Trump celebrates GOP-led voting overhaul in Georgia

Former President Trump on Friday celebrated the signing of a far-reaching elections bill in Georgia, praising state GOP officials for “learning from the travesty of the 2020 Presidential Election,” which he lost after now-President Biden flipped several key states including Georgia.

“Congratulations to Georgia and the Georgia State Legislature on changing their voter Rules and Regulations,” Trump said in a statement through his political action committee Save America. “They learned from the travesty of the 2020 Presidential Election, which can never be allowed to happen again. Too bad these changes could not have been done sooner!”

Trump’s remarks came a day after Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signed into law a sweeping series of voting-related measures that have drawn fierce criticism from Democrats and voting rights advocates who see it as a thinly veiled voter suppression effort.

Earlier on Friday, Biden denounced the new voting law, calling it “Jim Crow in the 21st century.”

“This law, like so many others being pursued by Republicans in statehouses across the country is a blatant attack on the Constitution and good conscience,” he said.

The law takes aim at several elements of the voting process in Georgia, mandating that voters provide driver’s licenses or state-issued ID numbers to request and submit absentee ballots, limiting the use of drop boxes and giving state lawmakers in the GOP-controlled legislature more control over local election matters.

Republicans have sought to counter Democrats’ claims of voter suppression and disenfranchisement, arguing that the measures seek to expand voting access by enshrining ballot drop boxes into state law and requiring mandatory early in-person voting on two Saturdays before an election. 

But Democrats have accused Republicans of trying to rig the voting system in their favor after Trump’s loss in 2020 and a pair of Democratic wins in the state’s January Senate runoff elections.

Trump, who lost to Biden in Georgia by about 12,000 votes, has repeatedly spread baseless claims that widespread voter fraud and systemic irregularities cost him victory.

He also sought to pressure Kemp, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensberger (R) and other state officials to reverse his electoral loss in the state.