Georgia Senate committee OKs photo ID for absentee voting

ATLANTA (AP) - A Georgia state Senate committee has approved a Republican-backed bill that would add a photo ID requirement for absentee voting.

It comes after a surge in absentee ballots helped Democrats win the state’s presidential election and two U.S. Senate runoffs.

The Senate Ethics Committee voted Thursday in favor of Senate Bill 67. The bill would require that a person include their driver’s license number, other state ID number or a photocopy of an approved ID when submitting an absentee ballot application.

Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers in the state House introduced a 48-page bill that would have wide-ranging effects on Georgia election law.

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