Today’s highlights include:
- Georgia Democrat to reveal framework for gun storage legislation.
- Government funding bill fails in the U.S. House.
- Another award for former President Jimmy Carter.
Credit: Seeger Gray/AJC
Credit: Seeger Gray/AJC
A growing number of mainstream Republicans are joining Democrats in pushing back against the State Election Board’s tilt toward voting policies favored by former President Donald Trump and his allies while also promoting confidence in the election system.
Two Republicans last week filed a lawsuit to block new election certification rules on grounds that the pro-Trump majority on the board exceeded its authority.
Former Gov. Nathan Deal, a two-term Republican, agreed with another former governor, Democrat Roy Barnes, at an Atlanta Press Club event this month when he said proposed rule changes this close to an election are “destroying confidence” in the system.
And a new conservative organization called RightCount led by Eric Johnson, once the top Republican in the Georgia Senate, is launching a series of ads, including one featuring everyday Georgians expressing their faith in the state’s voting system.
“I believe that we have always been secure in Georgia, but I actually went down to the Fulton County precinct and watched them count the votes,” said Marcy Walker, an educator, in the ad’s opening.
The efforts join the push by Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to build faith in Georgia’s election system and sound alarms over rules approved by the board that critics say could be abused to dispute the results of the November vote.
There are signs they are having limited success. The latest Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll shows about 45% of Republicans are somewhat or very confident the election will be fairly and accurately conducted. That’s a marked improvement from the AJC’s June poll, which found nearly two-thirds of Republicans lacked faith in the election system.
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GOOD MORNING! It’s 47 days before the presidential election, and Georgia is still in the spotlight. Here’s three things to know for today:
- Minnesota first lady Gwen Walz, wife of the Democratic vice presidential nominee, is campaigning in Augusta today and Friday. Vice President Kamala Harris is coming to Atlanta on Friday. That’s after stops earlier this week from vice presidential candidates: Republican Sen. JD Vance of Ohio and Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. In related news, Greg Bluestein needs a nap.
- The International Brotherhood of Teamsters won’t endorse anyone for president. Both Harris and former President Donald Trump had courted their members.
- Georgia’s ballots are filled with candidates that have very little chance of winning. But in this case, winning is not the point, the AJC’s Michelle Baruchman reports.
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SAFE GUN STORAGE. State Sen. Emanuel Jones today will reveal the framework for legislation he plans to introduce in January aimed at keeping guns out of the hands of children. At the top of his list: making adults liable both civilly and criminally for safely storing their guns.
“I’m going straight at the problem,” he said.
Jones has been holding hearings this summer as chair of a special Senate committee studying the issue. The committee meets again today. Its work has received new attention following this month’s fatal mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Winder. In that case, the father of the 14-year-old suspect has also been arrested and accused of allowing his son access to a gun.
Other topics on Jones’ wish list include improving mental health treatment and new rules to require information sharing among school districts to keep better track of warning signs. That aligns with what Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns wants to do, as outlined in a letter to his Republican colleagues earlier this month.
Jones is a Democrat in a Legislature dominated by Republicans, meaning he’ll need bipartisan support to succeed.
“My glass is always half full,” he said.
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ELECTION DENIERS. A secretive network of Georgia election officials at the county level have been plotting ways to cast doubt on the outcome of November’s election even though not a single ballot has been counted, according to emails obtained by The Guardian.
The watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington shared the emails with The Guardian. The emails are the result of a request for public records sent to and from David Hancock, a Republican member of the Gwinnett County Board of Elections who earlier this year refused to sign off on primary election results.
More from The Guardian:
Spanning a period beginning in January, the communications expose the inner workings of a group that includes some of the most ardent supporters of the former president Donald Trump's election lies as well as ongoing efforts to portray the coming election as beset with fraud. Included in the communications are agendas for meetings and efforts to coordinate on policies and messaging as the swing state has once again become a focal point of the presidential campaign.
The communications include correspondence from a who's who of Georgia election denialists, including officials with ties to prominent national groups such as the Tea Party Patriots and the Election Integrity Network, a group run by Cleta Mitchell, a former attorney who acted as an informal adviser to the Trump White House during its attempts to overturn the 2020 election.
The group — which includes elections officials from at least five counties — calls itself the Georgia Election Integrity Coalition.
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Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC
Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC
THIRD TIME’S THE CHARM? In her quest to prompt an investigation of the State Election Board, Cathy Woolard has been rejected by both Gov. Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr. Now, she’s turning to the Georgia Capitol Police.
Woolard, the former president of the Atlanta City Council and past chair of the Fulton County Board of Elections, has been sounding the alarm about the State Election Board’s July 12 meeting. That’s when the board met to pass new rules in a hastily called gathering that Democrats said violated the state’s open meetings law. Carr’s office also warned them that the meeting could violate the state’s Open Meetings Act.
State law requires an investigation of formal complaints, and Woolard has tried twice to file one. But so far, Kemp and Carr say she and others don’t have the legal authority to trigger a hearing.
