December 19, 2021 / Newsletter 255 |
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HELP US FIGHT JIM CROW 2.0!
Your donations help us in the fight for all eligible voters to be able to cast their votes & have them counted.
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Next meeting of the Hall County Dems:
When: Monday, January 10, 2022
Doors open at 6 pm,
meeting called to order at 6:30
Where: Gainesville Civic Center,
830 Green Street NE
Guest Speaker:
Senator Lester Jackson, Democratic candidate for Georgia Labor Commissioner.
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Save the Date!
Martin Luther King Day activities in Gainesville will be taking place over the weekend of January 15th - 17th. Watch this space for details coming soon.
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Get involved!
If you want to help protect our right to vote and to have those votes counted, why not attend the next meeting of the Hall County Board of Elections?
The next BOE meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, January 4, 2022, at 3:30 p.m. in the fourth-floor meeting room of the county administration building at the corner of McEver and Brown's Bridge Roads in Gainesville.
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Weekly Thoughts from the Chair:
Holiday Wishes
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Over the holidays, spend time with your family and friends. Celebrate the holidays according to the traditions that are meaningful to you. Renew connections, strengthen ties to those closest to you, and take some time to recharge.
Then in the New Year, come out ready to fight! We’ve got a big job ahead of us in 2022, to elect Democrats and stop the GOP from taking away our rights, so get ready.
We on the HCDP committee wish all of you a happy holiday season.
Mike
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Hall County Commissioners Trying to Take Away Board of Elections Independence |
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Report on the Hall County Board of Elections meeting, December, 2021
This report represents the highlights of the meeting.
Elections director Lori Wurtz reported that there are 129,885 registered voters in Hall county, along with more than 8,000 inactive voters. She also reported that the use of multiple language ballots for elections was not approved due to insufficient numbers of non-English speaking registered voters, and that the issue will not be addressed again for five years.
BOE chairperson Tom Smiley reported that the Hall County Commission has proposed legislation to change the method used to select Board of Elections (BOE) members. The Commissioners view the current selection of members as unconstitutional based on the Georgia State Constitution, so they have proposed tentative legislation to change the process and make additional changes.
Highlights of the proposal include limiting BOE members to two consecutive 4-year terms, allowing BOE members to be removed without cause, and selecting BOE members without consideration of party affiliation.
BOE chairperson Tom Smiley indicated that the BOE members had no input into the legislative proposal, and that 60 counties in Georgia currently use the same BOE member selection process as Hall County.
Following lengthy discussion about the proposed legislation the BOE voted unanimously to hire an outside attorney to evaluate the constitutionality of the process now used to select Hall County BOE members. The County Commission is currently recessed until the first meeting scheduled in January. It was also pointed out that the Hall County Republican Party chairperson opposes the proposed legislation.
The next meeting of the Hall County BOE is scheduled for Tuesday, January 4, 2022, at 3:30 p.m. in the fourth-floor meeting room of the county administration building.
Frank Lock
Hall County Democratic Party Voter Protection Coordinator
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Why Hall commissioners, elections board are at odds again
But at a fiery board meeting Tuesday, Dec. 14, Board of Elections members slammed proposed changes, calling it "shenanigans" that went beyond the commissioners' authority. Hall County officials presented the proposed changes to local legislators...
Read more
www.gainesvilletimes.com
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Editorial: Proposed election board changes need public...
The Hall County Board of Commission and the county's Board of Elections are squared up for round II in what seems destined to be an ongoing battle over control of the voting process in the county. Earlier this year, the commission challenged the...
Read more
www.gainesvilletimes.com
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Latest news on voter suppression efforts in Georgia & across US |
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In his bid to be the most radical right-wing candidate for Lieutenant Governor, Butch Miller is going all-in on voter suppression. Not satisfied with the restrictions already imposed by last year’s SB202 on drop boxes for absentee ballots, he’s now proposing doing away with them altogether.
Meanwhile, Reverend Raphael Warnock gave a moving speech on the Senate floor on the importance of passing federal voting legislation. Check out the YouTube video to be inspired by our Senator, and make a plan to help ensure his re-election in 2022.
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Sen. Butch Miller proposes ban of ballot drop boxes
SB 325, prefiled on Monday, Dec. 13, would remove all drop boxes for absentee ballots, which were first instituted in Georgia near the start of the pandemic.
Read more
www.gainesvilletimes.com
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Senator Warnock Takes to the Floor of the U.S. Senate...
Watch Senator Reverend Rephael Warnock of Georgia speak on the importance of passing voting rights legislation now, even if that means laying aside the filibuster.
Read more
www.youtube.com
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Fighting gerrymandering in the South's Black Belt
Southern states' new Republican-drawn election maps would mean less political power for communities of color in the Black Belt region. Voters there are now asking state and federal courts to decide if the new districts violate state or federal...
