Restrictions on ballot drop off boxes in Georgia impact voters of colour, investigation finds

Republicans introduced restrictions after Donald Trump falsely linked ballot drop-off boxes to election fraud

Restrictions on the use of ballot drop-off boxes in Georgia have disproportionately impacted counties with the highest number of voters of colour and Democrats, according to a new investigation.

A new law introduced last year by Georgia Republicans has drastically limited the use of ballot drop-off boxes, which were made available 24 hours a day across the state for the first time during the 2020 election. During that election and afterwards, former president Donald Trump made bogus claims linking the dropoff boxes to election fraud, prompting his Republican allies in Georgia to take action to curtail their use.

The new law requires a maximum of one drop-off box per 100,000 people, limits voting hours and prohibits boxes outside. It has seen the number of drop boxes in the four counties that used them the most drop from 107 to 25, according to an analysis of of drop box locations and voter registration data by NPR, WABE and Georgia Public Broadcasting (GPB).

The investigation found that nearly two million people saw their travel time to drop-off boxes increase since the changes were introduced, and more than 90 per cent of that number live in cities or suburbs, where most of the state’s minority voters and are heavily Democratic.

The three news organisations that conducted the investigation reviewed forms used to document drop box ballot data from 2020 and compared them to data from the state’s primary election in May.

In the run-up to the 2020 election, Mr Trump sought to limit and block the use of ballot drop-off boxes across the country. The use of drop-off boxes increased dramatically that year as a safety measure during the pandemic, and data showed they were used significantly more by Democratic voters.

Since the election, Republicans in swing states lost by Mr Trump have sought to limit their use in the future.

Earlier this month, unmanned drop boxes were banned in Wisconsin following a ruling by the state’s Supreme Court. The conservative-controlled court ruled that voters must now deliver their absentee ballots by mail or in-person to their clerks, a decision that is likely to disproportionately impact Democratic voters.

The ruling could have a significant impact on the next presidential election. President Joe Biden won Wisconsin by fewer than 21,000 votes in 2020, and the state is likely to be a battleground again in 2024.