Blue Notes🎶
& News
August 14, 2022 / Newsletter 289
This week's events
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Hall County Democratic Party August Meeting

Please note different location.

When: Monday, August 22, 2022. Doors open at 6 pm, meeting gaveled to order at 6:30.
Where: Fair Street Neighborhood Community Center
714 Fair Street, Gainesville, 30501
For more information about and a map to Fair Street Community Center, click here. .
Watch Party for "Braver Angels: Reuniting America"
sponsored by Fannin County Democrats

You are invited to a Zoom meeting/watch party to view and discuss Braver Angels: Reuniting America This is a 50-minute documentary about a 2017 Red/Blue workshop sponsored by Braver Angels, a group established to encourage civility & challenge us to work together. Directed by four-time Emmy award-winner Jim Brown, & produced by musician Peter Yarrow. 

Please join us on Monday, Aug 15th at 07:00 PM Eastern Time.  

Register by clicking here to receive your Zoom invitation.
Blue To Do
REGISTER TO VOTE or CHECK YOUR REGISTRATION

The deadline to register to vote in the November election is OCTOBER 11.

If you aren’t already registered, do it now.

If you’ve moved, update your address.

Even if nothing has changed, be sure to check your registration to ensure it is active. Reassure yourself that Brad Raffensperger hasn't purged you from the voter rolls!

We can’t win if you can’t vote!

For more information about voting in Georgia, visit https://www.georgiavoter.guide/
HALL COUNTY ELECTIONS OFFICE IS HIRING POLL WORKERS

As of last week, Hall County has hired and trained 300 poll workers. But that is only HALF of the goal of 600 poll workers for the November election.

We need people who believe in our elections system to work at the polls! These are paid positions. Click the image below to apply to be a poll worker.
Stacey Abrams gov
WE HAVE STACEY ABRAMS YARD SIGNS!

Show your support for Stacey Abrams for Governor with a yard sign..For a donation to Hall County Democratic Party, you can walk out with a sign! All donations welcome.

We have signs for Jen Jordan too!
PARTY NEWS

Our alternate delegates for the August 27th state convention in Columbus--True Blue 2022-- are
  • Nancy Moore of Gainesville
  • Linda Ostrow of Gainesville

A huge thank you to Nancy and Linda for answering our call for alternate delegates. They will be joining the delegates elected at our caucus last week and our State Committee members at the convention.

Editor's Correction: Last week, we put the wrong last name in our delegate listing for Charles (Chuck) Bennett. We apologize for our error.

For more information, email us at [email protected]
A Call for Volunteers at State Convention in Columbus
A message from DPG Organizing Director Matt Hansfield

As we approach State Convention, we're ramping up our work to recruit volunteers to help with some of the main logistical lifts on the day- registration, ushering, and otherwise staffing Convention proceedings. We estimate that we'll likely need to fill roughly 120 individual volunteer shifts throughout the day to smoothly administer all the different moving parts on the 27th.
 
We've set up a Volunteer Signup Form here for volunteers people to provide their info and availability: 
 
Those who will be serving as Delegates or Alternates should not sign up to volunteer (there will be more than enough going on for them), but anyone else who would like to attend should feel free to do so.
Candidate News
Volunteer, attend an event, host an event, contribute
Jody Cooley GA Senate District 49

Jody's FaceBook page is up! He wants to get more followers than his opponent, so help him out!!! Friend him at https://www.facebook.com/JDCooleyIII

Jody is continuing to meet with various civic groups around the county. He is finalizing his campaign team and needs a Social Media coordinator. Please contact Jody if you are willing and able to help!
Kim Floria qualifying
Kim Floria, GA House District 30

Kim is hosting a weekly Wine and Postcard Writing event on Wednesday evenings at Soprano's Grill, 5783 Old Winder Highway in Braselton.

