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Monday, November 3, 2008
Starbucks may rethink that free cuppa
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Earlier today, ajc.com told you about all the freebies that local businesses were willing to give you for voting.
Starbucks and other shops plan to offer coffee. Krispy Kreme is hand out donuts with sprinkles. For Ben & Jerry’s, it’s a free scoop.
And if they actually do it, all may be felons.
The following note just crossed the desk:
Secretary of State Karen Handel reminds Georgia businesses and attractions offering ‘gifts’ for voting in tomorrow’s General Election that it is prohibited under Georgia law.
Georgia Code Section 21-2-570 states:
Any person who gives or receives, or offers to give or receive, or participates in the giving or receiving of money or gifts for the purpose of registering as a voter, voting, or voting for a particular candidate in any primary or election shall be guilty of a felony.
Business are free to offer ‘Election Day’ specials or sales for all of its customers but gifts, incentives or specials just for voters is prohibited under this provision.
We predict chaos at hundreds of counters tomorrow, when minimum wage workers are required to decide whether a “tall” order of coffee is worth a criminal record.
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DOT board meeting will address ‘blue’ e-mails sent by Gena Evans
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The state Transportation Board has planned a closed-door session next week, Nov. 13, to discuss Gena Evans, the Department of Transportation commissioner.
According to my AJC colleague Ariel Hart, one of the specific topics will be “blue” e-mails sent by Evans several years ago to a boyfriend, via state computers. Details of the off-color communications have been aired by one local TV station, WSB. And WAGA (Fox5) has advertised a broader story tonight.
The coverage has made to DOT board “terribly uncomfortable,” board Chairman Bill Kuhlke said after the WSB story aired last week.
Now, he says, “I think there’s a witch hunt going on.” Evans wasn’t at DOT when the emails were sent, but the board will be talking about them anyway. Kuhlke also said he supported Evans.
The DOT chair said discussion items may include “what sort of directions we might be able to give Gena, reactions to board members themselves” and “any disciplinary action we need to take.”
According to WSB-TV, the e-mails were written by Evans when she was unmarried, had a last name of Abraham, and headed another state agency. A handful of older communications between her and a boyfriend in 2003 used coarse sexual language.
Kuhlke said last week he also expected board members may bring up the new budget rules Evans has instituted, backed by the state auditor.
The accounting changes pushed DOT’s books into a large deficit, announced at press conferences by Gov. Sonny Perdue and Evans. Transportation work has slowed to a trickle. Kuhlke said he agreed with the budget changes, but added, “It’s been sort of chaotic since she came on board.”
When Evans sent the blue emails in 2003, the Georgia Technology Authority had a policy against “creation, accessing or transmitting sexually explicit, obscene or pornographic material,” or “material that could be considered…offensive,” according to GTA. Issued in 2002, the GTA policy said it applied to “All agencies of the state of Georgia.”
Evans said she violated no policy because the agency she headed then, the Georgia State Financing and Investment Commission, didn’t adopt any e-mail policy on its own. As the first story was airing last week she said in an interview with the AJC, “I’m going to stay and fight.”
The pot has apparently been stirred by the indefatigable open records activist George Anderson, of Rome. On Oct. 1, Anderson sent a letter to the board members about the e-mails.
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Analyzing tomorrow’s vote: Vernon Jones and Bill Campbell on WAOK
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
V-103/1380 WAOK AM, a mainstay of black radio in Atlanta, has snagged a must-hear team of commentators for Tuesday night.
The straight man will be David Stokes, associate editor of the Atlanta Inquirer. Joining him will be Vernon Jones, CEO of DeKalb County, and — by phone — former Atlanta mayor Bill Campbell, who only recently finished a sabbatical sponsored by the federal government.
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A mulligan of a robo-call
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
David Keene, chairman of the American Conservative Union, called the house this morning to urge the family to vote for Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss in the U.S. Senate race.
This was the second robo-call from Keene in a matter of days. Possibly because the first one urged a vote for “Saxby Chandler.”
This tells you something about the sudden competitiveness of the campaign, which caught many conservatives flat-footed — and perhaps a bit disorganized.
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Republican group brings out the Rev. Jeremiah Wright
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In the final 48 hours of the race, a Republican group has decided to do what John McCain wouldn’t — bring the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, the former pastor of Barack Obama, into the presidential campaign.
The ad below, sponsored by the National Republican Trust PAC, just ran on CNN two or three minutes ago:
Here’s the script:
For 20 years Barack Obama followed a preacher of hate and said nothing is Wright raged against our country.
[Clip of Rev. Wright:] “Not God Bless America, God Damn America … US of KKKA!”
[Quote of Obama appears on screen:] “I don’t think my church is particularly controversial.”
He built his power base in Wright’s church.
Wright was his mentor, adviser and close friend.
For 20 years Obama never complained until he ran for President.
Barack Obama. Too radical. Too risky.
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Get ready for a very long Tuesday night. Which could last until Friday.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Just after last night’s debate of U.S. Senate candidates, this note was sent by Randy Evans, a member of the State Elections Board, warning that the results of Tuesday’s elections could take a very long while to develop:
Based on the most recent data, it appears that there are in fact three real reasons regarding why Georgia may not know the winner of the 2008 general election until Wednesday, or maybe even Friday.
- Lines of voters at polling places may extend the time that votes are being cast. Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. until 7 p.m. on Tuesday. There will be no change to that. Folks in line at 7 p.m. will be permitted to cast their ballot, even if their vote is cast after 7 p.m. (as long as the voter was in line at 7 p.m.)
If we have a two- to four-hour line, as expected in many precincts around Georgia, it could be 9 p.m. or later before voters are done. Counties that finish earlier can start to tabulate votes immediately and some returns will come in early. However, the outcome will likely have to wait until all votes are in, and then tabulated. This could be late on Tuesday or possibly on Wednesday morning.
Absentee ballots will have to be counted. There have been many absentee ballots cast in this election. Paper mail-in absentee ballots will have to be counted. In addition, the in-person absentee ballots will have to be tabulated. This will be hundreds of thousands of votes. In addition, because absentee votes are segregated, they are open to challenge in the event there are indications of voter fraud. Hence, in addition to the time required for counting and tabulation, there are the challenges associated with any improper absentee ballots.
Finally, there are the provisional ballots and the challenged ballots. For provisional ballots, voters have 48 hours to supply the information (like their photo ID) to establish that their vote should be counted. For disputed ballots, it can be a time consuming process - especially given the number of ballots involved.
In other words, don’t schedule any meetings for early Wednesday morning. We’re in for a long, long night.
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