Key Georgia lawmakers Tuesday called for a rapid test-run of hand-marked paper ballots in this year’s elections, switching from touchscreens in some polling places. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
Reporter covering voting rights and Georgia government for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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Key Georgia lawmakers Tuesday called for a rapid test-run of hand-marked paper ballots in this year’s elections, switching from touchscreens in some polling places. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
Automatic voter registration — which has given Georgia one of the highest registration rates in the nation — might be endangered next year. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
CLARKESVILLE — A divided, bickering State Election Board was on full display Thursday as Georgia legislators repeatedly heard about its deep “dysfunction.” State representatives were not impressed. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
A judge held the Fulton County Board of Commissioners in civil contempt Wednesday, ordering $10,000 daily fines for defying a court order by failing to appoint two Republican nominees to the county Election Board. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
Georgia finished canceling nearly 471,000 voter registrations Friday, one of the largest removals of inactive voters in U.S. history. The cancellations shrink the state's number of registered voters from 8.44 million to less than 8 million. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
The Fulton County Board of Commissioners refused to appoint two election critics nominated by the county Republican Party on Wednesday, despite a court order requiring them to do so. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
Since the Georgia Supreme Court rejected several of the State Election Board's voting rules this summer, all sides have agreed to dismiss the rest of the case. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
A judge threw out a lawsuit Monday over the 2020 presidential election, ruling against Georgia election critics who had demanded to review ballot images that don't exist. www.ajc.com/politics/202... #gapol
Georgia’s mass cancellation of inactive voter registrations — one of the largest in U.S. history — targets people who likely moved away and didn’t vote recently. But it comes with a risk that eligible voters could get swept up in the process. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals questioned whether providing food and water to voters waiting in line is a form of free speech protected by the First Amendment or an intrusion on the protected space near polling places. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
A Georgia elections study has become a public venue for conservative activists to demand major changes, such as switching to hand-marked paper ballots, ending no-excuse absentee voting and getting rid of automatic voter registration. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
Investigations of election fraud and errors took a back seat to the State Election Board’s failed efforts to change Georgia election rules last year. Now there's a backlog of 315 cases that have already been investigated and are awaiting decisions. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
Attorney General Chris Carr’s campaign for governor just filed a federal lawsuit challenging a 2021 Georgia law that allows his Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, to raise unlimited cash while imposing strict limits on his own fundraising. #gapol ajc.com/politics/202...
The Fulton County Board of Commissioners must appoint election critics nominated by the Fulton County Republican Party to the county election board, a superior court judge has ruled. By @calebgroves.bsky.social #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
He’s a candidate running to oversee Georgia elections. She’s a State Election Board member and media personality who appears on Fox News. Does Janelle King’s government position give a political benefit to her husband? #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
Three right-wing members of the State Election Board revived a fight over the 2020 presidential election Wednesday and called for President Donald Trump’s Justice Department to intervene. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
The State Election Board found that Lyft violated a Georgia law against paying for votes when it offered discounted rides to the polls. Free rides are allowed, but the board's majority opposed Lyft's pro-voter offer. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
I voted in the Georgia PSC runoff! I was voter 1901 at the DeKalb election office. Turnout wasn’t too bad—there was even a tiny line! Early voting ends Friday and Election Day is Tuesday.
Check whether your Georgia voter registration is on the cancellation list. @ajc.com created a tool where you can type in your name, birth year, zip code and county to find out: www.ajc.com/politics/202...
One of the largest voter registration cancellations in history began Thursday with 478,000 letters mailed to Georgia voters whose registrations will be removed unless they respond within 40 days. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
Georgia election officials are conducting an audit to find potential inaccuracies in the state’s voter list, an additional step along with this summer’s upcoming cancellation of nearly 500,000 inactive voter registrations. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
Election board members are required to certify election results, even if they distrust the outcome, according to a Georgia Court of Appeals decision. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
What if Georgia held an election and almost no one showed up? Early voting begins today across Georgia for the Democratic primary runoff for Public Service Commission, but turnout is expected to be low and many counties are closing polling places. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
Republican state Rep. Tim Fleming, a former top aide to Gov. Brian Kemp, is planning to run for Georgia secretary of state, kicking off the race to become the state’s top elections official. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
* Read more from The Associated Press apnews.com/article/elec...
