| Georgia passes harsh voting rights restrictions; a ship stuck in the Suez Canal is holding up global trade. Tonight's Sentences was written by Gabby Birenbaum. | | | | | | | Georgia Republicans create new voting restrictions | | | | | Tami Chappell/AFP/Getty Images | | - Just months after Democrats won the presidential race and two Senate seats in Georgia for the first time in decades, state Republicans passed and signed Senate Bill 202 yesterday, which will massively restrict voting access in the state. [NYT / Nick Corasaniti]
- The bill passed along party lines and was quickly signed by Gov. Brian Kemp (R), ostensibly as a response to claims of election fraud that have been proven false, as protesters called it "Jim Crow 2.0." Voting organizations have already filed federal lawsuits alleging the bill discriminates against voters of color, young voters, voters with disabilities, and low-income voters. [Atlanta Journal-Constitution / Mark Niesse]
- The bill imposes new ID requirements to vote, limits the number of ballot drop boxes, criminalizes giving voters in lines food or water, permits the state election board to replace local election boards, eases the ability to challenge voting eligibility, shortens the runoff period from nine weeks to four, and forbids local election offices from taking breaks while counting votes. [Vox / Zack Beauchamp]
- State Rep. Park Cannon (D) was arrested yesterday after knocking on Kemp's door to watch the bill signing. Democrats and activists rushed to her defense; Cannon was released but now faces a charge of obstructing law enforcement. Video of her being pulled away by white police officers as she repeats that she is a state legislator called back imagery of the civil rights era, underscoring activists' points about the racist nature of the bill. [NPR / Jaclyn Diaz]
- The bill's passage is a clear win for former President Donald Trump, who falsely alleged massive voter fraud in the 2020 election as the source of his loss — what's being called the "big lie." GOP state legislators are using that lie as the impetus to introduce similar bills in several states. [CNN / Stephen Collinson]
- Stacey Abrams, the 2018 Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate turned voting rights activist, condemned the bill. She advocated for Democrats to pass a filibuster exception in the Senate to enact HR 1, a bill that would enshrine voting protections and improve voter access. [Guardian / Sam Levine]
- A majority of likely voters also support eliminating the filibuster to pass the voting rights bill, according to a recent poll from Vox and Data for Progress. President Biden has left the door open to filibuster reform or exceptions as well. [Vox / Li Zhou]
| | | Boat still stuck in Suez Canal | | - The Ever Given, a container ship traveling from China to the Netherlands through Egypt's Suez Canal, ran aground on Tuesday morning, getting lodged in the canal. It's still there. [Vox / Jariel Arvin]
- Because the boat is lodged horizontally across the canal, global traffic has been blocked for four days. Operations to dislodge it have been moving tens of thousands of cubic yards of sand; the boat is expected to finally be freed this weekend, though some experts warned it could take weeks. [CBS News / Ahmed Shawkat]
- More than 200 vessels have piled up behind the Ever Given, causing some companies to divert their ships to go around Africa instead. Ten percent of global trade flows through the Suez Canal, and the route is especially crucial for transporting oil. [AP / Samy Magdy]
- As ships take the longer route around Africa, both freight rates and the negative environmental impact are expected to rise, and piracy off the Cape of Good Hope could become a bigger concern. [Washington Post / Sudarsan Raghavan]
- The whole incident has been a glaring reminder of how precarious global supply chains are, complicating trade between Asia and Europe and displaying the fragility of global shipping, which most e-commerce companies rely on. Each day in which the ship remains stuck affects up to $9.6 billion in goods. [NYT / Peter S. Goodman]
| | | | | | | | | [AP / Colleen Long] - The New York City Council ended the practice of qualified immunity for police officers, which had protected members of the NYPD from civil lawsuits over rights violations. [CNN / Taylor Romine]
- The University of Southern California will pay $852 million in settlements to the hundreds of women who allege that a school gynecologist sexually abused them and that the university did nothing to stop it. [Washington Post / Nick Anderson]
- Krispy Kreme is offering a free doughnut every day for the rest of the year for people who can show proof they've had a Covid-19 vaccine. [Slate / Molly Olmstead]
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