VOTING RIGHTS

Maura believes that we need to protect voting rights at the federal level to ensure that everyone has equal access to voting and the ability to participate in our democracy. In Georgia, State legislators have gone too far. They are introducing bills that violate our constitutional rights, affecting both Democrats and Republicans who want to cast their ballots, and disproportionately affecting communities of color. Congressional Representatives from District 3 have a history of choosing to disenfranchise their own voters—Maura will never.

SB 202 has caused many ballot drop boxes to be moved indoors and be closed after business hours. This unfairly punishes hard working citizens, disabled people, and the elderly, who are not able to stand in line for hours or make it to the polls 9-5. While the courts ruled some aspects of SB 202 to be unconstitutional, legislation like this is a clear indicator of what is to come from Republican representatives. To combat this, Maura supports making Election Day a federal holiday so that all Americans can make their way to the polls.

As well as interfering with ballot drop boxes, Maura understands the other tactics politicians are using to suppress the power of voters in Georgia. She believes that unnecessary voter roll purges, the closure of polling locations, the removal of mandatory weekend voting, and ridiculous rules like arresting people for handing out food and water to those waiting in line to vote, have no place in a country that wants fair and just elections. 

Some of you will remember “Souls to the Polls,” a voter turnout initiative in Fayette County where everyone would make their way to the polls after church on a Sunday. This initiative had an incredibly high success rate for black voters in our community. In fact, it was so successful that Republicans removed Sunday voting in the following elections. They will never stop trying to suppress voters of color because they understand the reckoning force they’re up against; Maura is ready to fight back and make sure that everyone in District 3 has fair access to the ballot box, regardless of gender, race, age, or mobility.