FILE PHOTO: Sign directs voters to a polling station on Election Day in Tucson, Arizona, U.S. November 3, 2020. REUTERS/Cheney Orr/File Photo

A sign directs Arizona voters to a polling station. Yesterday's primaries saw Kari Lake, a Trump-endorsed candidate for governor defeat Karrin Taylor Robson, who was endorsed by Gov. Ducey. Credit: REUTERS/Cheney Orr/File Photo

The panel

Maya T. Prabhu, @MayaTPrabhu, government reporter, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Stephen Fowler, @stphnfwlr, political reporter, Georgia Public Broadcasting
Margaret Coker, @mideastmargaret, editor in chief, The Current 
Chuck Williams, @chuckwilliams, reporter, WRBL-TV, Columbus
 

The breakdown

1. Georgia's recent abortion legislation granted personhood to embryos and fetuses. State institutions are trying to catch up to the new law.

  • The state recently allowed for fetuses to be claimed on tax forms.

    • Maya Prabhu notes that no one knows what the financial impact will be on the state.

Maya T. Prabhu says Georgia's new abortion legislation does not have a fiscal note, something that laws affecting tax law must have.

  • In Texas, a pregnant woman was ticketed for driving in the HOV lane. She's arguing her unborn baby counted as a second person post-Roe.

    • Georgians are also questioning what other questions fetal personhood will raise, like citizenship.
  • After Kansas voted overwhelming to protect abortion access, some expect abortion will turn out single-issue voters.

Chuck Williams says Kansans' defense of abortion law in a deep-red state proves that single issue voters nationwide could turn out.

2. Travis and Gregory McMichael are seeking leniency in a federal hate crime case.

  • The McMichaels, who murdered Ahmaud Arbery in February 2020, are currently serving out a life sentence in a state prison. They requested to be moved to a federal prison, citing safety and health concerns.

Margaret Coker outlines the McMichaels' request to be put in a federal prison.

3. Herschel Walker has agreed to debate Sen. Raphael Warnock, but did not agree to one of the dates Warnock picked.

  • Walker announced he'd picked a debate in Savannah, where Warnock had already announce he'd attend a different debate.
  • It remains unclear if the candidates will meet for a debate.

Margaret Coker explains the media organizations behind the debates Warnock and Walker have accepted.

4. A federal judge found that Georgia's statewide method of voting for Public Service Commissioners violates the Voting Rights Act. 

  • In his opinion, Trump-appointed U.S. District Court Judge Steven D. Grimberg states that a statewide election of local commissioners "unlawfully dilutes the votes of Black citizens".

Stephen Fowler breaks down the federal ruling on Georgia's election process for Public Service Commissioners.

5. Tennessee and Arizona primaries yielded wins for Trump-endorsed Republicans.

Stephen Fowler says that while far-right candidates have won in comfortably red states, Georgia no longer is comfortably red.

Monday on Political Rewind: GPB's Stephen Fowler joins the panel.

Tags: Georgia  Atlanta  Macon  Savannah  Tennessee  Arizona  Trump  GOP  PSC  Stephen Fowler