Georgia Politics Archives

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…

This race wasn’t supposed to happen: justice reformer Dexter Wimbish faces appointed DA Marie Broder in Griffin circuit

See early voting locations/times at end of post By Jonathan Grant @Brambleman All the leaves have fallen, but Georgia’s 2020 election season isn’t done. It’s been extended–hungover, really–well past past the Jan. 5 runoffs, thanks to two Feb. 9 special elections: a House race in reliably Blue House District 90 in DeKalb, Rockdale, and Henry counties, precipitated by the late-breaking retirement of Rep. Pam Stephenson. The other is a District Attorney’s race in the Griffin Judicial Circuit, which is today’s focus. Dexter Wimbish, a defense attorney, lay minister, municipal court judge, and former Southern Christian Leadership Council general counsel, is running against appointed Republican DA Marie Broder in the four-county circuit (Fayette, Spalding, Pike, and Upson). There is, of course, a huge…

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