Democrats decry scant access to Georgia voting bill hearings

ATLANTA (AP) — Democrats in Georgia’s state Senate are slamming their Republican colleagues for holding subcommittee votes on high-profile voting bills with limited public access. A Senate subcommittee on Wednesday approved bills that would curtail who can vote absentee by mail and require a photo ID for absentee voters. The bills could soon be taken up by the full Senate Ethics Committee. The subcommittee meeting was held at 7 a.m. No agenda was posted online beforehand and the meeting was not livestreamed. Public access to committee rooms has also been restricted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Republicans defended the move, saying that subcommittee meetings are not normally livestreamed.