[8] Georgia governor Brian Kemp called criticism of the bill "disingenuous and completely false", and has argued that it differs little from voting laws in most other states.

[21][22] Writing for Vox, Zack Beauchamp commented that the bill "allows Republicans to seize control of how elections are administered in Fulton County and other heavily Democratic areas, disqualifying voters and ballots as they see fit.

[23] In particular, shortened runoffs would have shortened early voting, which benefited Democrats in the 2020 Senate races; and no nonpartisan blanket elections in the special election would have prevented the protracted intra-party battles between the leading Republican candidates Kelly Loeffler and Doug Collins, which diverted energy away from campaigning against Democratic candidate Raphael Warnock.

[26][27] Proponents have argued that allowing partisan volunteers to hand out food and water provided an opportunity for illegal campaigning to voters in line.

[4] The new law removes the option of casting a provisional ballot if the voter arrives at the wrong polling location prior to 5 pm and instead requires them to travel to the correct precinct.

Many jurisdictions in Georgia, particularly those in poorer urban areas, used donations from outside organizations like the Center for Tech and Civic Life to fund elections in 2020.

[32] That bill would have restricted where ballot boxes can be located and when they can be accessed, required photo identification for absentee voting, made the deadline to request an absentee ballot earlier, made it a misdemeanor to hand out food or drink to voters waiting in line, and limited early voting hours on weekends, among many other changes.

[35][36] Most controversially, it would have restricted early voting on Sundays, when Black churches traditionally run "Souls to the Polls" get-out-the-vote efforts.

[5] Geoff Duncan, the Republican Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, said that momentum for the legislation grew from misinformation by former president Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani.

[15] According to The New York Times, the bill "will, in particular, curtail ballot access for voters in booming urban and suburban counties, home to many Democrats.

[57] In August 2022, Boulee upheld a portion of the law that prohibited offers of food, water, and other gifts to voters standing in line within 150 feet of a polling precinct.

[58] In August 2023, Boulee granted a preliminary injunction blocking election officials from imposing criminal penalties for violating the ban on food, drinks and other gifts to voters at the outer perimeter of voting lines.

[60] President Biden described the law as "Jim Crow in the 21st Century" and an "atrocity", while falsely claiming that it "ends voting hours early.

[61] In response to the bill, and after pressure from civil rights groups,[63] Major League Baseball (MLB) announced it would be moving the 2021 All-Star game out of suburban Atlanta.

[64] In a statement outlining his opposition to the bill, MLB commissioner Rob Manfred asserted that "Major League Baseball fundamentally supports voting rights for all Americans and opposes restrictions to the ballot box".

[64] Georgia Governor Brian Kemp responded by claiming that the MLB caved to "fear, political opportunism, and liberal lies" and called the decision an example of cancel culture.

[66] In early April, Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Mike Lee and Representative Jeff Duncan announced that they would be pursuing retaliatory legislation to revoke MLB's antitrust exemption over its opposition to the law.

[69] Commenting on the Delta bill, state House Speaker David Ralston quipped, "You don't feed a dog that bites your hand".

[70] Other companies, including the Atlanta Falcons, Home Depot, and UPS, followed suit, issuing statements condemning the bill or asserting their belief that politicians should be making it "easier, not harder, for Americans to exercise their right to vote".

[73] Former president Donald Trump, who was the central promoter of claims of widespread election fraud and the principal agent in attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election, called for Republicans and conservatives to boycott Major League Baseball, Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, JPMorgan Chase, ViacomCBS, Citigroup, Cisco, UPS, Merck & Co., and other companies he accused of being "woke".

[75] Actor Will Smith and director Antoine Fuqua announced in a joint statement that production of their upcoming film, Emancipation, would be pulled from Georgia due to the passage of the law.

Their statement read: "We cannot in good conscience provide economic support to a government that enacts regressive voting laws that are designed to restrict voter access.

[77] On April 14, hundreds of corporations, executives, and celebrities opposed the voting restrictions in 2-page ad spreads in The New York Times, The Washington Post and some other major newspapers.