It might surprise some people to know that not everyone has a car or other form of reliable transportation. 

Not everyone has a job where they can leave work and go to the county elections office to vote during the hours it is open. 

It may be difficult for you to imagine some people are not comfortable going to the elections office and interacting with election officials. They may feel intimidated or out of place. 

Then, there are people who cannot physically stand in line to vote when the polls are busy. 

Others may need encouragement to go vote. They might be more likely to vote with a group of people with whom they are comfortable, their church group, for example. 

All of these things are true. 

What is not true is the Big Lie that the 2020 U.S. presidential election was stolen or that widespread election fraud occurred in our state. 

In fact, Georgia had the most scrutinized election in the entire nation and a count, recount and re-recount — including a hand count of the ballots — proved over and over and over again the Georgia election was secure and accurate. 

Inexplicably, Georgia Sen. Butch Miller, R-Gainesville, now wants to ban ballot drop boxes in our state. 

Of course, Miller is running for lieutenant governor and perhaps he thinks promoting bogus election conspiracy theories will pander to a base that will help him get elected. He may be surprised to learn that, instead, promoting voter suppression may be the very thing that keeps him from being elected. 

Miller, in a completely uninformed statement, said, “Removing drop boxes will help rebuild the trust that has been lost. Many see them as the weak link when it comes to securing our elections against fraud.”

Who has lost trust in Georgia’s elections? 

The state’s Republican secretary of state and governor both rejected the Big Lie and said Georgia’s election was accurate and secure. 

Casting doubt on the integrity of the election is likely the very thing that led to the election of two Democrat senators and the ouster of the two Republicans vying for those seats. Voter suppression hurts the Republican party more than it helps it but that is a lesson yet to be learned by the state’s GOP. 

Nearly 130 of Georgia’s 159 counties used ballot drop boxes during the 2020 elections. Only 10 states — including Mississippi and Tennessee — did not have absentee ballot boxes. Miller hearkens for Jim Crow-era voting laws that make it more difficult for new voters, for people who are not affluent, have limited access or who may be skeptical of government institutions to vote. 

In March of this year, the Republican-led Election Integrity Act of 2021 already clamped down on drop box balloting and created unnecessary restrictions and burdens on local elections offices. Now Miller essentially wants to do away with drop boxes altogether. Why? Anyone who stands to be negatively impacted by Miller’s ill-conceived piece of myopic and suppressive legislation knows exactly the reasons why. 

Anyone who really believes in democracy wants all legally registered voters to vote in every election and wants to make it as easy as possible to cast a ballot. 

 Jim Zachary is editor of the Valdosta Daily Times, CNHI’s director of newsroom training and development and president emeritus of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation.