Tag: Voting Rights

DeKalb Board of Elections sets up early voting, goes into sketchy executive session

Jonathan Grant @Brambleman UPDATE: The Board of Elections (presumably the staff) has relocated the Atlanta in DeKalb early voting site to the Bessie Branham Recreation Center, 2051 Delano Drive NE Atlanta, GA 30317. The Board  originally approved Coan Park Recreation Center. No reason given for the change. Big numbers During discussion, Executive Director Erica Hamilton said that the DeKalb Board of Elections has about 40,000 voter registration applications pending and is receiving absentee ballot requests at the rate of “about 500 a day.” Board Chairman Samuel Tillman called that “a good thing” because it would help alleviate lines at the polls on election day. Not sure how staff (there are only 15 or 16 full-timers) feels about that. Hamilton also said the Board…

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Brian Kemp takes credit for keeping Randolph Polls open

Jonathan Grant @Brambleman For the past couple of weeks, the Randolph County Election Board’s plan to close 7 of 9 polling places in the majority black county has been big news not just in Georgia but all over the U.S. and even internationally. The controversy built to a crescendo yesterday with the firing of the elections consultant who came up with this incredibly stupid idea. The Board’s 2-0 vote this morning was anticlimactic, especially since the county attorney had already said, “I would be the most surprised person in Georgia if this passed.” Dead, for this election cycle. Enter stage far-right: Georgia Secretary of State and gubernatorial candidate Brian Kemp, to claim credit for being a champion of democracy. I was the first…

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Before Randolph County, Mike Malone was referred to AG’s office by State Elections Board

Jonathan Grant @Brambleman The local Board of Elections has come under fire for its plan to shut down 7 of 9 polling places in majority-black Randolph County in Southwest Georgia, infamous for its history of voter suppression and racial discrimination. I found this while working on an upcoming post. In the meantime, here’s background coverage Download pdf  Board of Elections Transcript of Greene County-Mike Malone Case From Minutes of Georgia Board of Elections meeting September 20th, 2017 Complaints of vote buying and early tabulation during 2015, Special Election, Greene County Georgia; Elections Supervisor Mike Morgan. Link to transcript: https://bit.ly/2OWzd5p Note: The record reflects that SoS Brian Kemp was not in attendance at the time this case was called, heard, and decided. Malone makes no…

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Randolph County: Complaints of vote buying, early tabulation in Mike Malone-supervised election

Jonathan Grant @Brambleman The local Board of Elections has come under fire for its plan to shut down 7 of 9 polling places in majority-black Randolph County in Southwest Georgia, infamous for its history of voter suppression and racial discrimination. I found this while working on an upcoming post. In the meantime, here’s background coverage Download pdf  Board of Elections Transcript of Greene County-Mike Malone Case From Minutes of Georgia Board of Elections meeting September 20th, 2017 Complaints of vote buying and early tabulation during 2015, Special Election, Greene County Georgia; Elections Supervisor Mike Morgan. Link to transcript: https://bit.ly/2OWzd5p Note: The record reflects that SoS Brian Kemp was not in attendance at the time this case was called, heard, and decided. Malone makes no…

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Major Georgia voting snafu has robbed 100s of votes from Rep. Scott Holcomb for years

Jonathan Grant @Brambleman Going back at least to 2012, a major error by the DeKalb County Board of Elections has put nearly 700 voters who should be in Democratic Rep. Scott Holcomb’s House District 81 in (up until recently) safe Republican House District 79. Bear in mind, Doraville North is a reliably blue precinct, giving Democratic candidates hefty majorities. Jon Ossoff took Doraville North last year with 75 percent of the vote. These voters would have increased Holcomb’s victory margin in 2016 by about 200, and they are even more crucial in a mid-term election, when turnout is typically lower. Here’s what happened: A portion of Doraville North extends east past Buford Highway around Oakcliff Road near the Gwinnett County line; Buford Highway…

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It’s Sunday — Vote in DeKalb County today!

Sorry, Fran. There will be Sunday voting in DeKalb (but Tucker Rec is out) This has been a low turnout election, so far. The vote totals the DeKalb Board of Elections posted for Saturday are grim.  But hey, we can vote today!  Check out this resource: DeKalb County Voter Guide. Here’s a list of early voting sites and times: Only Dunwoody Library, the Board of Elections office, and South DeKalb Mall are open for voting today. But this is cool:    

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