ATLANTA – Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams launched a statewide bus tour Tuesday, three weeks ahead of Election Day.
At a Mexican restaurant in southeastern Atlanta, Abrams told cheering supporters she wants put a $6.6 billion budget surplus to work meeting Georgians’ needs, not passing tax cuts that primarily benefit the wealthy, the approach taken by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and his GOP predecessors for the past two decades.
“For 20 years, we’ve been told there’s not enough money,” Abrams said. “We know we need education. We know we deserve health care. … It’s time to get rid of a governor willing to do less and less and hire a governor willing to do more.”
Abrams’ “Let’s Get It Done” bus tour began the day after she and Kemp appeared for one of two televised debates.
The governor argued the tax cuts the Republican-controlled General Assembly already has approved and additional reductions he will propose if reelected are the right approach because they put money into the hands of taxpayers who can decide for themselves how to use it.
Abrams also criticized Kemp’s positions on abortion and guns at Tuesday’s rally.
She said if she is elected governor next month, she will push to repeal the “heartbeat” abortion law, which bans abortion in Georgia after a fetal heartbeat is detected, usually about six weeks into a pregnancy.
Kemp pushed the bill through the legislature three years ago. It took effect this summer following the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision declaring abortion a constitutional right.
“We need a governor who believes bodily autonomy belongs to every person in Georgia,” Abrams said.
On guns, Abrams said the Kemp-backed legislation the General Assembly passed this year allowing Georgians to carry concealed firearms without a permit was the wrong way to go in a state plagued by gun violence. She said the governor pushed the bill for political expedience.
“We need a governor who is willing to strengthen our laws, not weaken them to win a primary,” she said.
Kemp has said he asked lawmakers to pass the heartbeat bill because it was in keeping with Georgia’s pro-life values.
He said the “constitutional carry” bill on guns would make it easier for law-abiding citizens to protect themselves against criminals who are going to be armed with or without a permit.
Abrams’ bus tour will continue Wednesday with stops in Lilburn, Athens, and Conyers. On Thursday, she will make stops in College Park and Columbus.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
Democrat Jen Jordan and Republican Chris Carr. (Official Senate office and Attorney General office photos)
ATLANTA — Georgia’s three candidates for the state’s top lawyer job sparred over abortion, guns, crime and even oil pipelines during a Tuesday debate in Atlanta.
Much of the debate focused on how each would approach the state’s controversial “heartbeat” abortion law, which outlaws most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy.
Democratic state Sen. and lawyer Jen Jordan of Atlanta has been a vocal opponent of the law. She has previously indicated she would not enforce it if elected attorney general.
During Tuesday’s debate, Jordan said she believes the Georgia abortion law violates the state Constitution.
“I think specifically what we have to look to is the right of privacy under Georgia’s state Constitution, which was first identified in 1905,” she said.
“I have stood up for the women of this state, fighting to protect human trafficking victims, fighting to protect victims of gangs, fighting for those that are being taken advantage of from an elder abuse standpoint ” incumbent Republican Attorney General Chris Carr said in response.
The Georgia abortion law does not allow a pregnant woman to be prosecuted, Carr said, and Jordan’s claim is a scare tactic.
“If anyone, it’s the [medical] providers that are provided for in this law,” he said. “It would be up to the district attorneys to make that determination.”
Jordan hit back, pointing out that the Georgia abortion law specifies that an embryo is a person and this new legal definition could allow prosecution of pregnant women.
“When we think about the homicide statute, the manslaughter statute … the child abuse statute, all of that would actually apply … to a pregnant woman if she were to harm the embryo,” Jordan said. “It’s ridiculous to say that this law does not let a prosecutor go after a woman because it’s clear that it does.”
The candidates also sparred over crime. Carr pointed to his track record in prosecuting human trafficking and gang crimes. He also said Jordan missed many key votes – including on laws about crime – while she was in the state legislature.
Jordan said crime has increased over 60% in the state and that Carr had done nothing to address the issue.
She said she is a supporter of the Second Amendment but believes in gun control measures such as red-flag and safe-storage laws.
“As the next attorney general, I’m going to work with local police departments and agencies to get illegal guns off the streets and out of violent street gangs,” Jordan vowed.
Carr also decried the role of federal overreach and touted his support for free enterprise and competition in Georgia.
“Number one, I believe in the power of the free enterprise system,” he said. “I believe in the rule of law.”
Carr pointed to his decision to join other states in a lawsuit over an executive order issued by President Joe Biden to stop construction on the Keystone Pipeline.
“I’ve tried to protect lives, livelihoods and liberty over the past six years,” Carr said. “In fighting for the Constitution, I’m fighting for American jobs, lower gas prices, and less reliance on evil regimes that hate us.”
