By Samantha Lewis

Five Democrats in the US House of Representatives voted against a bill that would decriminalize marijuana at the federal level. The law, passed largely along party lines, would also create a process for charging people who have previously pleaded guilty to most marijuana charges. But the Republican members of the state's delegation were the only two Republicans to support decriminalizing marijuana in the House.

Bishop, who lives in Albany, said in a news release that 47 states have already done so and that the state will not have to worry about federal intervention if the law goes into effect. He said he voted against the proposal because most states had changed their views on marijuana and federal laws had not been updated.

Six of Georgia's eight Republican lawmakers were not on the ballot on Friday, according to the online voter registration database of the Georgia Republican Party.

US Republican Doug Collins missed Friday's vote because he was flying back to his home state of Florida. The ninth seat is vacant after Republican Tom Graves resigned from the U.S. House of Representatives last week.

A spokeswoman for Collins, who lives in Gainesville, said he would have been against the law if he had been in Washington. Pence then traveled to Savannah for a campaign event with Loeffler and Perdue.

One of the keynote speakers there was US Representative Buddy Carter, who represents the region, but Carter also missed the vote on the MORE bill. Other Republicans who did not vote, such as Rep. Drew Hodge, D-Atlanta, and Rep. Barry Goldwater, R-Athens, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on their votes. Allen Evans and Scott Tifton recently announced that they tested positive for coronavirus and may still be in quarantine.

The bill was passed with the votes of Democrats and a handful of Republicans and is likely to be put to a vote in the Republican Senate before the end of the year, meaning it is unlikely to take effect. Only Republican Republicans. Jody Hice, R - Atlanta, John Lewis, D - Savannah, Jodie Taylor, C.J. Johnson, G.R. "Buddy" Carter Jr., and John Carter Jr. were present to vote on the bill with their House and Senate colleagues.