{"id":6991,"date":"2021-05-11T18:40:22","date_gmt":"2021-05-11T18:40:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/press-releases\/sens-ossoff-warnock-introduce-legislation-protecting-voters-access-to-water-in-line\/"},"modified":"2021-09-14T20:21:04","modified_gmt":"2021-09-14T20:21:04","slug":"sens-ossoff-warnock-introduce-legislation-protecting-voters-access-to-water-in-line","status":"publish","type":"press-releases","link":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/press-releases\/sens-ossoff-warnock-introduce-legislation-protecting-voters-access-to-water-in-line\/","title":{"rendered":"Sens. Ossoff & Warnock Introduce Legislation Protecting Voters\u2019 Access to Water in Line"},"content":{"rendered":"

Current Georgia state law makes it a crime punishable by up to a year in prison for nonpartisan volunteers to provide water to voters in line<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Washington, DC.<\/strong> \u2014 Yesterday, Georgia\u2019s U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock introduced the Voters\u2019 Access to Water Act<\/em>, voting rights legislation that protects voters\u2019 access to water when they are made to wait in line outside polling places.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlier this year, Georgia\u2019s GOP-controlled state legislature passed and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed into law SB 202, a provision of which makes it a crime punishable by up to a year in jail for nonpartisan volunteers to provide bottled water for voters in line outside of polling places. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2018 and 2020, thousands of Georgia voters have been made to wait in line for many hours \u2014 sometimes as many as ten hours<\/a> \u2014 in order to vote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Voters\u2019 Access to Water Act<\/em> <\/em>would prohibit states from banning the provision of food or water to voters waiting in line as long as volunteers providing food or water do not engage in campaigning or political activity and as long as water or food are offered to every voter in line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGeorgia voters are often made to wait hours in line to vote. This bill will ensure a nonpartisan, Good Samaritan volunteer can offer voters in line a bottle of water without fear of criminal prosecution,\u201d Senator Ossoff said.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cVoting rights are preservative of all other rights. We must do everything in our power to expand access to the ballot box, and eliminate any and all barriers that will make it harder for voters in Georgia and nationwide to make their voices heard,\u201d Senator Warnock said.<\/strong> \u201cThe Voters\u2019 Access to Water Act<\/em> gets us closer to that goal, and I\u2019m proud to work with Senator Ossoff to get this important legislation, along with the critical For the People Act<\/em>, over the finish line.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRepublican legislators have sought to criminalize showing compassion to voters in long lines, which are disproportionately comprised of voters of color. Federal action is necessary to combat this cruelty, and Senator Ossoff – along with Congresswoman Nikema Williams in the House of Representatives – are fighting to make sure that voters who are forced to stand in long lines can at least be handed a bottle of water or a snack. Fair Fight Action is proud to support this legislation, and I am proud that Georgia’s Democratic Congressional delegation is leading to protect access to the ballot box for all eligible Americans,\u201d said Stacey Abrams, Founder of Fair Fight Action.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Aiyana Cottman, from Atlanta, Georgia, waited nearly four hours to vote in 2020. While waiting, she experienced nonpartisan volunteers offering water to those who were waiting, and her experience that day inspired her to sign-up to be a poll worker. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNo voter should be made to wait hours in line to vote,\u201d Cottman said.<\/strong> \u201cBut when long lines happen, all voters deserve access to water while they wait. To criminalize that is outrageous \u2014 and I\u2019m grateful to Senators Ossoff and Warnock for introducing this bill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jason Zwang and his wife, who live in Peoplestown, Georgia, waited a combined seven hours to vote in the June 2020 primary. While waiting, nonpartisan volunteers offered them water and food while they waited on a hot, rainy day. Now, under SB 202, those volunteers could face up to a year in prison for trying to offer that bottle of water. The Voters\u2019 Access to Water Act<\/em> would reverse that.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAs we waited in line for hours, through the rain, we were appreciative of the kind volunteers offering all of us something to drink,\u201d Zwang said.<\/strong> \u201cWe saw some voters leave because of the long lines, but the offer of something to drink helped many of us wait. We thank Senators Ossoff and Warnock for this legislation to ensure all voters being made to wait have access to water.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is basic decency to allow voters to receive water from nonpartisan volunteers. This year\u2019s nationwide wave of anti-voter laws will likely lead to longer waiting times at polling places,\u201d said Trevor Potter, President of Campaign Legal Center (CLC), and Republican former Chairman of the Federal Election Commission. <\/strong>\u201cSenator Ossoff\u2019s bill would protect voters in line from being forced to choose between their right to vote and their fundamental human needs. Congress should pass this bill.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Georgia Public Broadcasting\/ProPublica analysis<\/a>, Black voters in Georgia face disproportionately longer lines than white voters.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The analysis found that after the Shelby County v. Holder<\/em> decision in 2013, Georgia closed dozens of precincts in predominately Black neighborhoods in Georgia, creating longer lines at more crowded and more condensed precincts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the study, \u201cabout two-thirds of the polling places that had to stay open late for the June [2020] primary to accommodate waiting voters were in majority-Black neighborhoods, even though they made up only about one-third of the state\u2019s polling places.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here to find the Voters\u2019 Access to Water Act <\/em>bill text<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Click here for the Voters\u2019 Access to Water Act <\/em>fact sheet<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

# # #\u00a0 <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Current Georgia state law makes it a crime punishable by up to a year in prison for nonpartisan volunteers to provide water to voters in line Washington, DC. \u2014 Yesterday, Georgia\u2019s U.S. Senators Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock introduced the Voters\u2019 Access to Water Act, voting rights legislation that protects voters\u2019 access to water when they are made to wait […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":31,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6991","press-releases","type-press-releases","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/6991","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/press-releases"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/31"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/6991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7263,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/press_releases\/6991\/revisions\/7263"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ossoff.senate.gov\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}