The Washington Post has awarded President Joe Biden with “Four Pinocchios” for his claim that a Georgia election law will prevent working-class people from voting.
The Post awards a “Pinocchio”—whose wooden nose grew longer with each lie—to political figures who make false claims, with four being the highest number for the most blatant of lies.
President Joe Biden talks to reporters during the first news conference of his presidency in the East Room of the White House on March 25, 2021 in Washington, DC. On the 64th day of his administration, Biden, 78, faced questions about the coronavirus pandemic, immigration, gun control and other subjects.
Georgia’s S.B. 202 became law last week, limiting the number of drop boxes that can be used during an election and requiring voters have identification whether they submit ballots in person or by mail. Biden criticized the legislation in a written statement, claiming, “Among the outrageous parts of this new state law, it ends voting hours early so working people can’t cast their vote after their shift is over.”(RELATED: ‘Jim Crow 2.0’: Critics Compare Georgia’s Voting Integrity Bill To Racial Segregation)
Washington Post fact-checker Glenn Kessler disagreed with Biden’s assessment.
“One could understand a flub in a news conference. But then this same claim popped up in an official presidential statement. Not a single expert we consulted who has studied the law understood why Biden made this claim, as this was the section of law that expanded early voting for many Georgians,” Kessler argued.
“On Election Day in Georgia, polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and if you are in line by 7 p.m., you are allowed to cast your ballot. Nothing in the new law changes those rules. However, the law did make some changes to early voting. But experts say the net effect was to expand the opportunities to vote for most Georgians, not limit them,” Kessler insisted. (RELATED: Schumer Accused Georgia Republicans Of Eliminating Sunday Voting. There’s More To The Story)
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp speaks to the media before health care workers receive the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine outside of the Chatham County Health Department on December 15, 2020 in Savannah, Georgia. (Photo by Sean Rayford/Getty Images)
“Biden framed his complaint in terms of a slap at working people. The law would ‘end voting at five o’clock when working people are just getting off work’ or ‘ends voting hours early so working people can’t cast their vote after their shift is over,'” Kessler continued. “Many listeners might assume he was talking about voting on Election Day, not early voting. But Election Day hours were not changed.”
Biden also said the Georgia law was “Jim Crow in the 21st century,” in reference to the notorious segregation laws that prevailed throughout the south until the mid-1960s.