Brambleman

DeKalb’s Chief Judge rejects horrible Republican Elections Board nominee

From today’s AJC: Paul Maner is officially out of the running for the DeKalb Elections Board. The Republican was rejected Wednesday by DeKalb Chief Superior Court Judge Asha Jackson, who approves appointments to the county’s five-member elections board. Jackson asked the county Republican Party executive committee to submit another name, said DeKalb County Clerk of the Superior Court Debra DeBerry. “The decision to reject his name as a nominee was based on an extraordinary number of phone calls and emails to Judge Jackson about Mr. Maner ‘s candidacy as a nominee and a determination after review of the same, that another more suitable candidate would need to be considered for the Board of Elections,” DeBerry said. Read more Original June 13 Post…

Republicans nominate bad actor Paul Maner to DeKalb Elections Board. Judge Asha Jackson should reject him.

These are serious times for serious people. Unfortunately, the DeKalb GOP, which has in the past provided diligent, honorable members to the Board, has quit being serious under the Kraken “leadership” of Marci McCarthy, and the nomination of Paul Maner to the Board is an insult to the voters of DeKalb. By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman Appointing members for DeKalb County’s Board of Registration and Elections used to be a ho-hum affair. Not now. High stakes elections, the GOP’s bad-faith “Stop the Steal” campaign, and DeKalb’s new board selection process have combined to make it a fraught process. With more than 550K registered voters, DeKalb plays a huge role in statewide elections. A failure or, more perversely, an outright refusal to certify DeKalb’s…

It’s crucial to replace Sam Tillman on DeKalb Board of Elections

Applications period opens for DeKalb’s at-large Elections post At right: Ad in April 8, 2021 edition of The Champion. In 2019, a similar legal ad was the only mention of the appointment process–a big reason why Sam Tillman is still a member. Hat tip to Eli Spencer Heyman for spotting this obscure notice. (He finds lots of stuff. Follow him on Twitter @elium2.) Scroll to bottom of post to read full text of the legal ad and share this information with people you think could improve operations of this crucial organization. By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman Sam Tillman has been on the DeKalb Board of Elections for more than a quarter-century, and the longtime chairman’s current appointment expires at the end of June.…

A word of warning: Gwinnett County Board of Elections (and others) not in compliance with Georgia Constitution

This flaw, if not remedied, could lead to successful challenges to certification of elections and shutdown of local elections operations Georgia GOP legislators have hastily stitched together ill-crafted bills designed mainly to curb voting in larger counties–while voting down HB 773, an effort to bring Gwinnett County Board of Elections into compliance with GA Constitution. Stunning incompetence and negligence. So … I sent this email to Georgia House Speaker David Ralston today, with a copy to Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan and sponsors of HB 773. I would have sent a copy to Gov. Brian Kemp, but couldn’t find his email address, so he’ll have to read my blog. Dear Speaker Ralston: Good morning. I know that the session is hectic, especially near…

Georgia absentee voting: Rep. Barry Fleming’s House Bill 270 needs fixing

If changes aren’t made to give a more reasonable deadline and allow emergency applications, legislators should reject HB 270 By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman Georgia House Bill 270 is designed to fix a problem of an untenable deadline for local election officials to mail out absentee ballots. Currently, county registrars and absentee ballot clerks are required to accept absentee ballot requests up to the Friday before an election. The turnaround time is supposed to be two days, according to current law (Georgia Code 21-2-385). Since election offices are assumed to be closed on weekends, that creates a time squeeze, especially since the law further states that no absentee ballot shall be mailed (or issued) on the day prior to a primary or election. This…

Blacks soldiers and slaves: The American Revolution in Georgia

Above: Georgia Revolutionary War hero Austin Dabney Chapter One, Part 2: The American Revolution in Georgia is excerpted from The Way It Was in the South: The Black Experience in Georgia, by Donald L. Grant. Available from University of Georgia Press. Read Part 1: Beginnings of Evil, or An English Experiment Gone Awry About the book At the age of 52, my father received his PhD in History from the University of Missouri and accepted a position at Fort Valley State College (now University), a public HBCU in Middle Georgia south of Macon. Throughout his tenure and beyond, he worked on what turned into a monumental history of Black Georgians. Unfortunately, he died in 1988 without getting it published. After his death, I…

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