Mind you, Jim Crow has always worn a suit and tie.

Stacey Abrams has described Republican efforts to restrict voting rights in Georgia as “racist” and “a redux of Jim Crow in a suit and tie”.

It wasn’t just sheriffs and guys in pickup trucks, it was legislatures and judges and mayors.

The bill in Georgia, SB241, includes various measures including ending the right to vote by mail without having to provide an excuse, and other new identification requirements. Republicans have held up what they say is a risk of voter fraud as justification for the legislation despite the lack of evidence of wrongdoing.

And despite the fact that we all know the point of these laws is not to prevent voter fraud but to make voting more difficult. Added difficulty is more of a barrier to people with fewer resources. People with fewer resources are more likely to vote D. It’s not subtle.

Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, Abrams said the moves by lawmakers in Georgia would significantly curtail voting access after a record number of voters propelled Democratic victories in the 2020 race.

Curtailing access is the goal. It always has been.

“And so, instead of celebrating better access and more participation, their response is to try to eliminate access to voting for primarily communities of color. And there’s a direct correlation between the usage of drop boxes, the usage of in person early voting, especially on Sundays, and the use of vote by mail and a direct increase in the number of people of color voting.”

Make voting a privilege again!