A judge has declined to block a section of a Georgia election law that bans handing out food and water to voters waiting in line. The provision is part of a sweeping elections overhaul passed by Georgia lawmakers last year.
Friday on Political Rewind: Attorney General Merrick Garland wants to unseal the warrant that led to an FBI search of Mar-a-Lago. Plus, a special panel of guests discusses voting in Georgia, including its history of discriminatory voting rules, Senate Bill 202, the experiences of election workers and more.
The state of Georgia is asking a federal appeals court to put elections for public service commissioners back on the November ballot. The appeal came Monday after a federal judge last week found statewide election of Georgia's five commissioners illegally dilutes Black votes.
A federal judge has ruled that Georgia's statewide election of its five public service commissioners illegally dilutes Black voting power. The judge on Friday ordered the state to not prepare ballots for two races that had been scheduled in November.
Many of the new laws target people who assist voters, including nonprofit groups that do voter registration and friends and neighbors who may help a voter by bringing their mail-in ballot to a drop box for them.
Groups challenging Georgia's 2021 voting law are asking a federal judge to block a ban on giving water and food to voters standing in line. The state is defending the ban, saying that it prevents concerns about illegal campaigning or vote buying, while preserving order around polling places.
Most new laws traditionally take effect in Georgia on July 1. But this year, many of the most important measures became law as soon as Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed them. Top measures beginning Friday include a raft of conservative-inspired school legislation, and an increase in lawmaker pensions.
On Monday, lawyers delivered opening statements and the first witnesses took the stand in an Atlanta U.S. District courtroom as the Rose vs. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger lawsuit got its first hearing. Four Black residents of Fulton and DeKalb counties residents allege that the voting strength of Black people is eroded by a statewide election process used to elect the Public Service Commission.
Monday on Political Rewind: Congress negotiates gun safety laws in the wake of mass shootings. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court considers a major Second Amendment case and a PAC supporting Herschel Walker fuels controversy over a gas giveaway.
Election day ended with nine of the state’s 2,500 voting precincts extending their voting hours after delays that were caused by a wide range of speed bumps ranging from a power outage to tech problems with getting voting equipment that included poll pads used to check in voters in.
Tuesday’s primary election in Georgia is about more than deciding party nominees for races up and down the ballot in November, as Georgia’s battleground status continues to play an outsized role in shaping the future of American politics.
Tens of millions of people in the United States opted for mail ballots during the pandemic election of 2020. This year, voters in the early primary states are returning in droves to in-person voting. In Georgia, early in-person voting is shattering records.
Brad Raffensperger says the Georgia and U.S. Constitutions should be amended to prohibit voting by noncitizens. The Georgia secretary of state readily acknowledges that noncitizen voting is not a problem in Georgia but is nonetheless making the issue a centerpiece of his effort to win over diehard conservatives ahead of what could be a difficult bid to clinch the GOP nomination later this month for another four year term in office.
