Some feel silenced as Georgia lawmakers decide on voting bill

(The Center Square) – The committee room was packed on Thursday as Georgia’s Senate Ethics Committee debated Senate Bill 3EX that would affect the state’s November elections.

But unlike committee meetings held during the regular session, no one testified.

“If there is any legislative issue that deserves thorough public vetting, bipartisan participation, and expert review, it is how votes are cast and counted,” Marilyn Marks, executive director of the Committee for Good Governance, told The Center Square. “Instead, the Senate Ethics Committee refused to hear a single member of the public or expert before advancing a bill mandating more touchscreen voting for the next decade, with the bill written to strongly favor one specific vendor. The message was clear: citizens, experts and even Democratic Party lawmakers’ voices can stand outside with their noses pressed against the windowpane while Republican insiders and their appointees make the decisions.”

The bill presented by Sylvania Republican...