A local call to action: the potential impact of SB 536, SB 568, and HB 670 in the state of Georgia

While the current political landscape has a number of people in a challenging situation on the national level, there's a saying coined by the late (and former) US House of Representatives Speaker Tip O'Neill.

"All politics is local".

When it comes within the state of Georgia, there are a number of bills on the state floor up for debate. In this case, there are a few bills which potentially can help protect voters' rights and access along with civil rights protections (if passed), or could actually dilute voting access and generating a level of confusion with the current voting process.

Here are a few that not only raise consideration for review, but contact with your state representatives before said bills are up for a vote:

Georgia Senate Bill 536 (2025-26 Session), also referred to as the Henry McNeal Turner Voting Rights Act (introduced on February 20, 2026 by Democratic Minority Leader Harold Jones II)

The bill incorporates the following in ensuring fair access to voting:

• The purpose of the bill is to prevent practices that can potentially weaken the voting power of particular communities, essentially diluting their voting access.

• A key proposal is the creating of a state-level Voting Rights Commission to review local election policy changes (pre-clearance).

• A component is the creation of a database to develop standards for identifying and evaluating voter suppression.

• A requirement includes voting materials and services be provided in languages other than English based on demographic thresholds.

Georgia Senate Bill 568 (2025-26 session) - introduced by State Senator Greg Dolezal

The bill includes the following potential changes regarding early voting along with possible voter suppression:

• One key aspect is the removing of touchscreen systems and primarily reverting to paper ballots that are hand-marked and scanned.

• Elimination of county-wide voting; if this is done, voters would be required to vote at assigned, specific precinct locations.

• The state would be empowered to impose fines of up to $10,000 on counties for failing to remove ineligible voters.

• Modification of audit procedures and lowers the threshold for candidate-requested recounts to a 1% margin.

Georgia House Bill 670 (2025-26 session), known as the Georgia Civil Rights Act of 2025

Key components of the bill as it relates to civic rights protections against discrimination in housing, public accommodations, and employment, along with protections in related areas (focus areas):

• The key purpose is to establish state-level protections against discrimination based on race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age, ability, or national origin.

• A few of the areas of impact include prohibiting discrimination in employment (i.e. hiring, firing, and compensation), housing (i.e. rentals and sales), and public accommodations.

• Regarding law enforcement, it would be prohibited for profiling and mandates data collection on investigatory activities.

As with any legislation, there are potential consequences to said bills passing or not. With the 2026 elections arguably being one of the more important ones in recent history, voting access and related measures likely are going to be under a larger set of watchful eyes than in previous years.

Contact with local representatives is encouraged (click HERE as a starting point to find your legislator), especially as it relates to SB 568. For those who are in favor of contacting Ethics Committee Chairman Sam Watson (404-656-0065 or by email at sam.watson@senate.ga.gov) on SB 536 along with Judiciary Committee Chairman Stan Gunter (404-656-5125 or by email at stan.gunter@house.ga.gov) on HB 670 are also able to do.

And again, "All politics is local".

Notes: The images are provided via Georgia Black Legislative Caucus. You may also visit the Georgia Legislature website (click HERE) to find about about bills being discussed (in some instances, in real time).