Read more
www.facingsouth.org
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Republican States Go to War Against Democratic Local...
The near-nationwide Republican state-government fight to restrict voting rights has focused to a considerable extent on preempting more generous local policies, making a mockery of the idea that conservatives favor decentralized decision-making...
Read more
nymag.com
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EXCLUSIVE: Lincoln County election officials discuss...
Three Lincolnton residents were there to voice their concerns over the board's proposal to eliminate six of the county's seven polling locations, citing long lines and travel. Board of Elections Director Lilvender Bolton and board member James...
Read more
www.wfxg.com
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Lincoln County residents react to consolidation plan
Lincoln County residents react to consolidation plan
Read more
www.wfxg.com
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The Media and the Ballot Box: Confronting 21st Century...
In the fall of 2020, voters across the country waited in long lines to cast their ballots in a pivotal election, with press on hand to cover the action. One Georgia TV reporter talked to an upbeat voter who said, "A lot of people have given up...
Read more
niemanreports.org
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Things To Do - Teri Kanefield
So, how do we strengthen democracy? The cure for what ails us is more democracy, or what Obama calls "citizenship": If the universe is unfolding as it should, Trump awakened enough people from complacency and spurred us to treasure our democracy...
Read more
terikanefield.com
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9th District Democratic Women Participate in GFDW Cares! |
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Thanks to HCDP Committee member Pat Calmes, Hall County was one of the stops on the Georgia Federation of Democratic Women’s “Cares” tour.
To show appreciation for first responders in Hall, the women are sharing sweet treats with local service workers!
During this season of giving, don’t forget to show your appreciation to those who work every day to keep us healthy and safe.
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State & Local News (Some links may require a subscription)
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AJC Interview: Abrams on the 'clearest signal' why she...
Explore AJC Interview: Inside Perdue's plan to defeat Kemp in 2022 Though there was outside speculation about whether she would launch a new campaign, Abrams said she was "very clear internally" to her close friends and advisers she was destined...
Read more
www.ajc.com
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Fear of homelessness for the holidays: Georgia rental...
Valdosta's Nakima Reid has been waiting four months to find out if she'll receive emergency rental assistance that would help her family keep a roof overhead. The mother of three says she's unsure where her family will live without the sorely...
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georgiarecorder.com
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PLEASE NOTE: Articles about Georgia Democrats on the primary ballot in 2022 are intended to keep you informed. They are not an endorsement of any candidate. |
'It's an American issue': can Georgia's candidate for...
Georgia state representative Bee Nguyen has seemed destined to wage epic battles in her fast-changing state ever since replacing Stacey Abrams in its legislature four years ago when the now-nationally-recognized Democrat announced her first bid...
Read more
www.theguardian.com
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Exclusive: More Georgia Secretary of State's office...
Representatives of the U.S. House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection interviewed current and former employees of the Georgia Secretary of State's office Wednesday about former President Donald Trump's extensive attempts to overturn...
Read more
www.gpb.org
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Putting Humanity Back in Politics with Sen. Jen Jordan...
On today's episode of The MeidasTouch Podcast we two incredible guests, Georgia's State Senator and Candidate for Attorney General Sen. Jen Jordan and writer...
Read more
www.youtube.com
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New Georgia Freedom Caucus seeks right turn in state...
ATLANTA (AP) - A group of Georgia Republican lawmakers announced the launch Tuesday of a Freedom Caucus in the state's General Assembly, vowing to move outcomes to the political right even as the majority GOP-legislature girds for an...
Read more
apnews.com
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National News (Some links may require a subscription)
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King Family and Activists Plan Marches to Spur Action on ...
Prominent backers of stalled voting rights legislation plan a blitz emphasizing the urgent need to counter new state restrictions. WASHINGTON - Frustrated with President Biden and congressional Democrats for failing to enact voting rights...
Read more
www.nytimes.com
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Three Republican Residents of The Villages Arrested for...
Three Republican residents of the hedonistic Florida retirement haven The Villages have been charged with casting multiple votes in the 2020 presidential election, according to local reports. Click Orlando identified the three as Jay Ketcik, 63,...
Read more
www.thedailybeast.com
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3 Things We Can Do About Women's Reproductive Rights...
It's been a rough week for women's reproductive rights this past week. Between SCOTUS' responses during the hearing on the Mississippi case and then the 5-4 decision written by Justice Gorsuch in the Texas case , the right to an abortion is...
Read more
politicalcharge.org
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After years at the center of political power, Mark...
Former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has offered the most stunning revelations yet in the congressional investigation into the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Meadows, a former congressman with a reputation as a conservative...
Read more
www.gpb.org
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