You're listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

An update on a Georgia voter suppression bill we told you about two weeks ago. Public pressure pushed HB 1464's senate committee to strip the most controversial provisions of the bill, among them using the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to follow up on election irregularities, not election officials. 

But that's not the end of the story. The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that anti-voter legislators resurrected the stripped provisions and attached them to SB 89, another Georgia Senate bill. The bill then passed out of committee on the last day of the session. In addition to use of the GBI, it also restored full public access to voters' ballots, which currently requires a court order, and, adds “chain of custody” reporting requirements anytime a ballot is touched by an election worker. Such burdensome requirements are being implemented around the country using now-debunked claims of voter fraud. Both SB 89 and HB 1464 remain pending before the full Georgia Senate.

In campaign finance news, a Canadian steel executive was fined $975,000 for violation campaign finance rules. He used a Pennsylvania subsidiary to funnel $1.75 million dollars to a Super PAC supporting President Donald Trump. Contributions by foreign entities are not allowed by federal law.

Granny D said, “Democracy is not something we HAVE, it's something we DO.” 

For the American Democracy Minute, I'm  Brian Beihl.