Friend -

Last night at midnight, the Georgia legislature gaveled out Sine Die, the final day of legislative session for 2022. We made it! But most importantly, this year, voters and advocates had a laundry list of incredible wins. Here’s what we accomplished, and what your work and support helped make possible:

• We defeated Republicans’ 2022 anti-voting omnibus bill, HB 1464, and their second iteration, SB 89. This bill would have risked undermining election workers, made it harder to conduct elections in Georgia, and allowed for a flood of hands-on sham ballot reviews by Big Lie conspiracy theorists. With YOUR voices, work, and effort, state legislators rejected this effort and we defeated these bills.
• Together with incredible criminal legal reform advocates, we defeated attempts to attack bail reform and criminalize protest in Georgia. SB 171 and SB 504, among other provisions, were shameless attempts to crack down on protestors and repeal the progress Georgia has made in criminal justice reform. However, after voters and tireless advocates like the Southern Center for Human Rights spoke out, both of these bills died in committee.
• Education advocates defeated all but TWO of the over two dozen anti-education bills this year. We have seen an onslaught of bills attempting to cut funding from schools, censor classrooms, and intimidate teachers in 2022, and the opposition has been led by advocates like Public Education Matters Georgia. However, after students, parents, teachers, and community members spoke out, only two bills of the over two dozen originally proposed made it to the Governor’s desk - and many of the most harmful provisions that would have jeopardized college scholarships and billions in school funding were stripped.
• Georgia’s strong reproductive justice coalition defeated yet another attempt to restrict abortion access, SB 456. With the work of groups like the Feminist Women’s Health Center and reproductive rights advocates, this bill was never brought to the Senate for a vote.

Let’s be clear: none of this would have been possible without you. Once again, just like in 2020, your voice was heard. And looking forward to May and November, we are confident that Georgians will be heard once more, because of your commitment to our state and your communities.

But these wins also remind us that there is still more work to be done. While many harmful bills were stopped, we saw the passage of SB 441, which gives the Georgia Bureau of Investigations (GBI) new powers to investigate alleged elections infractions and raises voter intimidation concerns, and HB 1084, which could discriminate against trans athletes and censor school classrooms. The passage of these bills serve as a reminder that our work is not yet finished. We have more work to do—together— and must show up at the polls to make our voices heard. 

Thank you. Take some time to celebrate, rest, and then get ready to make your votes and voices heard this year!

In the meantime, please consider making a donation to support our work. The easiest way to donate is online here. 

 Thank you for all you do - 

Team Fair Fight Action