In response, Jordan accused Carr of focusing more on filing lawsuits against the federal government than prosecuting crime.
“People in this state do not feel safe,” she said. “He’s actually sued the Biden administration more than he’s gone after gangs or sex traffickers.”
Libertarian Martin Cowen also weighed in, taking Carr’s position against federal overreach but agreeing with Jordan’s stance on protecting abortion rights.
Cowen, like Jordan and Carr, graduated from the University of Georgia School of Law.
“The next attorney general for the state of Georgia shall be a graduate of the University of Georgia law school,” Cowen said. “Go Dawgs!”
Early voting in Georgia continues through Nov. 4, the last Friday before Election Day Nov. 8.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – Georgia’s secretary of state candidates each sought to portray themselves Tuesday as the best protectors of democracy and elections – past, present, and future – during a debate in Atlanta.
The three candidates emphasized their strong support for free and fair elections but disagreed over details.
“I’ve had to stand up to incredible pressure,” incumbent Republican Brad Raffensperger said, referring to threats and pressure he faced following the 2020 election in Georgia. “I’m standing up for you, the voter. I’m standing up for the Constitution, and I’m standing up for the rule of law.”
Democratic state Rep. Bee Nguyen of Atlanta grounded her claim to the job in a lifelong commitment to civil rights.
“My parents fled their country (Vietnam) in the middle of the night on a boat in search of basic civil liberties, including the freedom of speech, the freedom of press, and the right to free and fair elections,” Nguyen said. “And right now our basic rights are under attack, including the freedom to choose and the freedom to vote.”
And Libertarian Ted Metz argued Georgia voters should vote “principle over party for the preservation of our republic.”
Much of the debate focused on Georgia’s Senate Bill (SB) 202, a lengthy and often controversial state election reform bill the General Assembly passed last year.
“I oppose laws that make it harder for Georgians to vote, including the 98-page bill that criminalizes handing out a bottle of water to voters waiting in line,” Nguyen said.
She also argued that the law increased the burdens on local county election boards without increasing funding.
“More and more people are leaving [local elections offices] because they don’t have the adequate resources to administer free and fair elections in all 159 counties and poll workers are being threatened and harassed,” said Nguyen. “We need a comprehensive plan to make sure that our local boards are well resourced and well equipped.”
Georgia should repeal the provisions of SB 202 that allowed the voter registrations of 65,000 Georgians to be challenged, Nguyen said.
Raffensperger agreed that reform is needed and said he would support changes to the law to address the recent mass challenges to voter registrations.
“I think everyone would share that same interest that we have accurate voter rolls,” Raffensperger said. “But, that said, frivolous challenges just gum up the works.”
Raffensperger pointed out that in today’s Georgia, people move frequently, both within the state and across state lines. The state has joined an online system to help update the voter rolls.
“I also think we should do annual list maintenance for the counties,” Raffensperger added.
And non-citizens should not vote, Raffensperger said. He pointed to his effort to clean the voter rolls and said he found around 1,600 cases of non-citizens who attempted to register.
Nguyen hit back, noting that Raffensperger did not find any instances of non-citizens actually voting.
Nguyen also criticized Raffensperger’s handling of allegations about breaches to the voting system in Coffee County. She said his office took too long to open an investigation and didn’t keep the public informed.
“People who broke the law should be investigated, held accountable and go to jail,” Raffensperger responded, adding that an investigation is ongoing.
Libertarian Metz contended that Georgia should hand-count its ballots and that there are still lingering questions about the 2020 count.
But Raffensperger said the 2020 election results are valid, and the votes were counted several times.
“Every single ballot that was counted through the scanners was then hand counted,” he said. “We did a 100% hand recount to verify the results. And I’ll stand by those results.”
Raffensperger said he has made a strong effort to be transparent with the public by traveling around the state and addressing election misinformation.
“I’ve said I’ll talk to any group to give them the facts and the information because we’ve been pushing back on election deniers since the election of 2018,” he said.
Raffensperger asked Nguyen about Georgia’s 2018 gubernatorial election, in which Democrat Stacey Abrams was narrowly defeated by Republican Brian Kemp. Nguyen confirmed that she stands by the results of past elections.
Around 130,000 Georgians voted on Monday, the first day of early voting in the state, which Raffensperger said proved that Georgia’s elections are working well.
During a part of the debate where candidates were allowed to ask each other questions, Nguyen asked Raffensperger about prior statements about his pro-life stance.
Raffensperger said the secretary of state has little to do with the abortion question, adding that Nguyen’s question indicated she doesn’t understand the job.
