A Fox “straight news” program brought on Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk to lie about the Georgia voter suppression law.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp recently signed a law that increases state power over county elections, which would allow Republican interference in Democratic counties, limits the number of ballot dropboxes for each county, and imposes regulations on absentee and early voting that will disproportionately affect Black voters.
The law drew immediate backlash, with President Joe Biden condemning a clause banning food and water distribution at the polls as “outrageous” and calling the measure “un-American,” Georgia-based Delta Airlines and Coca-Cola criticizing the law, and Major League Baseball relocating this year’s All-Star Game and draft from the state.
On The Story Monday, Fox’s Juan Williams said Georgia Republicans look “like they’re trying to control future elections” due to provisions taking power away from the secretary of state and local board of electors. Kirk responded that the law “doesn’t do that,” an assertion that went unchallenged by anchor Martha MacCallum:
As Williams said, the law will allow the heavily gerrymandered and largely Republican state government to manage county election boards, removing the secretary of state from heading, and voting on, the state election board with oversight. As Vox explained, that means the “state board, which now will be fully controlled by the Republican legislative majority, is unilaterally empowered to take over (among other things) the process of disqualifying ballots across the state.”
Kirk also lied about water being handed to people in line. As PolitiFact notes: “The law makes it a misdemeanor to give away food or water within 150 feet of the outer edge of a polling place building or within 25 feet of any voter in line. Violations of this law are punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1,000 fine.”