* 71% of Georgia voters cast ballots in-person during the state's three-week early voting period, one of the highest rates in the nation. Georgia trailed only Arkansas, North Carolina and Texas for in-person early voting. Election officials credit early voting for reducing lines on Election Day.
* Mail voting rates in Georgia reverted to historical norms after COVID, dropping from 26% in '20 to 5.1% in '24. Nationwide, about 30% voted by mail last year. Mail voting rates reflect policy choices by states. Eight states mail ballots to all voters.
A new report shows insights into turnout and voter behavior. Full report by the Election Administration and Voting Survey: www.eac.gov/sites/defaul... 🧵 * Turnout rose in just five states from '20 to '24: Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. Trump won all of those states.
The Republican Party is pushing voter challengers and election critics for seats on election boards in Fulton and DeKalb counties in Georgia. The GOP sued after Democrats rejected its nominees in Fulton. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
What if they called an election and no one came? Turnout is low in Georgia's rescheduled, off-year, summertime primaries for the state's powerful utility regulators. Some counties might even close polling places if there's a runoff. www.ajc.com/politics/202... #gapol
Breaking: The State Election Board exceeded its authority by passing new voting rules last year, the Georgia Supreme Court unanimously ruled Tuesday, limiting the Republican-led board’s power. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
A man falsely accused of voting fraud in the conspiracy film “2000 Mules” tried to hold its producers responsible Friday, asking a federal judge to rule in his favor. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
Who tinkered with a rural Georgia county border? Somehow, the line moved behind a powerful sheriff’s house, unleashing accusations of mapping manipulation that allow the sheriff to stay in office. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
I voted! These alternate art "I Voted" stickers in DeKalb County are cool. Turnout is low and no other voters were there for these important races for the Georgia Public Service Commission. Early voting lasts till June 13 and election day is June 17. www.ajc.com/politics/202...
The Georgia Supreme Court unanimously upheld a state law Wednesday that prohibits people under 21 years old from possessing or carrying handguns in public. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
An administrative law judge on Tuesday recommended that Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger disqualify Daniel Blackman from running for a metro Atlanta district seat on the Public Service Commission. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
Early voting is underway in Georgia for the Public Service Commission! The PSC is important because it oversees Georgia Power rates, which have risen $43 since the start of 2023. Find your voting info at mvp.sos.ga.gov. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
Lake Lanier has suddenly become a new symbol of President Donald Trump’s government-shrinking agenda just in time for the Memorial Day break. #gapol ajc.com/politics/202...
Now election boards in two large Democratic-leaning counties — who previously rejected many Republican voter eligibility challenges — are taking on the task of reviewing voters who appear to be improperly registered at nonresidential addresses. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/202...
Challengers on Thursday told a federal appeals court that Georgia lawmakers are still violating Black voters’ rights after redrawing the state’s congressional and legislative maps. by @jeffamy.bsky.social #gapol apnews.com/article/geor...
Just in: Gov. Brian Kemp signed a bill that could allow President Donald Trump to recoup millions of dollars of legal costs in the Georgia election interference case. #gapol ajc.com/politics/geo...
The State Election Board fined a Florida lawyer $3,500 after he attempted to register to vote in Georgia's 2021 Senate runoffs and encouraged other Republicans to follow his lead. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/sta...
It’s decision day for Gov. Brian Kemp. Today is the deadline for the second-term governor to either sign or veto bills that passed the state Legislature this year. #gapol ajc.com/politics/bri...
An appellate court seemed skeptical that a district court judge considered whether True the Vote was trying to intimidate voters with mass challenges following Georgia’s 2020 presidential election. by @calebbgroves #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/app...
Elections finally resume this month for Georgia’s powerful utility commission following three years of canceled races and a court battle over the legality of statewide voting that has elected only one Black candidate to the board. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/geo...
Gov. Brian Kemp will not run for U.S. Senate in 2026, dashing the hopes of Republicans in Georgia and Washington who saw him as their strongest shot to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff in 2026. via @bluestein.bsky.social #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/bri...
Most Georgia voters say marijuana should be made legal for recreational use, a sign of growing acceptance of a drug that‘s allowed in 24 other states, according to an @ajc.com poll. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/ajc...
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and workers at a Georgia tankless water heater factory are celebrating the elimination of energy efficiency requirements that would have threatened their jobs. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/ene...
