voter fraud.

In her op-ed in the Washington Examiner, Loeffler said "There’s another group we must engage with our positive message: registered but unengaged or disillusioned voters. A staggering 2.5 million already registered voters in Georgia did not vote in the November general election. In the final analysis, 500,000 voters who voted in November did not vote in the January [Senate] runoff, the vast majority of whom were Republicans. This is why so many of us are confident that this is still a red state, but also that there is much more room to grow."

More government officials including Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger have called many of these measures vital in restoring voter confidence in Georgia’s election system.