Morning, y’all! Ugh, things are going to get dry in North Georgia this week, which means more wildfire risks. Do you know how many fires Georgia has had so far this year? I didn’t believe it. Just take a guess, I’m not even going to give you possible options. Throw out a number. I’ll put the answer at the bottom of the newsletter.
Let’s get to it.
GA. VOTER REGISTRATION CANCELLATIONS: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW AND DO
Georgia election officials plan to cancel hundreds of thousands of inactive voter registrations in the state by the summer. The cancellation of approximately 455,000 registrations would be one of the largest in U.S. history.
Of course, any voter sees “registration cancellation” and thinks “!!!!!” Here’s what you need to know, and how to make sure you, Georgia resident, weren’t accidentally thrown out with the bathwater. (All y’all from other states should know some of this too, so stick around.)
🗳️ Why the massive cancellation? The mass cancellation was planned by the Georgia secretary of state’s office. Registration integrity has been a big Republican talking point over the last few years, one voting rights advocates say can be used to target legitimate voters as well.
In general, registration cancellations are a regular process. Georgia conducts large-scale cancellations every odd-numbered year.
🗳️ It’s more complicated, though: More than half the Georgia registrations scheduled for cancellation were identified by a 24-state organization called ERIC, which tracks changes to voter rolls when someone has moved out of a state.
However, many conservative lawmakers in Georgia actually don’t like ERIC, and want to withdraw the state’s participation.
🗳️ Who’s getting bumped:
- ~255,000 voters who records show have moved out of state. ERIC tallies these by looking at things like drivers license applications, updated voter registrations and change-of-address forms.
- ~ 100,000 voters who have not participated in elections or had contact with election officials for at least nine years, according to the secretary of state’s office. This is important, we’ll get back to it.
- ~ 100,000 voters whose election mail was undeliverable, according to the secretary of state’s office.
🚨🚨🚨 MUST KNOW: Use it or lose it. Yes, Georgia has a law that allows voter registrations to be canceled if someone hasn’t had any contact with election officials for five years and then misses two general elections (totaling nine possible non-voting years).
- Mississippi, Florida and North Carolina: Your states have similar laws on the books, too.
So yes, it’s totally possible to get caught up in voter registration purges, and Georgia is well known for trimming voter rolls en masse.
What can you do? CHECK. Check now! Check every time you remember to. I just stopped writing this to go check. Here are some options:
- Can I Vote checker from the National Association of Secretaries of State
- Vote.org registration checker
- Extra credit for those who aren’t content with secondhand data: Call the elections office in the county where you reside. That’s where those records are kept. If you do this, I must ask: have you considered a career in journalism?
The Georgia secretary of state’s office also said they’ll publish a list of proposed cancellations in July, so people have time to contact their county elections office and preserve their vote.
Not signed up yet? What’re you waiting for? Get A.M. ATL in your inbox each weekday morning. And keep scrolling for more news.
WHILE WE’RE LEARNING THINGS ABOUT STATE LAWS ...
Georgia is the only state without a cockfighting law. Who knew?
In all seriousness, cockfighting is a highly cruel and dangerous venture, and state legislators are trying once more to shut it down.
Sen. Randy Robertson, R-Cataula, sponsored a bill that recently passed the Senate and is on the agenda for the House Judiciary committee today.
He told the AJC cockfighting carries unexpected dangers.
“It’s not just your old-school, rural Georgia guys out there in the woods fighting roosters,” Robertson said. “It’s now part of the fabric of a lot of different types of crime groups and organizations.”
Also, when people cross into Georgia to partake in these fights, the roosters they bring could contaminate local poultry supplies (hello, bird flu).
MUST-KNOW POLITICS AND BUSINESS
📱 Top national security officials with the Trump Administration, including Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, accidentally texted war plans about a military strike in Yemen to a high-profile journalist at The Atlantic. There’s enough in this story to keep any given civics scholar busy for the rest of their lives.
🗳️ Congress will investigate the New Georgia Project, the voting rights group founded by Stacey Abrams, after the group admitted to illegally supporting her 2018 gubernatorial campaign.
✍🏻 Gov. Brian Kemp’s push to overhaul state legal systems to reduce lawsuits is getting ugly. A state GOP lawmaker lost his job as the chair of Harris County Chamber of Commerce hours after voting against Kemp’s plan. He was told his actions “didn’t represent what the chamber stood for.”
TODAY: The Georgia Ports Authority monthly board meeting. Expect tariffs to come up. We’ll keep you covered.
FINTECH STARTUP MOVES OUT OF ATL
Greenwood, the financial technology startup founded by prominent Atlantans including former Mayor Andrew Young and rapper Killer Mike, is moving out of the city to Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The company was created to address racial disparities in the finance industry and provides services to Black and Latino consumers. It doesn’t have a big physical footprint in Atlanta, but it represents a symbolic loss.
💵 The move has a silver lining: Greenwood was named after the prosperous community known as Black Wall Street that was destroyed by a white mob in 1921 in what is known as the Tulsa Race Massacre.
Greenwood’s new CEO says the move was a “no-brainer.”
“That’s the legacy that this company was built on, and that legacy should be cemented, and it should be more than marketing,” he said. “It should be substance.”
NEWS BITES
How spring cleaning helps boost your mental health
Don’t underestimate the psychological healing power of a clean dryer vent.
Among SEC schools in NCAA men’s tournament, Florida may have the easiest path to win
A thrilling prospect for UGA fans, I’m sure.
There are no words to describe the stress of a competitive spelling bee. Good for you, Sarv!
Do you eat a meal in 20 minutes or less? It might be time to slow down
We all know someone who needs to read this. And if you don’t, it’s you.
ON THIS DATE
March 25, 1943
From the front page of The Atlanta Constitution: Take a ham from a Georgia hog, mix well with a phoney phone call, the international situation, Royal Air Force ferry command and a transatlantic bomber flight.
The Aristocrats!
No but really, it’s a long story. Atlanta’s Asa Candler Jr. — the eccentric son of Coca-Cola’s co-founder — ended up sending a 36-pound ham to British Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the middle of World War II. Via a bomber. Charming, but if someone sent me a ham in a bomber we’d have words.
ONE MORE THING
Georgia has seen 1,644 fires this year, which is a 20% increase over recent averages in that same date range. No reckless fire behavior, OK? No dropped cigarette butts, and no juggling lit torches without a permit.
Thanks for reading to the very bottom of A.M. ATL. Questions, comments, ideas? Contact us at AMATL@ajc.com.
Until next time.
About the Author
AJ Willingham is an National Emmy, NABJ and Webby award-winning journalist who loves talking culture, religion, sports, social justice, infrastructure and the arts. She lives in beautiful Smyrna-Mableton and went to Syracuse University.
