The Conservative Clergy of Color, a group of Black ministers and pastors, announced Monday it published a full-page ad in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution to address the “lies” being told by President Joe Biden and Stacey Abrams (D) about the Georgia Election Integrity Act of 2021.
The advertisement, which features a photo of both of the prominent Democrats, specifically calls out Biden and Abrams for their messaging about the new law, describing their agenda as “devastating” to minority-owned small businesses in Atlanta, amid Major League Baseball’s decision to pull out of the city due to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s signing the election integrity bill into law.
“Biden and Abrams keep saying the Election Integrity Act is worse than Jim Crow, which is an insult to the millions of Black Americans,” Bishop Aubrey Shines, founder of Glory to God Ministries and a founding member of Conservative Clergy of Color, said.
“The truth is that this law actually expands access to the ballot box, while also taking common-sense steps to protect the sanctity of every legal vote,” Shines added. “We believe that it should be easy to vote and hard to cheat and the Georgia Integrity Act makes that possible for all voters.”
The advertisement features two columns, one of “lies” and one of “truth,” with the truth column dispelling Biden and Abrams’ claims:
- LIE: The new law restricts early voting. TRUTH: The law expands early voting hours and additional weekend voting opportunities, including Sundays.
- LIE: Voter ID requirements are racially discriminatory. TRUTH: IDs are necessary for numerous everyday activities, and the law even lets voters use documents like utility bills instead of state-issued IDs.
- LIE: Restrictions on distributing food and water to voters are intended to make voting more uncomfortable for minority voters. TRUTH: The law only prohibits using free food and beverages as a form of electioneering.
- LIE: The new law eliminates absentee ballot drop boxes. TRUTH: Drop boxes never existed before the pandemic. The new law creates rules to keep them—and the ballots inside—secure.
- LIE: The new law allows “takeovers” of local election administration. TRUTH: The law protects voters when local officials fail to prevent excessive lines or struggle to process absentee ballots.
“There’s nothing ‘racist’ about the Election Integrity Act, and it’s certainly not ‘Jim Crow 2.0,'” the ad stated. “Your lies are now devastating minority small businesses in Atlanta following the MLB’s decision to move its All-Star Game to Denver, resulting in a loss of $100 million in business. Enough is enough.”
“Easy to vote. Hard to cheat,” the ad read boldly along the bottom.
“As our ad points out, the lies that Biden and Abrams are telling about this law aren’t just another example of political theater,” said Shines. “Like elections, lies have consequences.”
“The MLB’s decision to relocate the All-Star Game in response to the left’s irresponsible and baseless assertions will deprive hard working Georgians – including countless Black-owned businesses and their employees – of a much-needed economic boost that would have helped them recover from the pandemic-induced economic downturn,” Shines added.
For more information on the advertisement, click here.
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