Democratic Georgia State Rep. Park Cannon was arrested and reportedly charged with two felonies late Thursday for knocking on Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s office door as he signed into law a sweeping voter suppression bill that aims to curtail ballot drop boxes, impose more strict voter ID requirements for absentee ballots, and give the GOP legislature significant control over the state election board.
Video footage posted online shows Cannon, who represents Georgia’s 58th House district, exchanging words with a state trooper standing in front of Kemp’s closed office door as the governor moved to grant the omnibus election bill final approval just hours after the 96-page measure cleared both the House and Senate Thursday afternoon.
“The governor is signing a bill that affects all Georgians,” a person standing behind Cannon said as the lawmaker spoke with the state trooper. “Why is he doing it in private? And why is he trying to keep elected officials who are representing us out of the process?” Continue reading.