evidence: Georgia House Passes Elections Bill That Would Limit Absentee And Early Voting [...] House Bill 531, which passed 97-72 Monday, would also strip the secretary of state of his role as chair of the State Election Board, prevent county elections offices from receiving direct grant funding, shorten Georgia's runoff election period and require counties to add more staff, equipment or polling places in large precincts with long voter lines. The bill's sponsor, GOP Rep. Barry Fleming, who chairs the House Special Committee on Election Integrity, said the 66-page measure "is designed to begin to bring back the confidence of our voters back into our election system" after Republicans lost confidence in the GOP-backed voting system following Democrats' victories in the November presidential contest and both of Georgia's U.S. Senate races.