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1 PRACTICING POLICY REVIEW Practicing Policy Review Jeyla Gates Department of Social Work, Walden University SOCW-6361A-13: Social Policy: Analysis and Advocacy Dr. Linda F. Samuel October 20, 2023

1 PRACTICING POLICY REVIEW In the year 2020, the coronavirus outbreak changed a lot of things that we usually do. It changed how we grocery shopped. It changed how we contacted our doctors. But one major change was how we vote. The majority of Americans chose to vote by mail because it was the safest way. Still to this day, we have not resolved the COVID-19 pandemic problem. So why enact the Election Integrity Act, and is it doing more harm than good? The Election Integrity Act of 2021 was to ensure that individuals who mail-in ballots instead of voting in person are honest. It is to ensure that people mailing in absentee ballot applications mail their applications only to eligible registered electors to ensure there is no fraud or violations, and to repeal conflicting laws. (Georgia General Assembly, 2021). Instead of signature matching to check identity, voter identification is now required. The location of the drop boxes to submit ballots is now limited to specific communities that are monitored by police around the clock, and the time the drop boxes are available is also limited. Also, while the in- person absentee ballot lines are always long, it is now restricted to providing free water and drinks to those waiting in line. (Watts, 2021). While it is a good idea to ensure that the individuals voting are being truthful, this is creating a hardship for those who vote by mail. The convenience of voting by mail is not having to wait. It is convenient to not be in a crowd of people. Some individuals are very vulnerable to illness, so it is important to have the right to vote absentee. However, this act is making it harder to be able to do that. It is making it so that a lot of black and brown people are not able to vote in their communities, due to conditions. Also, for the individuals who do wait in long lines to get the chance to vote, there is no longer the courtesy of refreshments while they wait. What was the point of that? It could be to limit people of specific communities from voting.

1 PRACTICING POLICY REVIEW As a social worker, I have a job to advocate for the rights and well-being of individuals, or groups of people, who are not being heard. A policy advocate promotes the social work values that are included in the Code of Ethics of the National Association of Social Workers on the macro level by addressing the needs of individuals and groups of America and others by changing or making the policies better. (Jansson, 2018). This act is making it harder for people in poorer communities and people with disabilities to vote. As social workers, we must fight against things like this because they only do this to people or groups that don't have the resources to fight back. We have to be a resource on every level; micro, mezzo, and macro. In social work, we practice many skills that help us be successful advocates. Skills such as communication, research, active listening, and problem-solving are just a few of the skills we apply to advocacy of policy. For example, in this situation, we would have to use our communication and active listening skills to talk with those in the community about how the Election Integrity Act has affected their ability to vote. We would research the act to determine factors that are negative and positive, and we would determine what we could do to make it better for all people. Also, people with disabilities are affected in a way because some disabilities cause individuals to not be able to stand for a long period. The hospitality of drinks and food while waiting in line to vote makes it that much easier to be comfortable waiting. I believe that this act was put in place to directly lessen the amount of minority votes and make it more convenient for everyone else. The fact that mostly black and brown people live in urban areas and don't have police protection expresses that they are the targeted group. The basis of the Election Integrity Act is to ensure people are being truthful. It replaced signature matching requirements with a photo identification requirement. This is a strength

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1 PRACTICING POLICY REVIEW because voting on different issues and elections is extremely important and determines the face of the nation and how we will continue. It is very important to make sure that it isn't manipulated. However, with the legislative control of election administration, this can be a good thing and a bad thing. It can be a good thing because limiting control makes it easier to get to a majority vote. However, it can be a bad thing depending on legislative motive or reasoning behind what they believe. In this case, it is important to have the opinions of those closely connected to the community, which is why policy advocates are so important. Limitations of the Election Integrity Act are the short periods that the drop boxes are open, having fewer drop boxes, and having longer poll lines without the accommodation of refreshments. Having the drop boxes open until a certain time of the day makes it harder for those who don't live in the community to put their vote in. The number of drop boxes has lessened, and it makes it less convenient for anyone who does not live near one, especially in a big city, such as Atlanta, with a lot of traffic. People have a hard time getting to places in a decent amount of time. This makes it that much harder to put in a vote. When waiting in long lines to vote, free water and snacks are no longer legal to pass out. Now that there are fewer drop boxes, more people may want to vote in person and the lines will possibly be longer. If I had to make changes to benefit the population that is facing these social problems, I would first eliminate the removal of being able to provide water and drinks to those in line. It's important to realize that these are the individuals who live in the nation that the lawmakers are running, so they should feel comfortable taking care of them and accommodating them in every way. Taking away these refreshments may seem small, but it shows how small things can impact us as well. Another change I would make would be to not remove drop boxes from communities

1 PRACTICING POLICY REVIEW but add police enforcement to those locations. If the reason they removed the drop boxes was because they are not safe environments, work harder to make them safer. Don't exclude them. Don't take away the connection those communities have to voting. About Elizebeth Covington wanting an unleashed dog park for her dog in her community, she started a petition and raised the money she needed to make that happen. (Hoefer, 2015). Although, in this case, money is not necessary, a good start could be to start a petition for all members of the community affected by this bill. This Act has the potential to positively impact everyone, it just needs a few minor changes.

1 PRACTICING POLICY REVIEW References  Georgia General Assembly. (2021). SB 202: Election Integrity Act of 2021. https://www.legis.ga.gov/legislation/59827  Jansson, B. S. (2018). Becoming an effective policy advocate: From policy practice to social justice (8th ed. pp. 31). Cengage Learning.  Hoefer, R. (2015). Princess wants a dog park: Using theory and evidence to understand advocacy and improve policy practice education.Links to an external site. Journal of Policy Practice, 14 (3/4), 165–170. https://doi.org/10.1080/15588742.2015.1049066  Watts, W. N. (2021). TRUMPED: Intentional Voter Suppression in the Wake of the 2020 Election. Mercer Law Review , 73 (1), 395.

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