Reduces early voting hours in counties with populations under 50,000. Requires in-person ID verification for absentee ballots. Under-50,000 counties in Georgia are disproportionately rural and have higher Black and Latino populations as a percentage.
Georgia has a long and documented history of voting restrictions that have been found to disproportionately affect Black voters. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was designed specifically to address this pattern. After Shelby County v. Holder (2013) removed Georgia from federal preclearance requirements, the state passed SB 202 in 2021 — which cut ballot drop boxes, limited Sunday voting, and made it illegal to give food or water to voters waiting in line.
HB 987 follows the same pattern: a structural change to election administration that creates additional burdens that fall more heavily on specific communities.
Georgia already requires voters to provide a driver’s license number or copy of ID when requesting an absentee ballot. This bill adds an in-person verification step — meaning voters who requested absentee ballots would need to appear in person to verify their identity before their ballot is counted. For elderly, disabled, or rural voters without transportation, this effectively eliminates absentee voting.