Institutions and corporations across all sectors have felt increasingly moved to take public stands on political issues they might have previously remained quiet about. So, when Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed controversial voting legislation, SB 202, into effect on March 25, various sectors responded — and higher education was no exception.
Earlier this month, leaders from several historically Black colleges and universities in Georgia publicly condemned the legislation, calling it “a direct assault on the voting rights of all citizens, particularly African Americans, the poor and other underserved communities.”
What’s in the new legislation?
Proponents of the bill say it will restore voter confidence in the electoral system after former President Donald J. Trump repeatedly spread unsupported claims of election fraud following the election of Democratic Senators Reverend Dr. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in November. And Gov. Kemp has even argued the legislation expands voting access rather than restricts it, pointing to a new requirement that there be two Saturdays for voting — instead of just one — with the option of offering two Sundays for voting as well.
Leaders of several Georgia HBCUs, however, don’t buy it.
“Despite proclamations that the bill expands voter access, for many in our communities, it clearly restricts that access. And the restrictions and denial of access clearly outweigh any of the good,” writes the leaders of Clark Atlanta University, Morehouse College, Morehouse School of Medicine and Spelman College.
