Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Leading Georgia lawmakers said Thursday that they plan to maintain Sunday voting and no-excuse absentee voting but pursue strict controls on other areas of voter access and ballot counting. Voting rights advocates continued to oppose the legislation during a three-hour hearing, saying it would still create obstacles by limiting drop boxes, setting earlier absentee ballot request deadlines and requiring more ID to vote absentee. A committee vote on the expansive legislation could come as soon as Monday, setting up final decisions on changes to Georgia’s voting laws within days. State Rep. Barry Fleming, the chairman of the Committee on Election Integrity, proposed allowing early voting on as many as four weekend days leading up to an election, including two mandatory Saturdays statewide. That would be an expansion of early voting, where counties now must offer one Saturday and have the option of providing voting on three other weekend days. A previous bill would have limited early voting to one optional Sunday, a proposal that threatened ‘Souls to the Polls’ group voting events organized by Black churches.”

“Fleming also said he doesn’t intend to move forward with a bill passed by the state Senate that would have limited absentee voting to those who are at least 65 years old, have a physical disability or are out of town. Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan has also said he doesn’t expect an elimination of no-excuse absentee voting to become law. The bill would seek more immediate election results by requiring county election workers to continue counting ballots until they’re finished. Election rules in Georgia would be tightened in many other ways, according to the bill. Most provisional ballots cast outside a voter’s home precinct would be disqualified, voting groups wouldn’t be allowed to send absentee ballot request forms to voters who have already applied for a ballot, and the State Election Board could take over underperforming county election offices.”