She also has a Calling Voters event scheduled on Saturdays from 10:30-noon. Sign up here: https://mobilize.us/s/BF1eNG

Kim will be with Isabel, Devin, and more Hall County candidates at Candidates on Tap (see below for details.)
CANDIDATES ON TAP
THURSDAY, AUG 25

Join Isabel Martinez Flynn (Hall County School Board Post 2), Devin Pandy, Kim Floria, Mike Ford, and other Hall County Candidates for pizza and beer!

Mark your calendars for this fun event where you can sample beer while you chat with candidates about their positions on issues important to you. We'll have more details about the candidates who are participating as the event gets closer.

Save the date for Candidates on Tap
THURSDAY, August 25th, 4:00 - 8:00 PM
Beer Me, 5609 Main St, Flowery Branch

EDITOR’S NOTE: We have corrected the day of the week for this event.
Devin Pandy, Georgia House District 29

September 10: His community organization For a Greater Gainesville will be participating in an event to benefit Gateway House. Details to come.

September 25: Devin joins a full slate of Hall County candidates for Candidates on Tap. Details above.
Donate to our Democratic Candidates

Using the secure website ActBlue, you can donate to these Hall County Democrats running for office. Use the links below:

Follow Devin on Twitter and Facebook

Follow Kim on Twitter and Facebook

Jody Cooley, Georgia Senate District 49.Contribute via his website: http://jodycooley.com/, Follow Jody on Twitter @vote_Jody and Facebook

Laura Colaninno, Hall County Commission District 1: https://secure.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/135002

Angela Middleton, Hall County School Board Post 1. Contribute via her website https://www.electangelathomasmiddleton.com/

Isabel-Martinez Flynn, Hall County School Board Post 2

Pat Calmes, Hall County School Board At Large

You may also contribute to Mike Ford's campaign for U S House, 9th District of Georgia: https://secure.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/132079
Check out Mike's website and follow him on Twitter @Mike4Georgia.

We'll add links for our other Hall County candidates as they become available.

Get the word out and support these Democratic candidates.
Our 2022 candidates
Laura said it best: Mike went big, because he's not going home!
Note to candidates and their campaign staff: Send news and events information to HallCountyDemocrat@gmail.com or [email protected] Deadline is noon Saturday to be included in the Sunday newsletter.
Voting and Elections News
Upcoming 2022 Mid-term Election Dates

August 22 - First day to submit application for absentee ballot
October 11 - Voter Registration Deadline for 11/8 & 12/6 state and local races
November 7 - Voter Registration Deadline 12/6 Federal races
NOVEMBER 8 - 2022 MIDTERM GENERAL ELECTIONS
DECEMBER 6 - 2022 MIDTERM ELECTION RUNOFF
Help Our Overseas Military & Civilians VOTE in the November Election

In November 2020, over 26,000 voters from Georgia requested overseas/military ballots and over 18,000 returned them. In an election decided by under 12,000 votes, this was a critical number.

Unfortunately, the turnout rate of civilians living abroad and military families stationed away from home is much lower than that of the general population.
 
That's because many people are not aware of their voting rights when living, studying or serving away from home.
 
The best antidote is a friend or family member who reaches out with a timely reminder.

Ballots are available to any civilian who will be away from the United States on election day.

Ballots are available to all service members (and their family members) on active duty away from their home voting precinct on election day, either in the United States or abroad.

They can request their ballots NOW at fvap.gov or votefromabroad.org.

Please reach out to the people you know who are eligible to vote from out of state. Almost everyone knows someone like this they can call--and now is the time to do it! All their questions about voting will be answered at those two sites. Do you know a student from Georgia who will be out-of-state in November? A Georgia voter who is working out-of-state this fall? They too can vote absentee. Share this information!
 
Many people simply don't know they can vote.  A personal word can make all the difference!
WATCH
First on CNN: Elaine Chao, Trump's former Transportation ...

The House select committee investigating January 6, 2021, has recently interviewed former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and is in talks with former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos as well as former National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien, ...

Read more
www.cnn.com
LISTEN
Kim Floria, Democratic Candidate for Georgia House...

The North GA Blue: Getting into Good Trouble podcast, which covers democratic politics in North GA, the 9th Congressional District, and across the state of Georgia, interviewed Georgia House District 30 candidate Kim Floria. Give a listen here!

