ATLANTA – Georgia Republicans have run out of options in their bid to block early Saturday voting ahead of the Dec. 6 U.S. Senate runoff between incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker.
The Georgia Supreme Court ruled unanimously Wednesday that counties choosing to offer early voting on Saturday, Nov. 26, may do so. The Georgia Republican Party, Republican National Committee, and National Republican Senatorial Committee earlier had gone to both U.S. District Court and the Georgia Court of Appeals seeking to block early Saturday voting.
“Once again, this is a victory for every Georgia voter,” Quentin Folks, Warnock’s campaign manager, said Wednesday. “We look forward to at least 22 counties across the state providing voters the opportunity to cast their ballots on Saturday, November 26th.”
The state Supreme Court decision upheld the two lower-court rulings in a lawsuit brought by the Warnock campaign, the Democratic Party of Georgia, and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.
The three parties filed suit after Brad Raffensperger, Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, announced early voting could not take place on Nov. 26 because of a state law prohibiting early voting within two days of a state holiday. Thanksgiving falls on Thursday, Nov. 24, and Nov. 25 is a state holiday honoring the birthday of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee.
Lawyers for the Democrats argued the law applies to primaries and general elections but not to runoffs.
While weekend early voting is optional, all 159 Georgia counties must offer early voting from Monday, Nov. 28, through Friday, Dec. 2.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
Georgia Rep. Sam Park, D-Lawrenceville, will become the first Asian American to hold a leadership post.
ATLANTA – Democrats in the Georgia House of Representatives will field a mix of veterans and new leaders in the minority party’s leadership team during the upcoming 2023-24 legislative term.
The House Democratic Caucus reelected Rep. James Beverly Tuesday to serve as minority leader for the next two years. Beverly, D-Macon, was elected to the House in 2010 and chosen minority leader by his Democratic colleagues two years ago.
Rep. Sam Park was elected to leadership for the first time. Park, D-Lawrenceville, will become minority whip in January, making him the first Asian American to rise to a leadership position in the General Assembly.
“This caucus is the vanguard for change, and our diversity is our strength,” Park said. “We stand united in our common cause of creating a better Georgia, and I will work tirelessly in this role to serve each member of our caucus.”
House Democrats returned Rep. Billy Mitchell, D-Stone Mountain, to the chairmanship of the caucus. The 2023-24 term will mark his second in that role.
Rep. Karen Bennett, D-Stone Mountain, will step into a leadership role for the first time as caucus vice chair.
The caucus also elected Rep. Sandra Scott, D-Rex, chief deputy whip; Rep. Park Cannon, D-Atlanta, caucus secretary; and Rep. Shea Roberts, D-Atlanta, caucus treasurer.
Democrats posted a net gain of two seats in the House in the Nov. 8 elections, bringing their numbers to 79 of the chamber’s 180 seats.
The 2023 legislative session will begin under the Gold Dome Jan. 9.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – The new Hyundai electric vehicle manufacturing plant being built in Bryan County is continuing to pay dividends for Georgia and the coastal region.
Hyundai Mobis, one of the world’s largest automotive suppliers, will invest $926 million in an EV Power Electric system plant in Bryan County that will eventually create at least 1,500 jobs, Gov. Brian Kemp announced Tuesday.
Hyundai Mobis is the second EV supplier to unveil plans to set up shop near the Hyundai EV plant since the Korean automaker broke ground on the $5.5 billion project late last month. Auto parts manufacturer Joon Georgia announced Nov. 7 it will invest $317 million in a new manufacturing plant in Bulloch County that will create 630 jobs, making it the first confirmed supplier for the new Hyundai EV plant.
“When we celebrated the groundbreaking of Hyundai’s new electric vehicle and battery manufacturing facility in Bryan County, we knew it would unleash transformational job creation and investment in that entire region of our state,” Kemp said. “As we announce the second supplier in just two weeks to locate in that area, we’re excited to see their impact on the surrounding communities and the growing list of other job creators that will soon follow.”
The EV Power Electric system plant will expand Hyundai Mobis’ footprint in Georgia. Hyundai Mobis has operated a manufacturing facility with about 1,200 employees in West Point since 2009 as a supplier to the nearby Kia plant.
“Hyundai Mobis’ investment project in Bryan County reflects an acceleration in the development of the EV supply chain in Georgia’s auto industry,” said H.S. Oh, vice president of Hyundai Mobis’ Electric Powertrain Business Unit. “We’re going to be a major production player in the EV market, and that’s going to trigger more growth within the sector.”
Construction on the 1.2 million-square-foot Hyundai Mobis plant in Richmond Hill is expected to start as early as January, with production due to begin in 2024.
The Georgia Department of Economic Development worked on the Hyundai Mobis project in partnership with the Development Authority of Bryan County, the Georgia Ports Authority, Georgia Power and the Technical College System of Georgia’s Quick Start program.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
Former House Speaker David Ralston, who died last week, will lie in state under the Gold Dome in Atlanta on Tuesday and Wednesday (photo: Rebecca Grapevine).
ATLANTA – Legislators from across Georgia and across party lines gathered underneath the Gold Dome Tuesday to pay tribute to former House Speaker David Ralston, who died last week and will lie in state at the Capitol until Wednesday morning.
“He was a loyal friend through times of victory and loss,” Gov. Brian Kemp told the assembled mourners, who included Ralston’s family members as well as many state lawmakers.
“At times, he governed the House with an iron fist but also a big soft heart. That is why he was so respected and admired.”
“Those who frequently disagree with each other can still come together to achieve extraordinary things,” Kemp said of Ralston’s approach to politics.
Kemp listed some of Ralston’s key accomplishments: A mental health reform bill passed earlier this year, a 2020 hate crimes bill, and a 2015 transportation funding package.
After serving for more than a decade in the state Senate, Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, was first elected to the House in 2002. In 2010, he assumed the position of speaker, which he held for more than a decade until his death last week.
“Of all those friends I’ve had the privilege of knowing, David Ralston was unique,” said Len Walker, who was Ralston’s pastor and, prior to that, served with Ralston in the Georgia House of Representatives. “He was one of a kind and I treasure his memory.”
Walker, a Republican who represented Loganville, described how his conversations with Ralston while in the House often started off with legislation but quickly transformed into explorations of deep topics such as theology, life and death.
“I treasured the conversations we had,” Walker said. “He was a friend who would build you up …. [and] make you feel better about what you were trying to do in this state Capitol.”
Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver, D-Decatur, credited Ralston for the passage of a major mental health bill earlier this year.
“We passed a very significant mental health reform bill because of David Ralston’s leadership. It would never have happened without him,” Oliver said. “He was committed from the beginning. I think his cause for reform will go on beyond today.”
Ralston was well known for maintaining a civil atmosphere in the Georgia House.
“Speaker Ralston and I had a unique relationship,” said former Democratic Rep. Calvin Smyre, D-Columbus.
Ralston did not shy away from challenges, said Smyre, who was chairman of the House Democratic Caucus. Smyre pointed to the former speaker’s success with this year’s mental health reform bill and the 2015 transportation package.
“He loved those heavy lifters,” Smyre said. “Politically, he had a two-way street and not a one-way alley. You could go back and forth with him, reason with him.”
“Though there were major differences under the Gold Dome, there was a sense of civility, that you could disagree without being disagreeable,” Smyre added. “A giant tree has fallen.”
Ralston surprised Georgians earlier this month when he announced he would not run for the leadership position next year. His death followed soon thereafter. House Majority Leader Jon Burns, R-Newington, is expected to succeed Ralston as speaker during the next legislative session, which will begin in January.
Ralston’s body will lie in state in the Rotunda of the state Capitol until Wednesday morning. A funeral service at Fannin County High School Performing Arts Center in Blue Ridge is planned for 1 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 27.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
ATLANTA – At least 13 Georgia counties will be holding weekend early voting this Saturday ahead of the Dec. 6 U.S. Senate runoff election between incumbent Democrat Raphael Warnock and Republican challenger Herschel Walker.
Counties including Chatham, Clarke, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Muscogee, and Walton counties are moving forward with weekend early voting after the Georgia Court of Appeals turned back a challenge mounted by Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office.
Immediately after the results of the Nov. 8 election put Warnock and Walker into a runoff, the secretary of state’s office indicated that Saturday, Nov. 26, would be set aside as a weekend early voting day.
Subsequently, however, Raffensperger said it would be illegal to hold early voting on that day, citing a state law that prohibits runoffs on any day immediately following a state holiday. Besides Thanksgiving Day this Thursday, Friday is a state holiday.
The Warnock campaign, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and the Democratic Party of Georgia filed a lawsuit arguing the law the secretary of state cited applies to primary and general elections but not to runoffs.
A Fulton County Superior Court judge ruled late last week in favor of the plaintiffs, and the state Court of Appeals upheld that decision on Monday.
“This ruling is a victory for every Georgia voter,” Quentin Fulks, Warnock’s campaign manager, said in a joint statement with the two other plaintiffs. “We look forward to counties across the state providing voters the opportunity to cast their ballots on Saturday, November 26th.”
The Georgia Republican Party, Republican National Committee (RNC) and National Republican Senatorial Committee have joined forces to appeal the decision to the Georgia Supreme Court.
“Georgians deserve better than Democrats scheming to change election laws in the 11th hour,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel said Tuesday. “This flawed ruling benefits a handful of wealthy Democrat counties at the expense of basic election integrity and cannot be allowed to stand.”
The court ruling makes weekend early voting optional for Georgia’s 159 counties.
Voting rights groups urged county election officials Tuesday to allow weekend early voting in their communities.
“Georgians deserve more than five or six days of early voting,” said Stephanie Ali, policy director for the New Georgia Project.
“Weekend early voting options should be universal and not be dependent on where in the state a voter lives, added Aunna Dennis, executive director of Common Cause Georgia.
“I have no doubt that the people of our state will overcome those barriers in this December 6 runoff election and turn out to vote. But we, the people, need to keep pushing for equitable access to the ballot in our state so that we can work towards building a government that truly is of, by, and for the people.”
Mandatory early voting statewide will run from Monday, Nov. 28, through Friday, Dec. 2.
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.