“Job one is to know the job, and you don’t know the job,” he said.
Nguyen countered by saying the secretary of state is in charge of professional licensing, including the Georgia Board of Nursing.
“Given the close ties to the nursing board, it is important that nurses and other health-care workers decide if they want to trust a staunch anti-choice secretary of state, and that women in Georgia should decide if they want to trust a staunch anti-choice secretary of state,” Nguyen said.
Early voting in Georgia continues through Nov. 4, the last Friday before Election Day Nov. 8.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – Republican State Sen. Burt Jones was an election denier who tried to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.
Democrat Charlie Bailey is a former prosecutor who was soft on crime.
Those charges leveled by the two major party candidates for lieutenant governor at each other Tuesday dominated a debate streamed by Georgia Public Broadcasting.
Bailey reminded voters of Jones’ role as a “fake elector” in December 2020, part of a team of 16 assembled to provide an alternative to the Democratic presidential electors Georgia voters had chosen the month before when Democrat Joe Biden carried the Peach State over Republican incumbent Donald Trump.
“What you did was un-American and unpatriotic,” Bailey said.
Jones responded that the alternate slate of electors was put together while a number of lawsuits challenging the outcome of the presidential election in Georgia were pending. The slate only was to be activated if the court cases moved forward, he said.
Jones accused Bailey of using the 2020 election dispute to distract voters from the campaign’s real issues.
“[Voters] are talking about gas prices, 40-year-high inflation, crime … and what’s going on in our educational system,” Jones said.
Jones accused Bailey of supporting no-cash bail for criminals at a time crime is on the rise in Georgia and failing to aggressively prosecute criminals during his time as an assistant district attorney in Fulton County.
As an example, Jones cited a 2017 letter from then-Fulton District Attorney Paul Howard suspending Bailey without pay for five days for “conduct unbecoming” an assistant district attorney. The letter didn’t specify the nature of the conduct.
While not responding directly to the suspension, Bailey said he prosecuted hundreds of cases during his time in the D.A.’s office.
“I’m proud of the work I did,” he said. “I stand on my record.”
After being quoted during the Republican primary campaign last spring calling for a total ban on abortion, Jones said Tuesday he supports the “heartbeat” bill the General Assembly passed in 2019 prohibiting the procedure after a fetal heartbeat is detected, typically about six weeks into a pregnancy. The law allows exceptions in the case of rape, incest or “the wellbeing of the mother,” Jones said.
Bailey said he opposes the heartbeat bill.
“The six-week abortion ban is an infringement on the women of Georgia and their right to make their own decisions on health care,” he said.
Bailey said he favors codifying into state law the 1973 Roe v. Wade U.S. Supreme Court decision declaring abortion a constitutional right.
Jones said he wants to eliminate the state income tax to keep more money with Georgia taxpayers.
“The money is better used in their pockets than by the state or federal government,” he said.
Bailey said he supports legalizing casinos, sports betting, and pari-mutuel betting on horse racing in Georgia and using a portion of the proceeds to increase spending on education. Jones introduced a sports betting bill into the state Senate two years ago.
Libertarian candidate Ryan Graham said the last two occupants of the White House – Trump and Biden – both deserve blame for inflation because of the spending both steered through Congress following the onset of the pandemic.
“The truth is this inflation has been bipartisan,” he said.
Graham said he has drawn support from as many as 8% of voters in some recent polls, making it likely the lieutenant governor’s race won’t be decided until a December runoff.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – More than 131,000 Georgians turned out on Monday for the first day of early voting ahead of this year’s midterm elections, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger reported Tuesday.
That’s 85% higher than the number who showed up to vote on the first day of early voting before the last midterm elections four years ago and fell just short of the 136,739 who cast ballots as early voting kicked off ahead of the 2020 presidential election.
The huge turnout wasn’t surprising considering Republican Gov. Brian Kemp and Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock are on the ballot, along with Georgia’s congressional delegation. All 236 seats in the General Assembly also are being contested.
Democrats in particular have been urging their supporters to take advantage of early voting in light of changes to state election laws the Republican-controlled legislature passed this year that put new restrictions on voting by absentee ballot in the name of restoring voting integrity.
Statewide, reports of long lines Monday were minimal, although there were some reports of voters waiting in line for more than 30 minutes at a few popular voting locations in metro areas, Raffensperger said.
There will be at least 17 days of early voting throughout the state. All 159 counties will have an early voting Saturday this weekend.
The final day of early voting will be Nov 4, the last Friday before Election Day Nov. 8.
To find early voting locations and hours in your county, visit the secretary of state’s My Voter Page.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