Read more
www.buzzsprout.com
The Lawfare Podcast: The Past and Future of the Jan. 6...

The Jan. 6 select committee has wrapped up its first spree of hearings, and it has announced a second set of hearings when Congress returns in September. The month of lull gives us a good opportunity to assess where the committee has come so far...

Read more
www.lawfareblog.com
The Charlottesville rally 5 years later: 'It's what...

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - In a downtown park, grass grows over the spot where there once stood a massive bronze statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee, astride his horse Traveller. The space feels different now, says Don Gathers, co-founder of the ...

Read more
www.npr.org
READ
November 8, 2022 Elections - Democratic Party of Georgia

DPG Voter Protection Page has links to information about voting: How to register, how to check registration status, requesting absentee ballot, voting from overseas, and more!

Read more
www.georgiademocrat.org
New data sheds light on one method to combat election lies

For election officials, falsehoods about America's voting process can feel like a game of whack-a-mole. "There's just so much that is incorrect that they just keep repeating and repeating and repeating," one Colorado voting official told NPR...

Read more
www.npr.org
House report details grisly threats to election workers

A report from the House Oversight Committee offers new details into how election misinformation has hamstrung the work of election offices and spurred a deluge of violent threats against their workers. Why it matters: The report's findings...

Read more
www.axios.com
Appeals court blocks voting rights ruling on Georgia PSC ...

The appellate court put Grimberg's order on hold based on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that cautions against altering election rules on short notice, with early voting scheduled to begin in 66 days. "An injunction issued in August would leave no...

Read more
www.ajc.com
State & Local News (Some links may require a subscription)
Herschel Walker Will Debate-if He Gets the Topics in Advance

Professional athlete turned Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker has accepted one invitation to debate Democratic opponent Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA)-and it just so happens to be the one debate that provides the topics in advance.

Read more
www.thedailybeast.com
Abrams seeks to invest to build inclusive economy in...

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams argued in a speech Tuesday that it's time for Georgia to use its budget surplus to invest in its residents, accusing Gov. Brian Kemp and other Republicans of hurting the state by prioritizing low...

Read more
www.wabe.org
Trump hires prominent Atlanta attorney for election probe

Donald Trump has hired a prominent Atlanta criminal defense attorney known for defending famous rappers to represent him in matters related to the special grand jury that's investigating whether the former president illegally tried to interfere...

Read more
www.gpb.org
Bookman: Sometimes, it's not about the money. Take Music ...

"The cancellation of Music Midtown will cost Georgia's economy $50 million," says Stacey Abrams, the Democratic candidate for governor. "It's shameful, but not surprising, that the governor cares more about protecting dangerous people carrying...

Read more
georgiarecorder.com
National News (Some links may require a subscription)
U.S. Senate passes major health, tax and climate bill in ...

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate, along party lines, passed a sweeping energy, health care, climate and tax package Sunday afternoon, following an overnight marathon of votes that resulted in just a handful of notable changes to the legislation. The...

Read more
georgiarecorder.com
Opinion | The Absurd Argument Against Making Trump Obey...

NOTE: THIS ARTICLE IS SHARED AS A GIFT BY A SUBSCRIBER. THERE SHOULD BE NO PAYWALL TO ACCESS IT. "It took many accidents, catastrophes, misjudgments and mistakes for Donald Trump to win the presidency in 2016..."

Read more
www.nytimes.com
If you have news, photos, or announcements for the newsletter, please email them to [email protected] or [email protected]. The deadline for including in Sunday’s email is noon on the preceding Friday.
HCDP Office hours:
NOTE: Due to pest control activities, the office will not be open for the next few weeks. We'll resume regular office hours soon.
Monday 4:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Tuesday 12:00 PM - 3:00 PM
Wednesday 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Thursday CLOSED
Friday 11:00 AM - 7:00 PM
Saturday 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM
Sunday CLOSED
314 College Avenue
Gainesville, GA 30501
Phone: (470) 892-5825