On Thursday on the 19 of April in Georgia, the Georgia House had passed the Voting Georgia Law on a 100-to-75 vote, later given to the Senate, and was passed at a 35-to-20 vote and given to Governor Brian Kemp to be put into law that day. The law introduces rigid voter IDs for absentee ballots, limited drop boxes and expanded legislation power for elections. Becoming one of the biggest Republican-based voter restrictions.

Some of the more minor restrictions included stripping the Secretary of State of some authority, imposing new oversight of county election boards, restricting who can vote with provisional ballots and making it a crime to offer food or water to voters waiting in lines. The law also requires runoff elections to be held four weeks after the original vote, according to New York Times.

Many Democrats think that this law was passed because of the recent election, which will make Georgia a presidential election battleground after a recent flip from a Republican to Democratic Senate.

The law chose to ignore some of the more harsh ideas that were proposed, such as a ban on Sunday voting that was seen as an attempt to stop the role of Black churches in driving turnout and ballot boxes. This prevents Black voters from dropping off their vote then attending church or not even voting at all.

By choosing to not allow this policy, black voters may continue to put off election days to attend church or drop their votes at church.

The legislation decided to expand early voting options in some areas. No-excuse absentee voting, in which voters do not have to provide a rationale for casting a ballot by mail, also remains in place— though it will now entail new restrictions such as providing a state-issued identification card.

Georgia has now become a battleground for future elections with Democrats saying this targets people of color as more urban areas have decreased ballot drop-offs and that it is now more likely they will have less; along with accusing Georgia Republicans of scheming this to silence Black voters as they helped Biden win this last election.

“These new restrictions make Jim Crow look as if he is Jim Eagle,” President Joe Biden said in response to the passing of these new laws.

While others are saying this is meant to prevent future Democratic wins and appease more Conservative wins.

And it isn’t stopping at Georgia, states like Iowa, Florida, Arizona and Texas are planning on continuing voter restriction with laws much like the ones Georgia is passing.

“Why are we still listening to these corporate woke hypocrites on regulations, taxes and antitrust,” Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida said on Democratic response to the Georgia law.

Despite the controversy of the law, we can look at the possible changes it could bring for future elections.