A closer look at the poll results
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is asking the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to allow Afghan Christian refugees to remain in the country. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/geo...
Advocates on the left and the right wanted changes to the way Georgia conducts elections, but state lawmakers left that work undone as the state prepares for midterms in 2026. Reporting by @ajc.com's @markniesse.bsky.social
This was supposed to be the year Georgia got election security upgrades in time for the 2026 midterms, featuring high-profile races for U.S. Senate and governor. Instead, election security advocates on both the right and left got nothing. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/ele...
More than 320 university leaders united this week against the Trump administration, signing onto a statement decrying “unprecedented government overreach and political interference.” Few institutions from Georgia and the South joined the resistance. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/uni...
A Georgia elections overhaul bill fell short that would have withdrawn the state from a voter registration accuracy organization and banned absentee ballot drop-off the weekend before Election Day. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/geo...
“Wild things can happen.” Walkouts, MAGA votes and a busted firewall: Inside Georgia’s final legislative sprint #gapol ajc.com/politics/wal...
In a forceful address, Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Nels Peterson used his swearing-in ceremony Tuesday to deliver a full-throated defense of judicial independence and the rule of law — at a time when both are under growing stress. www.ajc.com/politics/geo...
A federal judge has dismissed an epic court case challenging Georgia’s touchscreen voting system, ending the seven-year lawsuit that uncovered election security vulnerabilities and a breach in Coffee County. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/geo...
The Trump administration is dismissing a federal lawsuit against Georgia’s 2021 voting law, calling it “false claims of suppression.” #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/tru...
Georgia lawmakers are planning to expand the availability of THC drinks by allowing sales in liquor stores, a reversal from a previous proposal that would have prohibited all hemp-based beverages. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/pro...
Republican Georgia lawmakers are advancing election bills that ban absentee ballot drop-off the weekend before Election Day, prohibit last-minute State Election Board rules and withdraw the state from a voter registration accuracy organization. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/geo...
The rewritten bill would mandate hand ballot counts, give the State Election Board authority over voter eligibility appeals and withdraw Georgia from a multistate voter accuracy organization. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/geo...
President Donald Trump’s expansive executive order on elections attempts to take control of voter citizenship verification, absentee ballot deadlines and voting technology, but its immediate impact in Georgia appears to be limited. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/tru...
Georgia voters would be required to bubble in their choices at polling places instead of using touchscreen computers that print out paper ballots. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/geo...
Georgia election officials plan to cancel about 455,000 inactive voter registrations this summer, one of the largest registration removals in U.S. history. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/swe...
“I think too many of my colleagues were worried about walking down the hall and looking (lobbyists) in the eye and not worried about the people back home.” Democrats bemoan missed opportunity to block Brian Kemp’s litigation bill #gapol ajc.com/politics/pol...
A federal judge has thrown out a lawsuit that challenged whether the state could take over county election oversight and prohibit ballot photography. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/jud...
Congrats to @decaturish.bsky.social for its first print edition! Looks great! Read online at decaturish.com. Pick the paper up around town at locations like my favorite breakfast restaurant Pastries A Go Go.
People in crisis are reaching 911 with more ease 1 yr after an AJC investigation found significant delays for thousands of calls in metro ATL "To me, that's huge," said Lisa Hall, whose husband died after she couldn’t reach 911 for more than 5 minutes. www.ajc.com/news/investi...
GOP divisions derail ‘religious liberty’ vote in Georgia for now
The State Election Board's rules “looks a lot like sort of setting up their own mini set of laws," said a Georgia Supreme Court justice. The court is considering board's last-minute rules for election inquiries and hand-counts of ballots. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/sta...
Jackie Robinson is a baseball hero, and a national hero.
When asked about the reason for the removal of the story on the @DeptofDefense website on Jackie Robinson's military service, Pentagon press secretary John Ullyot said the following in a statement to ESPN.
The attempt to eliminate the growing THC beverage industry is the latest battle over hemp products in Georgia, pitting fears of the drug’s potential harm against efforts to keep it legal and regulated. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/geo...
My latest for the @ajc.com: A deep dive into the campaign spending of former U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson, who after announcing his retirement kept up a busy scheduled that included high-end hotels, thousands of dollars in flights and even concert tickets. (w/ Phoebe Quinton) www.ajc.com/politics/on-...
