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Saira Draper

DEMOCRAT

Saira Draper is running for Georgia State Representative, District 90.

Personal background

Saira resides in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, Addison, and their three children. She attended Georgia public schools. She received her bachelor's degree in public policy from Georgia Tech and her juris doctor from the Georgetown University Law Center.

Professional background

Saira is a civil rights attorney who has leveraged the legal system to address matters of fairness. Saira is co-founder of Power the Vote.

Political background

Saira Draper is a freshman representative in the Georgia House of Representatives, serving the people of House District 90. She was elected in 2022.

Economy

Said, "One of the votes from the final week that makes me proud is the one doubling the amount of time state workers can take off with pay within the first year of having a baby or adopting."

Said, "Georgia has some of the nation’s worst tenant protections and it’s shameful the conditions some Georgians live in while paying most of their income for rent."

Said, "Senate Bill 362 is a pathetic attempt to prevent Georgia’s working families from organizing their workplace... the state government stepping in to ban that recognition simultaneously harms workers and takes away individual freedoms from business owners."

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Energy & the Environment

Opposes mining near Okefenokee Swamp, citing irreversible harm, increased droughts, wildfires, destruction of 300 acres of wetlands, groundwater depletion, and pollution affecting birds and alligators.

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Healthcare

Supports expanding Medicaid in Georgia using federal funds, co-sponsored HB38 to cover 500,000 residents ineligible for Medicaid or government exchange insurance

Opposes SB 140, citing a lack of evidence and contradiction with medical standards; supports gender-affirming care for transgender youth, aligning with the American Academy of Pediatrics' advocacy for equitable healthcare access.

Said, "I am proud to co sponsor HB 1497, the Right to Contraception Act, which will protect IVF... The bill says that a human egg or human embryo that exists outside of a uterus is not considered an unborn child or natural person."

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Voting & Elections

Plans to transfer the financial responsibility of voter challenge inquiries to the challengers if the process exceeds 15 minutes, aligning with Georgia's Open Records Act to prevent overburdening counties.

Supports protecting election workers; passed HB 1118 in committee with backing from an op-ed and testimonies against intimidation faced since 2020, aiming to safeguard democracy and officials for 2024 elections.

Opposes Georgia's law permitting unlimited voter challenges, which leads to baseless, widespread challenges against eligible voters, overburdening election officials and deterring voting.

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Public Safety

Believes broad immigration sweeps in Georgia are unjustified, citing statistics that undocumented immigrants commit fewer crimes than U.S.-born citizens and legal residents, particularly in violent, drug, and property offenses.

Supports incentivizing gun safety in Georgia through a $300 tax credit for purchasing gun safes, safety devices, or taking safety courses.

As a Representative, she supported House Bill 1014 and said, "House Bill 1014 addresses some of the inequities ... in our criminal justice system. HB 1014 would lower the threshold for determining if a convicted killer is mentally disabled such that he cannot understand the sentence. If he cannot, he should not be executed."

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Education

Said, "...Georgia has chronically underfunded our public schools. It has for years. Let’s give schools the resources they need rather than redirecting families and resources away. Don’t starve the system and then pretend it cannot work."

Opposes school vouchers as they benefit the affluent, discount private education, and deplete public school funds, exacerbating inequality.

Said, "I’m working on a bill that would increase Teacher Retirement System benefits for teachers... Under the current law, retired teachers receive an annual pension equal to 2% of the member’s average compensation over their two highest paid consecutive years of teaching, multiplied by the number of years they taught."

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