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[DAILYWIRE] Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed the Republican-backed "Election Integrity Act of 2021," or SB 202, into law Thursday as Democratic politicians protested the bill.The legislation seeks to tighten up elections and reduce fraud by enforcing conformity across the state, amping up voter ID, restricting drop boxes, and expanding in-person voting, among additional election-related overhauls."With Senate Bill 202, Georgia will take another step toward ensuring our elections are secure, accessible and fair," Kemp said Thursday. "Ensuring the integrity of the ballot box isn’t partisan, it’s about protecting the very foundation of who we are as Georgians and Americans."
The bill’s provisions add ID requirements for absentee-by-mail ballots; when Georgians return their ballots, they will be required to use a form of identification to verify who they are. As noted by NPR, this change "replaces the controversial method that has election workers match signatures on applications and ballot envelopes with those on file."
SB 202 also expands in-person voting access, NPR noted: "Current Georgia law requires three weeks of Monday through Friday voting during ’normal business hours’ and a mandatory Saturday session from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m, with counties allowed to add more hours — including on the weekends — as they saw fit."