“Georgia Senator Raphael Warnock has said that the state's new law, which adds restrictions to voting, should be of concern to all Americans—calling their response a "defining moment" for U.S. democracy.
The law passed by Georgia's GOP-majority legislature creates stricter ID requirements for absentee voting limits drop boxes and makes it a crime to offer food and water to people lining up to cast their ballot.
"These are politicians who are trying to hold on to power," Sen. Warnock told The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC on Friday. "That's what this is, it's a power struggle and they've decided they're going to hold on to power no matter what, even if it costs the democracy itself.
"The only people who can ultimately correct this are the people themselves. So we've all got to stand up and say 'no' to this.”
Warnock told the MSNBC anchor that the legislation had wider ramifications for the U.S.
"If this is happening in the state Capitol in Georgia, it will not take very long for it to visit a state Capitol near you," the Democrat lawmaker said.
He added: "If you think this is something happening down in Georgia, you are misapprehending the moment that we are living in," he said, "this is a defining moment for the American democracy.”
"In a real sense this is about something much more profound. It is about whether we are who we say we are. Either we're a democracy or we're not.
"Either we believe in the idea of one person, one vote or we don't. Either I'm a citizen or I'm not," he added.”
Similar law changes are being considered in legislatures across the country. Georgia has joined Iowa in passing changes to voting rules, and there are 253 such bills in 43 states, according to the left-leaning Brennan Center for Justice think tank.
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Raphael Warnock Urges Americans to 'Stand Up' to Georgia Voting Law Change
By Brendan Cole On 3/27/21 at 8:35 AM EDT
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