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More than a dozen civil rights groups are calling for a Republican election official in Georgia to resign after she called on state lawmakers to change voting rules so that Republicans “at least have a shot at winning.”

The official, Alice O’Lenick, is one of two Republicans on the 5-member board of election and registration in Gwinnett County, which is just outside of Atlanta. O’Lenick, who is currently serving as the board’s chair, said she backs getting rid of no-excuse absentee voting in Georgia, a process Republicans put in place in 2005, and getting rid of ballot drop boxes. Her comments come after Georgia saw record turnout both in the November election and two US senate runoffs, all of which Democrats won in an upset.

“I was on a Zoom call the other day and I said, ‘I’m like a dog with a bone. I will not let them end this session without changing some of these laws,’ “ O’Lenick said, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post. “They don’t have to change all of them, but they’ve got to change the major parts of them so that we at least have a shot at winning.”

The coalition of civil rights groups said it was clear O’Lenick was pushing partisan interests and that she needed to resign.

“Alice O’Lenick isn’t even trying to hide her bias against Democratic voters and voters of color in Gwinnett County,” the coalition said in a statement.

“She has made clear that her only motivation in her position is pure partisanship, engaging openly in rhetoric that is more suited for a political party hack than an elections official. County election board members and chairs should celebrate high voter turnout, regardless of outcome, not advocate laws that will benefit one party over the other.

Republicans in the Georgia legislature have pledged to reexamine the state’s voting laws this year. In addition to weighing whether to get rid of no-excuse absentee voting, they are also reportedly weighing implementing a new requirement to have voters provide a copy of their ID when they submit an absentee ballot. Voting rights groups say this would be an unnecessary hurdle – there was no evidence of fraud in 2020, and voters may not be easily able to submit a copy of their ID.

O’Lenick also said she wants to examine the voter rolls in Gwinnett county to make sure only eligible voters are on them. Georgia has faced criticism in recent years for moving aggressively to remove voters from the rolls.

source: theguardian.com