ATLANTA — Georgia Republican lawmakers approved a measure last week that would outlaw local officials from seeking almost all third-party funding to help cover the costs of running elections.
GOP-led Arkansas recently enacted a similar ban on outside money in elections.
The bills are the latest in a series of measures passed by Republicans at the state level to crack down on outside funding in elections. Their efforts have been fueled in part by false claims about the 2020 election and come as election officials across the country complain about persistent funding needs.
Georgia's Senate Bill 222 would make it a felony for local election workers or government officials to solicit or accept money to cover the cost of running elections from any source other than the state or federal government.
In 2021, Georgia lawmakers passed a sweeping 98-page voting overhaul that banned county elections boards from directly receiving outside funding, instead requiring any grant money to be requested and disbursed by county governments.
But after majority-Black, Democratic-heavy DeKalb County in metro Atlanta received a $2 million grant in early 2023 that it then allocated to its elections office, some conservative groups pressured the General Assembly to close this loophole and make that method illegal, too. The legislation SB 222 is now at the governor's desk.
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