I can understand Sec. Handel’s outrage over the heavy hand of VRA scrutiny of Georgia’s evolving elections laws.

It’s quite similar to my outrage over our fair states draconian ballot access laws for third party candidates. Like Sec. Handel, I do not understand why a law passed in 1943 under the direction the legendary Democratic Gov. Eugene “I stole them for you” Talmadge, specifically designed to eliminate the possibility of third party political competition to the Democratic or Republican parties in Georgia continues to stand today. I note that the threat of the Communist party gaining support is often cited for Gov. Talmadge’s concern, but I wonder if the numbers of returning black service men from the rigors of World War II also had a place in his thoughts.

In any event, the deal crafted in the smoke filled backrooms of Jim Crow politics in 1943 has stood the test of time. There has not been one third party candidate since then who has managed to meet the State of Georgia’s petition requirements and qualify for a run at a US House of Representative seat. Not one.

I will not detail the stringent requirements set down by the State of Georgia, they are a matter of public law and a prodigious amount public comment by groups like the Libertarians, the Greens, the Communists and a host of voices that have been squelched for the last 66 years.

The time has come for change. And change is needed in the State of Georgia’s ballot access laws. Will Sec. Handel be the agent of change? Time will tell.