President Carter Releases Statement on Georgia Voter Suppression
WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the wake of renewed Republican efforts to suppress the voices of Georgia voters, former President Jimmy Carter released a statement condemning the state Legislature and assuring voters that vote by mail is safe and secure. In the statement, President Carter discusses his own experience with voter fraud in the Peach State and heralds Georgia as a leader in election security and integrity. However, he raises concerns with recent Republican restrictions on voting access and their propagation of the Big Lie after the 2020 election, stating that their actions to reform election laws “appear to be rooted in partisan interests, not in the interests of all Georgia voters.”
President Carter also refers to a 2005 report from an election commission that he co-chaired. The report, which recommended more studies be done on vote by mail strategies, outlined good and bad vote by mail methods at the time, the latter of which have been frequently referenced by Republicans in the decade since to discredit mail voting. The former president condemned this narrow view, noting that “in the 16 years since the report’s release, vote-by-mail practices have progressed significantly as new technologies have been developed. In light of these advances, I believe that voting by mail can be conducted in a manner that ensures election integrity.”
“American democracy means every eligible person has the right to vote in an election that is fair, open, and secure,” President Carter said. “It should be flexible enough to meet the electorate’s changing needs. As Georgians, we must protect these values. We must not lose the progress we have made. We must not promote confidence among one segment of the electorate by restricting the participation of others. Our goal always should be to increase, not decrease, voter participation.”