‘It’s a random act of kindness’

Morning, and happy first day of early in-person voting! Who’s psyched for a sticker? It should be a nice day if you have to wait in line, with temperatures reaching the mid-60s.

If recent history is an indication, a majority of the state’s 8.2 million registered voters will vote early in person, with a sizable portion waiting until Election Day and a much smaller number casting absentee ballots.

• Of course, the campaign blitz is in full throttle. Donald Trump is expected to be in Forsyth County today to tape a Fox News town hall on “women’s issues.” Campaigning from Gwen Walz (the wife of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz) and Kamala Harris come later this week.
• Meanwhile, the State Election Board chair told the AJC that his Republican colleagues have gone too far, taking the law into their hands by passing new Georgia election rules since Donald Trump praised them at a campaign rally.

In the middle of all that are the actual issues people face. That includes the burdens of debt — a roughly $17.8 trillion problem for American households.

Which is where a stealthy not-for-profit is pitching in.

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DEBTS PAID, AT RANDOM

For tens of millions of people, debt is chronic, even life-threatening.

A funny thing has happened to about 8,800 metro Atlantans. Their debts have been purchased.

For Rachel Edmond of Marietta, who was behind on payments to a rental furniture company, it was $5,000. Having that debt had tainted her credit and kept her from getting a home loan.

• Edmond: “I called the company to see about options and they said, ‘Oh, your debt was paid off.’ I was not going to be able to believe it. I said, ‘Are you going to come back to me in three years? Is there going to be a lien on my property?’”

For Fayetteville’s Sonia Wignall it was $33,000 she’d borrowed after cutting back on work to care for her dying father.

• Wignall: “I thought, ‘I can’t believe this.’ I thought maybe it was a scam. So, I called the company I owed money to, and they said, ‘No, you have no balance. Zero.’”

So what gives? Or more aptly, who is giving?

The AJC’s Michael Kanell has this story about ForgiveCo, an organization out of of Fort Collins, Colorado, that has helped paid off $10,662,432 worth of debts for metro Atlantans, says chief executive Craig Antico.

His aim is to induce that sense of delighted disbelief among some of the many millions of Americans living under the weight of debt.

“It’s a random act of kindness,” he said.

People were chosen at random, with just a few caveats. For instance, no recipient could be making $100,000 or more. The median income of a recipient was $29,000, Antico said.

• Others are helping cash-strapped households, too. That incudes FreeRentATL, an Atlanta initiative that aims to raise money and pay rent for 25 local residents. Organizers cite figures that show many renters paying 40% or more of their income to their housing.

The AJC Politics team is working with journalists across the newsroom and Georgia to help you understand the critical role our battleground state has in this year’s election. Alex Sanz, the AJC’s deputy managing editor and politics director, shared this note about our commitment to you.

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‘INAPPROPRIATE AND UNPROFESSIONAL’

“Our job is to clarify law, not create new law. This doesn’t need to be an activist board. This board needs to stay within its boundaries.”

That’s John Fervier, a Republican appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp, who called out the three Republicans who haven’t shied away from changing election procedures when they see fit. The board has passed nine rules since this summer in advance of the presidential election.

Fervier, a Waffle House executive who describes himself as a traditional conservative, said his role as the board’s chair has been undermined at times by the Trump-aligned Republican faction. Fervier said the new hand-counting rule could delay results until early morning hours. The new election rules could also lead to disputes over the results.

More politics stories

» Georgia’s new election rules are headed to court

» Video: These Georgia counties could make or break the presidential election

» Opinion: Trump is the only candidate who understands the needs of women

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ABORTIONS CONTINUE TO DECLINE

The number of abortions performed in Georgia has continued to drop since the state’s abortion law took effect in 2022, according to state records obtained by the AJC via an open records request. Of those, about one-half of 1% of the nearly 70,000 abortions that have been performed in the state since August 2022 were done under one of the exceptions outlined in state law.

• Abortions after six weeks of pregnancy have all but stopped in the state.

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A BETTER BREAST CANCER TEST

Pragathi Kasani-Akula figured out a way to detect triple-negative breast cancer — an aggressive and invasive strain of the disease — via a blood test. Her goal is for this innovation to bring low-cost breast cancer screenings to communities that may not have regular access to mammograms, which can cost upward of $200.

Meet Pragathi Kasani-Akula, a 17-year-old Forsyth County student. The White House honored her for working to create a low-cost, less-invasive test for breast cancer.

» What is urticaria? Harris’ medical report reveals she’s prone to this condition

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BELTLINE BUILD

Developer New City Properties has plans to add two more high-rises along the Beltline’s bustling (and expensive) Eastside trail that could be as tall as 20 stories and would combine for up to 780 apartments.

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WHAT ARE THE ODDS?

Georgia, with a 5-1 overall record, is 1-5 against the spread this season.

For the first time since the 2021 season opener, Georgia football will be an underdog. That’s because they’ll face No. 1 Texas Longhorns this Saturday night in Austin. Texas is the SEC’s only undefeated team and has won every game this season by double digits.

• Georgia Tech: Brent Key provided a health update on Georgia Tech QB Haynes King as the Yellow Jackets prep for Notre Dame.
• Hawks: Atlanta struggled to score in its second exhibition game, a 104-89 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers.

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THE BEAT GOES ON

Lauryn Hill. The Roots. Janelle Monáe. An up-and-coming Kendrick Lamar. They’ve all performed at ONE Musicfest, the two-day celebration of Black music built as an “intercontinental love fest.” Fans expressed frustration when organizers announced its move this year from Piedmont Park to Central Park, a smaller space just over a mile away, due to “challenging logistics and economics” in the industry.

The AJC’s Gavin Godfrey spoke with founder Jason “J” Carter, who said the 2024 economy is “a little wacky for us to produce this thing,” adding that his costs have risen 20-30%.

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MORE TO EXPLORE

» Research supports expansion of vouchers, other school choice plans

» Man shot during filming of Atlanta rapper’s music video files lawsuit

» Cobb grand jury indicts suspected ‘grease trap’ burglar who was stuck 8 hours

» For the Marvelous 3, it’s stupendous to be a band again

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ON THIS DATE

Oct. 15, 1964

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. — described as an “Atlanta Negro Baptist minister jailed 15 times in nine years in his ‘non-violent’ struggle for equal rights for his race — won the Nobel Peace Prize.

“I do not consider this merely an honor to me personally,” King said, “but a tribute to the discipline, wise restraint and majestic courage of the millions of gallant Negro and white persons of good will who have followed a rule of love.”