Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney instructs potential jurors during proceedings to seat a special purpose grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, on Monday, May 2, 2022, to look into the actions of former President Donald Trump and his supporters who tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney will hear a suit against the state's "heartbeat bill", which plaintiffs allege violates Georgia's right to privacy.

Credit: AP Photo/Ben Gray, File

The panel

Charles Bullock, professor of political science, University of Georgia

Patricia Murphy, @MurphyAJC, political reporter and columnist, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Rick Dent, political ad expert, vice president, Matrix Communications

Tanya Washington, @AskProfW, professor of law, Georgia State University

 

The breakdown

1. More than 800,000 Georgians have already cast ballots statewide. Can we expect record turnout?

  • That number includes both early in-person and absentee ballots.
  • Women make up 54.4% of early voters. Democrats hope to turn out women to support pro-choice candidates following the Dobbs decision.
  • Georgia's election law has recently allowed for mass challenges to voter registration; it's unclear how challengers may impact turnout and county response.

LISTEN: Political analyst Rick Dent says there's some good news for both parties in early voting results.

2. A Fulton County court will hear a suit against Georgia's new abortion law.

  • The plaintiffs say the state's "heartbeat bill" violates the right to privacy enumerated in the state's constitution. You can learn more about Georgia's right to privacy here.
  • Abortion has recently polled lower on voters' list of concerns. Most cite inflation as a primary concern.

3. The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that Sen. Lindsey Graham must testify in Fulton County. He's appealing to the Supreme Court.

  • Graham maintains a call he made to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger after the 2020 election was part of his job, so he can't be made to testify on it. Courts have so far ruled otherwise.

LISTEN: Patricia Murphy on Lindsey Graham's efforts to avoid testifying in Fulton County.

4. The races for U.S. Senate and the governor's seat have cost hundreds of millions in ad sales.

  • Big-ticket races have seen more than $360 million raised for ad sales. News outlets are adding more newscasts to their programming schedules as a result.
  • Political ad expert Rick Dent says the ads in the race "create different realities" for different voting segments, furthering divides in the electorate.

LISTEN: Rick Dent on ad spending and messaging.

Tuesday on Political Rewind: The AJC's Tamar Hallerman joins the panel.

    Tags: abortion  Heartbeat Bill  roe v wade  Privacy  Georgia  early voting  Politics  Georgia Politics  Bill Nigut  Political Rewind