Capitol Recap: Georgia Democratic delegates maintain support for Biden

Since his debate last month with former President Donald Trump, the 81-year-old Biden has faced calls to step aside from some liberal activists, wealthy donors and Democratic officials who predict he won’t be able to beat the Republican.

Georgia delegates said a last-ditch effort to defeat Biden at the convention won’t go anywhere.

“He just has to ride it out,” state Rep. Dar’shun Kendrick said of the turmoil. “I’m not saying the concerns about age aren’t valid, but the reality is we have two choices: democracy or dictatorship. As long as Democrats stick together and do the work to earn every vote, this brouhaha will blow over.”

Some said Biden’s successes in office and track record against Trump should outweigh health concerns.

Others focused on Trump’s conviction on 34 felony counts involving the falsifying of business records to make hush money payments to a porn star, as well as a jury verdict in 2023 that found Trump liable for sexually abusing columnist E. Jean Carroll in 1996.

“I’d rather be with a sick old man than a habitual liar, a convicted felon and a sexual assaulter any day,” former state Rep. Winfred Dukes said.

But a delegate who spoke on a condition of anonymity said it’s clear Biden is not the same energetic candidate who defeated Trump in 2020. The delegate added that Democrats need to defeat Trump, saying he has expressed more authoritarian rhetoric and would benefit from the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling last month that presidents have substantial immunity for some official acts.

“I wish we could just reframe this, put a new light on it and that would make it OK,” the delegate said. “But every time we see him walk, every time we see his eyes in the sunglasses he wears so frequently … I think the time has come (for him to bow out).”

Credit: Nathan Posner for The AJC

Credit: Nathan Posner for The AJC

Georgia Republicans call for cognitive testing for Biden

Some Republicans in Georgia’s congressional delegation have called for President Joe Biden to undergo cognitive testing, including a request that came in before his poor performance in his June 27 debate in Atlanta.

U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter sent a letter to White House chief of staff Jeff Zients on June 24 calling for Biden to submit to a cognitive test, saying that “credible reports surfaced suggesting that Biden is not mentally fit to uphold the duties of the office of the president.” Those reports included a Wall Street Journal article Carter cited in the letter that included multiple accounts of Biden’s perceived mental decline.

U.S. Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton, also suggested cognitive testing for Biden. He said lawmakers in Washington were aware of the president’s decline well before the debate.

“He’s in bad health,” Scott said. “I don’t wish him any ill will as a human being; I don’t wish him any harm. But he has shown America what many of us have believed for a long time — that he’s had some reduction in his cognitive abilities.”

Biden and his allies have said the debate performance reflects “a bad night” and that he has the capacity to serve another four years.

“He’s the same Joe Biden today as he has been throughout the last 3 1/2 years,” said U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Lithonia. “His record is there for all to see.”

Democrats have also criticized Republicans for failing to submit former President Donald Trump to the same level of scrutiny. While Trump spoke more clearly and forcefully than Biden during their debate, his answers were full of misinformation and falsehoods. In campaign rallies, Trump often rambles and gives nonsensical explanations on issues.

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff cited some of Trump’s more outlandish remarks, such as a suggestion that injecting disinfectants into the body could help ward off COVID-19.

State Election Board advances proposal that could slow certification of votes

The State Election Board voted to advance a proposal that would entitle local election board members across Georgia to review troves of documents before they certify this fall’s presidential election.

Cobb County Republican Party Chairwoman Salleigh Grubbs made the proposal following recent votes by Republican election board members to refuse to certify results, even when there weren’t any problems and the outcome of the election wasn’t in doubt.

State law requires certification before counties can finalize election results the Monday after election day. If the majority of an election board refuses to certify a presidential race, the results could be delayed and disputed in court.

Grubbs said election board members need authority and discretion before deciding whether to sign off on an election. Requiring document disclosure would help ensure that votes aren’t overlooked, such as in cases where election workers initially failed to load memory cards in several counties, she said.

Sara Tindall Ghazal, the only Democratic-appointed board member, told Grubbs that “every document is not necessary for the certification of an election.

