Brambleman

Georgia State Election Board unanimously dismisses bogus complaint against Josh McLaurin

By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman Reposting last year’s coverage with update. Good news from Georgia’s State Capitol. The State Elections Board has unanimously dismisses complaint against Rep. Josh McLaunin. R. Robin McDonald, writing for Law.com’s Daily Report: A Republican Party lawyer’s complaint against an attorney, who sued the GOP for libel and flipped a long-held state House Republican seat, has been dismissed by the state elections board. The administrative complaint—one of three filed by GOP deputy counsel Vincent Russo against Atlanta attorney Josh McLaurin last year—served as the basis for incendiary political mailers circulated by the Republican Party in the run-up to the 2018 election. 2018 UPDATE: GOP Caves, settles lawsuit and agrees to quit making false claims against Georgia House District 51 candidate Josh McLaurin…

Georgia GOP playbook: If you can’t find dirt, make up dumb stuff

By Jonathan Grant@Brambleman Marcy Westmoreland Sakrison has sent out mailers attacking an unnamed but identifiable opponent in Georgia’s House District 71 special election: ATTENTIONMARCY WESTMORELAND SAKRISON IS THE REPUBLICAN WHO CAN BEAT THE HAND PICKED CHOICE OF THE DEMOCRATIC ELITE She’s talking about longtime Peachtree City librarian Jill Prouty, the only Democrat running. Say her name! During a recent interview, Prouty discussed her candidacy. She never mentioned any of the “elites” pictured on the flyer. Instead, she talked about rejecting the GOP when it became the Party of Trump and getting involved in local Democratic politics. She joined the Coweta Democratic Women’s Council, considered running, gauged her support, and decided to qualify on July 18. She said nothing about the hand picking.…

Why does Marcy Westmoreland Sakrison fear the librarian?

By Jonathan Grant@Brambleman Click for info on voting in Tuesday’s election Click for update on Marcy’s campaign! Marcy Westmoreland Sakrison has sent out mailers attacking an unnamed but identifiable opponent in Georgia’s House District 71 special election: ATTENTIONMARCY WESTMORELAND SAKRISON IS THE REPUBLICAN WHO CAN BEAT THE HAND PICKED CHOICE OF THE DEMOCRATIC ELITE She’s talking about longtime Peachtree City librarian Jill Prouty, the only Democrat running. Say her name! During a recent interview, Prouty discussed her candidacy. She never mentioned any of the “elites” pictured on the flyer. Instead, she talked about rejecting the GOP when it became the Party of Trump and getting involved in local Democratic politics. She joined the Coweta Democratic Women’s Council, considered running, gauged her support,…

Democrat shakes up House race in Atlanta’s southern suburbs: A look inside Jill Prouty’s campaign

By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman Click for info on voting in Tuesday’s election Read the latest post: “Why does Marcy Westmoreland Sakrison fear the librarian?” After State Rep. David Stover resigned in June, Republicans in Coweta and Fayette counties thought they still had Georgia’s House District 71 all to themselves. But then a moderate who was fed up with the Party of Trump plunked down her $400 and joined the race to replace Stover. Now her MAGA opponents all have to worry about coming in third in the Sept. 3 primary and missing an Oct. 1 runoff, since Jill Prouty’s upstart campaign is gaining steam. The moderate Democrat offers a clear alternative to Republicans Nina Blackwelder, Philip Singleton, and Marcy Sakrison. Since there…

Making elections sporting again: Big crowd cheers Stacey Abrams launch of Georgia Fair Fight 2020

By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman Several hundred supporters packed the semi-sweltering auditorium at Gwinnett County’s Annistown Elementary School Saturday afternoon for the Georgia launch of Stacey Abrams’ Fair Fight 2020. The venue—a poll location in 2018 that drew national attention, in a bad way—was chosen as a symbol of the brokenness of Georgia’s voting systems. “We know that even though Stacey Abrams is not our governor, we did win,” declared Gwinnett School Board member Everton Blair, Jr., an introductory speaker at the event. That Georgia’s election was stolen was an article of faith among the crowd. Not just faith. Reason. Brian Kemp didn’t fight fair, and the deck was stacked to begin with. Georgia’s voting system is filled with flaws, mistakes, and an unfortunate history…

We need to talk about the DeKalb Board of Elections

By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman The DeKalb Board of Elections has more than its share of problems and several voting rights activists and grassroots volunteers spoke out about those issues and suppport for an ongoing audit at today’s DeKalb Board of Commissioners meeting. Liz Throop, Betsy Schwalbach, and others outlined many of the problems DeKalb voters faced last November: long lines, inadequate facilities for early voting, and problems with absentee ballots highlighted their list of concerns. This included 4,700 missing absentee ballots in DeKalb that remain a matter of dispute and investigation (supposedly) by the Secretary of State’s office. As a result of this and other issues, thousands of DeKalb Citizens were unable to vote in the general election. Worth noting: DeKalb had…

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