Undeterred, Woolard found a law that says the Capitol Police Division of the Georgia Department of Public Safety has jurisdiction “to enforce all laws in Capitol Square.” This week, she filed a complaint with them (you can read it here), asking for “a prompt investigation and charges, as appropriate.”
“It’s kind of our next step to keep this front and center, because I’m not going away,” Woolard said. “We will come to a resolution about this one way or the other.”
Woolard said the division has yet to respond to her letter. We called the division on Wednesday, but have yet to hear back.
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Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
LISTEN UP. Today on “Politically Georgia,” Gabriel Sterling, the chief operating officer for the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, talks about the latest AJC poll results. Then, the AJC’s Joe Kovac Jr. gives an update on voters in Macon.
You can listen live at 10 a.m. on WABE 90.1 or follow “Politically Georgia” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are uploaded by noon each day, just in time to have lunch with us.
On Wednesday’s show, political science professors Trey Hood from the University of Georgia and Amy Steigerwalt from Georgia State University broke down the AJC’s poll results. Other guests included Georgia state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, D-Decatur, and Gerren Keith Gaynor, White House correspondent and managing editor of politics at theGrio.
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NO PLAN B. Fourteen U.S. House Republicans voted against Speaker Mike Johnson’s legislation to extend government funding for six months. Two others voted “present,” including Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene.
That was enough to tank the bill, which also included language requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections.
The final vote was 202-220. Three Democrats favored the bill. Beyond Greene, R-Rome, the remainder of Georgia’s delegation split along party lines with all Republicans in favor and all Democrats opposed.
Now that Johnson’s plan is a no-go, lawmakers are left asking, “What’s next?”
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., blasted Johnson for pushing forward with his legislation knowing it didn’t have the votes to pass and allowing the clock to count down toward an Oct. 1 government shutdown.
“We now have only a few days left for House Republicans to come to their senses, come to the table and come together with Democrats to craft a bipartisan agreement,” Schumer said.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden will speak at the Economic Club of Washington and later at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute’s 47th Annual Awards Gala.
- The U.S. House considers a bill that could increase Secret Service protections for elected officials and candidates.
- Speaker Mike Johnson and other U.S. House leaders will hold a memorial service at the Capitol for former members who died over the previous year.
- The Senate has more confirmation votes lined up.
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Credit: Bob Andres/AJC
Credit: Bob Andres/AJC
HONORING JIMMY CARTER. A bipartisan trio of lawmakers, including two from Georgia, have introduced legislation to award former President Jimmy Carter the Congressional Gold Medal.
U.S. Reps. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, and Austin Scott, R-Tifton, have teamed up with Rep. Donald Norcross, a New Jersey Democrat, on the effort.
“Jimmy Carter embodies the best of our country’s ideals,” Bishop said in a news release. “He is a model of compassion, duty, and selfless service. Georgia is proud of this native son, a humble man from Plains, who has accomplished so much in his life.”
Also, the prestigious Dayton Literary Peace Prize Foundation is honoring Carter as the 2024 recipient of a distinguished achievement award.
The foundation said today that Carter’s grandson, former state Sen. Jason Carter, will accept the award named after Ambassador Richard Holbrooke at the November ceremony.
The former president, who turns 100 on Oct. 1, is the author of a mind-boggling 32 books.
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ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL. Events today include:
- Vice President Kamala Harris will participate in a virtual campaign rally with Oprah Winfrey that will be livestreamed from the Detroit area with a group of supporters.
- The Harris-Walz campaign and the Democratic Party of Georgia will open a new coordinated campaign office in Athens-Clarke County today.
- Former President Donald Trump’s campaign will host a “Fighting Anti-Semitism in America” event with GOP donor Miriam Adelson in Washington.
- Minnesota first lady Gwen Walz, wife of the Democratic vice presidential candidate, will meet with educators, campaign volunteers and voters in Augusta today and Friday.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
BIPARTISAN BBQ. It’s that time of year when U.S. senators put aside their partisan differences and feast on Georgia barbecue in the spirit of the late Republican U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson.
Wednesday’s lunch was co-hosted by the man who now holds Isakson’s seat, Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, along with Sens. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. Warnock, who gave the opening blessing, has helped produce the annual bipartisan Senate luncheon every year since taking office in 2021.
As is the tradition started by Isakson, the food was prepared by pitmasters at South 40 Smokehouse in Marietta and Bub-Ba-Q in Woodstock. They drove their equipment to Washington and then worked through the night Tuesday to make sure the food was hot and fresh for senators and staff.
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
SHOUTOUTS. Today’s birthday:
- State Sen. Sam Watson, R-Moultrie.
Transitions:
- Kwanza Hall, the former Atlanta City Council member, will be the new chair of the Development Authority of Fulton County. Hall replaces state Sen. Brandon Beach, who has resigned effective Oct. 1.
Want a birthday shoutout in the Politically Georgia newsletter? There’s a form for that! Click here to submit the shoutouts. It’s not just birthdays. We’re also interested in new jobs, engagements, birth announcements, etc.
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AS ALWAYS, send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.
