Our AJC colleague Jeremy Redmon was with Democrat Jason Carter's campaign this morning in Columbus. Here's his dispatch:
Columbus - Former President Jimmy Carter blasted Gov. Nathan Deal's record on voting rights Monday – and even took an indirect shot at the Republican's ethics -- as he campaigned with grandson Jason Carter before a raucous crowd of supporters here.
The former president started his criticism of Deal with an anecdote about his grandson serving in the U.S. Peace Corps in South Africa at the turn of the century, a period in which he met the late anti-apartheid leader Nelson Mandela. Carter said his grandson told him he wanted to meet “a man who went to prison before he was in office.”
“Well, I’m not going to try to say anything about the incumbent governor,” the former president told more than 100 supporters outside Emmanuel Christian Community Church. “Jason represents honesty, integrity and openness to let the people know what is going on in his own private life as well as his public life when he becomes governor.”
It was the former president's third appearance on the campaign trail for his grandson, though he's long played a behind-the-scenes role. The elder Carter didn't take questions afterward. But his grandson later told reporters the former president was "joking around" about Deal.
“The governor has already bragged about having not been indicted,” Jason Carter said. “But we do need to make sure that we are putting honesty and integrity back in the governor’s office. And the ethical scandals that we have seen under this governor are embarrassing for this state. They are bad for business. And they are holding us back.”
Deal has faced relentless criticism from Carter and his allies over his office's involvement in an ethics probe into his 2010 campaign. Former ethics staffers claimed in whistleblower complaints that the then-director of the ethics agency bragged about making the complaints disappear.
The governor said Monday at a campaign stop that he's done nothing wrong, and said he was the only candidate to propose a far-reaching ethics overhaul. The governor said he didn't know the ethics chief and never ordered her to make the complaints go away.
Jimmy Carter then blasted Georgia’s voter ID laws before praising his grandson for fighting them in court. The former president also accused Deal of opposing Sunday voting.
“The governor has opposed letting people in all the counties of Georgia vote on Sundays,” the former president said. “And he represents typically the Republicans who have tried to do everything to keep people from registering to vote so they can cast their lot as free and independent citizens of America. They have not only prevented Sunday voting. They also have imposed the voter ID.”
Deal has said he does not oppose Sunday voting, but that it should be consistent throughout the state. He has said lawmakers are already drafting legislation to that effect.
The candidates addressed Sunday voting during a televised debate last night.
“I want to make voting as easy as possible for our citizens,” Deal said on the WSB-TV debate Sunday. “And I believe this is an issue that deserves to be debated. I think it is important, however, that as much as possible we have uniformity as to where you are allowed to vote and when you are allowed to vote. It should not depend on the county in which you live.”
Carter said during the debate that he supports Sunday voting.
“I think it is an important exercise in Democracy,” he said. “And I will always be on the side that says if we maximize the number of people who participate, we will embrace that.”
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