“The whole point,” Ghazal said, “is to make sure there are not more votes than ballots and not more ballots than voters checked in.”

The board resisted a suggestion from State Election Board Chairman John Fervier, who wanted a specific list of documents that must be provided before certification, such as statements of votes cast, vote total recap forms and lists of voters.

“I just believe there needs to be a list of documents that the board of registration and elections gets to see so it’s not a never-ending search for ‘I need this document, I need that document,’ ” said Fervier, an appointee of Republican Gov. Brian Kemp.

The board, which recently added a pair of new members, former state Sen. Rick Jeffares and media commentator Janelle King, who have questioned the 2020 election, voted 3-1 to advance Grubbs’ proposal.

The next step in the process calls for a public comment period before a later vote that could finalize the proposal.

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Ossoff proposes ban on stock trading by members of Congress

U.S. Jon Ossoff introduced legislation this past week that would ban members of Congress from owning stock in individual companies.

The measure is a bipartisan effort: Joining Ossoff on the bill are Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich.; Josh Hawley, R-Mo.; and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore.

It would require members of Congress to immediately divest of any stocks they own in individual companies. Their spouses and dependent children would have to do the same by 2027.

The bill would also prohibit the president and vice president from trading stocks.

Lawmakers and their families would be allowed to invest in mutual funds or exchange traded funds. They also could continue to put their investments in qualified blind trusts, but those also would have to adhere to the stock trading ban.

Ossoff made stock trading an issue in 2020 during his successful run against then-U.S. Sen. David Perdue after Perdue and Georgia’s other Republican senator at the time, Kelly Loeffler, faced scrutiny — and were later cleared of any wrongdoing — over trades made during the coronavirus pandemic.

During a news conference on introduction of the bill, Ossoff cited polling showing voters’ support for a stock trading ban.

“Democrats, independents and Republicans overwhelmingly agree that members of Congress should not be playing the stock market while we legislate and while we have access to confidential and privileged information,” said Ossoff, an Atlanta Democrat.

Ossoff has proposed similar legislation in the past, but those proposals stalled in committee.

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

New panel to focus on troubles within state’s prison system

State House Speaker Jon Burns announced creation of a Special Subcommittee of Appropriations on State Prisons that could move quickly on recommendations produced through a yearlong review that Gov. Brian Kemp ordered last month.

Kemp last month announced that outside consultants would conduct an in-depth assessment of the Georgia Department of Corrections after it experienced record levels of violence and homicides, including the fatal shooting of a kitchen worker by a prisoner at Smith State Prison in June.

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution investigation last year exposed widespread corruption in the state’s prisons, including how hundreds of GDC employees had smuggled in drugs and other contraband. The stories also detailed extreme understaffing, extensive use of illicit drugs by inmates, record numbers of homicides and suicides, and large criminal enterprises run by prisoners that killed and victimized people on the outside.

Rep. Matt Hatchett, R-Dublin, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, was appointed as chairman of the subcommittee.

Signatures pour in for candidates seeking spot on Georgia ballot

Tuesday marked one of those hurdles independents and candidates from smaller political parties face in Georgia in the race for the White House.

It was the deadline to submit signatures to gain a spot on the state’s November ballot.

State law requires the signatures of at least 7,500 registered voters to qualify. State officials still need to verify the signatures before the candidates can be added to the slate.

Supporters of independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. submitted boxes full of signatures, and Cornel West’s campaign said it turned in four times the necessary number of signatures.

Claudia De la Cruz, the presidential nominee for the Party of Socialism and Liberation, was also among the candidates who submitted signatures.

Libertarian Chase Oliver is already on the ballot.

The chances are minimal that any of these candidates could beat President Joe Biden or former President Donald Trump, but they could have an outsized impact in a close race like the one in 2020.

That’s why, according to a report last month by NBC News, Republican-leaning operatives were working to help West get on the ballot in some competitive states, thinking he could siphon support from Biden.

Candidates have one other option for gaining a position on the Georgia slate: A new state law allows “any political party or political body” that has achieved ballot access in at least 20 states or territories to automatically qualify for Georgia’s presidential ballot.

Political expedience