WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Reaction poured in from Washington on Friday after Georgia’s governor signed a law overhauling the state’s election system.
Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., called the newly-signed election law “democracy in reverse.”
“Our democracy is in a 911 emergency,” Sen. Warnock said Friday.
Georgia’s Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed the bill on Thursday. It implements new voting restrictions, like ID requirements for absentee ballots, and gives the state more control over the county election boards.
“I think they don’t like the outcome and so, rather than change the message, they’re trying to change the rules,” Warnock said.
Also on Friday, Warnock visited a Democratic state representative hours after she was arrested for knocking on the governor’s door as he signed the new law.
“Anyone who saw that video would have been deeply concerned,” White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said.
According to Psaki, President Joe Biden is not only concerned about the arrest – but the law itself as well.
“This is nothing but punitive design to keep people from voting,” President Biden said Friday.
Meanwhile in Washington, Democratic U.S. lawmakers are pushing for the passage of a federal bill to expand voting access. Republicans call it an unconstitutional power grab.
“This is clearly an effort by one party to rewrite the rules of our political system,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said this week.
McConnell, R-Ky., said the measure would create a “implementation nightmare” that “would ground state and local officials who run elections.”
President Biden is continuing to push senators to get the voting rights bill to his desk when they return from their two-week recess.