How Jon Ossoff’s gamble on ticket unity could shape Tuesday’s election

Today’s newsletter highlights:

• Cobb County voter drops absentee ballot lawsuit.
• Georgia Supreme Court ruling complicates property tax relief proposals.
• Pollster warns sluggish GOP turnout could signal bigger problems.

United front

Former President Barack Obama’s star-studded Georgia rally wasn’t just a get-out-the-vote extravaganza. It was another display of unity between Democratic nominee for governor Keisha Lance Bottoms and U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff.

And it was a reminder of a calculated gamble Ossoff made months ago to team up with Bottoms that could help shape Tuesday’s election.

The two Democrats have become a political tag team, appearing together across the state and urging voters to embrace what Bottoms calls “whole ballot energy.”

Obama reinforced that message Wednesday. After embracing both candidates onstage, he touted their records and urged the crowd of more than 10,000 to vote Democratic up and down the ballot.

It’s a far cry from Georgia’s last midterm election.

Exactly four years earlier, when Obama rallied Democrats in College Park, the tension between Stacey Abrams and U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock was one of the storylines.

The two were longtime friends who occasionally campaigned together. But Warnock carefully charted his own course as he sought crossover support, while Abrams struggled in her rematch with Gov. Brian Kemp.

Ossoff made a different calculation. Just after Bottoms clinched the Democratic nomination in May, Ossoff called her to propose they campaign together. They teamed up at his next rally, kicking off a partnership.

It wasn’t a risk-free decision. Ossoff could have kept Bottoms at arm’s length, worried her campaign became a liability in his own reelection bid against U.S. Rep. Mike Collins. She, too, could have gone it alone.

Their partnership goes beyond joint appearances. Ossoff steered $3.6 million into the state party’s coordinated campaign to boost Bottoms and down-ticket candidates. And he recently cut an ad for her campaign against Republican billionaire Rick Jackson.

The contrast with the GOP ticket is telling. Jackson’s campaign rallies feature a parade of Republican contenders. But Collins has never been part of the lineup. At the Jackson rallies we’ve covered, Jackson has never mentioned Collins’ name. And other speakers have hardly invoked the Senate race.

The two did share the stage at both of President Donald Trump’s rallies in Georgia this month. But even then, their approaches diverged. Collins pledged unwavering loyalty to Trump, while Jackson offered more measured praise.

Things to know

Good morning! The midterms are in five days. Early voting ends Friday. Here are three things to know for today:

• Outside groups have spent $5 million in recent months on Georgia legislative races as Democrats try to take control of the state House of Representatives and flip some state Senate seats, David Wickert reports.
• With the Nov. 3 midterm elections days away, most of Georgia’s marquee races remain tossups. Candidates for governor, Congress and statewide office are making their final push for votes. Stay with us through election night for the latest from the campaign trail.
• Jackson has poured more than $200 million of his personal fortune into Georgia’s race for governor, a staggering sum that has shattered state records but hasn’t given him a clear lead over Bottoms, Greg Bluestein reports.

Cobb ballots

A Marietta voter has agreed to drop the lawsuit he filed against the Cobb County elections director and its Board of Elections over his delayed absentee ballot now that the county has agreed to send him a new ballot by express delivery.

Marietta resident Michael Olaribigbe filed the lawsuit on Tuesday alleging that he was among nearly 2,900 people in Cobb County who did not receive an absentee ballots as requested. The suit pointed the finger at the New York-based vendor the county hired to handle the task.

“Thousands of Cobb County voters did everything right by requesting their absentee ballots weeks in advance of Georgia’s election-day receipt deadline, yet they have been left in the cold with no absentee ballot at all, in violation of state law,” the lawsuit said.

The Cobb County elections office disputed the number of people affected but said in a statement that there were delays in ballot delivery caused by the vendor, Fort Orange Press. The county said it was already working on a solution before the lawsuit was filed.

The fix: voters can contact the elections office to request that a new ballot be delivered to them by express mail. The ballot will also have a prepaid return envelope for express delivery.

Murky fees

Georgia lawmakers have toyed with letting local governments charge more fees in exchange for lowering property taxes on homeowners. But a recent Georgia Supreme Court ruling has clouded that path.

The court declared a Chatham County fire fee is actually an illegal tax because it is not based on a property’s value. Some state lawmakers got a briefing on the issue Wednesday during a meeting of a legislative study committee on local government funding. But there appears to be no easy solutions.

Viviane Ernstes, deputy general counsel for the Association County Commissioners of Georgia, told the committee her group isn’t sure whether lawmakers can allow the use of fire fees through legislation or whether it would require voters to approve an amendment to the Georgia Constitution. It’s also unclear how the court’s ruling may affect fees for other services.

Ernstes told lawmakers that local governments want whatever solution the General Assembly comes up with to pass legal muster. They want to avoid the fate of Chatham County, which must refund about $30 million in fire fees.

“They don’t want a law that they’re going to have to end up litigating,” she said.

The committee is expected to announce its recommendations before the legislative session begins in January.

Democratic socialist

State Rep. Ruwa Romman, who is running for state Senate, recently became a dues-paying member of the Atlanta Democratic Socialists of America. Romman, D-Duluth, said she has been impressed with DSA’s work on tenants’ rights, expanding public transportation and protesting the construction of data centers.

“Now more than ever, we need to fight for each other,” she said.

Leaders of the Atlanta DSA released a statement welcoming Romman to their cause even though she isn’t one of their endorsed candidates this cycle.

“Although she is not an endorsed DSA candidate, she is a friend and ally in the struggle against MAGA republicans and their billionaire backers,” the statement said. “We look forward to conversations with our membership about deepening our relationship and collaborating in the next legislative session.”

Romman said she plans to continue to identify and run for office as a Democrat similar to other DSA-affiliated candidates this campaign cycle.

Listen up

Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast you’ll hear the first part of “Politically Georgia: The Final Tally,” a three-part podcast series detailing how Georgia became the epicenter of the fight over election administration, public trust and democracy. The first two episodes publish today and Friday. The third episode will be recorded and produced in real time, publishing in November after Election Day. All episodes will publish via the existing “Politically Georgia” podcast feed.

You can listen and subscribe to “Politically Georgia” for free on Apple Podcasts, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Have a question or comment for the show? Email us at politicallygeorgia@ajc.com or give us a call at 770-810-5297 and you could be featured on a future episode.

How worried are Republicans?

Conservative pollster Matt Towery fears sluggish early voting turnout goes deeper than Republicans simply waiting until Election Day to vote.

He said some GOP voters are sitting out the midterms altogether, partly because the party’s messaging has “failed to explain why action on Iran was needed and what the consequences of a nuclear Iran would be.”

“It is the ‘elephant in the room’ that must be addressed big time as the closing message,” he posted on social media. “We have too many polls in too many states with Democrats leading and the GOP is running out of time.”

Today in Washington

• Trump will speak at a campaign rally in Rock Hill, South Carolina, then host a Halloween Party at the White House.
• The House and Senate are out until after the midterm elections.

On the trail

Today’s happenings:

• Ossoff is campaigning today alongside former Vice President Kamala Harris in Macon and Atlanta. Harris will also be the keynote speaker at a town hall hosted by the NAACP.
• Collins, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, will host a campaign event in Carrollton.