Who's the best-dressed lawmaker in Georgia? Check out these sharp legislators chosen by noted fashion authority @mayatprabhu.bsky.social. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/her...
A monitoring team reported vast improvements in Fulton County since the contentious 2020 election, observing an “organized and orderly election process” last fall despite 32 bomb threats. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/ful...
A short elections bill advancing through the Georgia Legislature is a "vehicle" for bigger potential changes to voting laws, as some Republicans aim to limit in-person absentee ballot returns or prevent last-minute election changes. #gapol ajc.com/politics/geo...
Late at night in the Georgia House last week, representatives pushed through a hastily rewritten elections bill with little notice, less debate and no hint of its significance. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/geo...
Timing is everything, and the business community has other concerns to the point that the debate is seemingly an afterthought.” How emboldened Georgia Republicans revived ‘religious liberty’ debate #gapol ajc.com/politics/how...
Court upholds Georgia’s deadline for absentee ballot requests
These bills in the Georgia Legislature could affect your wallet, mental health and kids
A rush of voting at the Georgia Capitol moved tax cut, marijuana and school safety proposals closer to passage Thursday before the final weeks of this year’s lawmaking session. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/cro...
Crossover casualties: Sports betting and DEI measures didn’t make the cut on a key legislative deadline day under Georgia’s Gold Dome. #gapol ajc.com/politics/pol...
It's Crossover Day in the Georgia Legislature. While not a day when dreams come true, it is a day that they can die. Read more in today's newsletter: www.ajc.com/politics/pol...
Sen. Bill Cowsert called for a constitutional convention to put term limits on members of Congress. But don’t expect a bill from Cowsert to impose term limits on himself or his colleagues. Read more in today's Politically Georgia newsletter: www.ajc.com/politics/pol...
Republican state legislators who say they want more accurate voter registration lists voted for a bill that would withdraw Georgia from a voter list accuracy organization. #gapol ajc.com/politics/geo...
DeJoy has notified the Postal Service Board of Governors that it should begin the process of picking his successor. www.ajc.com/politics/emb...
Fulton County is refusing to reveal ballots from the 2020 election even though a new Georgia law attempted to make them public. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/ful...
The Olympic cauldron lit by Muhammad Ali to begin the 1996 summer games in Atlanta is likely getting a new home, thanks to some help from Georgia taxpayers. Read more in today's Politically Georgia newsletter: www.ajc.com/politics/pol...
An AJC analysis of 2024 election data found U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene lagged behind the President Trump with voters in her deep red Georgia district. www.ajc.com/politics/sha...
In U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's heavily Republican northwest Georgia district — where Donald Trump received the highest percentage of voter support in the state — she was less appealing to voters than the president in November’s election. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/sha...
An AJC analysis of financial disclosures filed this month found that some of the biggest donors to special committees designed to accept unlimited contributions have business interests before the Georgia General Assembly during the ongoing legislative session. www.ajc.com/politics/a-c...
Georgia lawmakers are deciding whether to spend as much as $66 million to remove computer QR codes from ballots or abandon the idea in favor of a $15 million software update. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/geo...
“Some people would consider this the beginning of a modern-era Cold War." Republican legislators in Georgia are proposing a half-dozen bills that would restrict a variety of Chinese exports, from artificial intelligence to drones. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/geo...
I hope to hear the podcast again! I’m a fan.
A Democrat in a disputed Georgia House race will keep his east Georgia seat after a judge ruled Monday against his Republican challenger’s claims that the November election was tainted by dozens of voters who were given incorrect ballots. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/jud...
State Sen. Jason Esteves is taking steps to prepare a campaign for governor in 2026. He’s lined up advisers, consulted with senior Democrats and set up meetings with activists and donors about a potential bid. #gapol ajc.com/politics/pol...
The friend-of-the-court filing to the Georgia Supreme Court is one of the first major moves by newly elected DNC chair Ken Martin, who called the Republican-backed changes “an attempt to sow distrust in our election.” www.ajc.com/politics/dnc...
25 years ago today, Baseball Reference was created. We've had a few different looks over the years, but our mission has stayed the same—to make baseball stats accessible for everyone. ⚾
With the Trump administration in charge, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is seeking to end a federal lawsuit against the state’s 2021 voting law. #gapol www.ajc.com/politics/raf...