The Jolt: Election law changes could roil next legislative session

The latter idea is a no-go with many senior Republican officials, who worry the rounds of retabulating votes could place a heavier burden on local elections officials. But Gov. Brian Kemp and legislative leaders, who would have to sign off on the change, have been tight-lipped about other proposals.

Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC

Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC

Abolishing the runoff system is welcome news to civil rights advocates, who note the process dates to segregation-era policies aimed at keeping single-party, white conservatives in power. The Georgia NAACP immediately echoed Raffensperger, saying it was “past time” to end the practice.

Still, even supporters of an overhaul question the timing of the GOP push days after U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock bested Republican Herschel Walker in a four-week runoff. (Notably, Warnock would have won this year’s contest if the threshold was lowered to 45% or if no runoff was required.)

“Whatever you think about how we should deal with runoffs, there’s no denying that the reason Republicans are talking about ending them only now is that they’re starting to lose more of them,” said Democratic state Rep. Josh McLaurin.

It’s not the only election-related debate bound to shake up the Gold Dome. Lawmakers would also have to approve President Joe Biden’s plan to move Georgia earlier in the presidential primary schedule.

Kemp and other Republicans have also been quiet about the scheduling overhaul, but they may have reason to support it. With a wide-open GOP race for president, many Republicans are privately giddy about the prospect of helping to sway the outcome of that contest in particular.

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Credit: Stephen B. Morton for the AJC

Credit: Stephen B. Morton for the AJC

ABRAMS’ NEXT STEPS. If you’ve been wondering what Stacey Abrams will do next, we can at least say she won’t be silent.

Along with promoting her new children’s book this week, Deadline Hollywood reports Abrams will also produce a music documentary for Discovery+ streaming service with singer and actress Selena Gomez.

Gomez made multiple online get-out-the-vote appeals for Abrams during the 2022 governors’ race.

Their documentary, “Won’t be Silent,” went into production yesterday. In a statement, Abrams said the film is “a celebration of the artists who have contributed to bettering the world through their timeless music.”

Abrams is one of nine producers listed on the project and is doing the work through her production company, Sage Works Productions. She previously produced the 2020 documentary, “All In: The Fight for Democracy,” through Sage Works as well.

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Credit: Dustin Chambers/The New York Times

Credit: Dustin Chambers/The New York Times

NEVER MIND, CNN’s Manu Raju reported from the Capitol Wednesday about a notable encounter between U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham and newly reelected U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock.

Graham made a half dozen trips to Georgia recently to campaign against Warnock and for his GOP opponent Herschel Walker.

But with the votes counted, the South Carolina Republican gave Warnock a fist bump when the two crossed paths. “You’re hard to beat,” Graham said.

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Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

ME AGAIN. U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams on Wednesday launched her bid for reelection as chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Georgia. It’s not clear yet whether she’ll face a formidable opponent in the January vote.

Williams has chaired the party since 2019. Since then, Democrats have had mixed results. The party scored huge wins for the White House and two Senate seats in the 2020 election cycle, but saw a near wipeout of statewide races in 2022. The notable exception, with plenty of lessons to be learned for Democrats, was the reelection of U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock.

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TRANSGENDER SUIT. Three Georgia employees have accused the state’s health plan of denying health care services to transgender patients.

The Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund filed the lawsuit on behalf of two state employees and the adult dependent of an employee on Wednesday, the AJC’s Maya T. Prabhu reports.

She writes that this is at least the third time a Georgia health plan has been challenged due to its transgender treatment exclusion. The University System of Georgia settled a 2018 lawsuit over its exclusion of treatment for transgender patients. And earlier this year, the state settled a lawsuit that alleged it denied transgender treatment to patients on Georgia’s Medicaid plan, the public health program that provides care to the poor and disabled.

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Credit: File photo

Credit: File photo

MAKING MABLETON. The only new city successfully incorporated in Cobb County this year will hold its first local elections in March, the Marietta Daily Journal reports.

Elections for the new City of Mableton’s mayor and a six-member city council will take place on March 21, 2023.

The Georgia General Assembly approved four Cobb cityhood referendums in the last legislative session. But only Mableton had enough support from voters to move forward, passing on a 53% to 47% vote. With about 77,500 residents, it is slated to be Cobb’s largest city.

But not everyone is happy about the South Cobb area’s new status. State Rep. Dave Wilkerson, a Democrat, told the paper he’ll support an effort in the next session to de-annex portions of South Cobb that voted heavily against creating the new City of Mableton and don’t want to be a part of it.

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Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

MAKING PROGRESS. The U.S. House on Wednesday signed off on a resolution extending government funding through Dec. 23, giving congressional leaders another week to iron out a long-term spending plan.

The Senate is expected to vote on the measure today, beating the current Friday deadline to avoid a government shutdown.

Meanwhile, details are still materializing over what that spending agreement, known as the omnibus, will and won’t include.

For example, progressives likely won’t be successful in inserting language renewing the child tax credit that provided monthly payment to most families.

But language to clarify how electoral votes are counted — meant to avoid the types of challenges that preceded the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol — is in.

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff would not get into specifics Wednesday when asked what he does and doesn’t like about the spending bills that are being crafted. But he said it is important to get an agreement done.

“We need to bring Democrats and Republicans together and do our jobs and pass a budget,” he said. “It’s vital in particular to our national defense.”

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Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC

HONORING ISAKSON. U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt and colleagues from both chambers and both sides of the aisle gathered in the Capitol Wednesday morning to celebrate the new law renaming the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs administrative offices in Decatur after the late U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson.

Isakson’s children, John and Julie, were joined by lawmakers and former staffers for the brief ceremony. John Isakson said he was proud to be the son of a man so revered.

“To hear so many folks on both sides of the aisle that have thoughts about him and his legacy and what he meant is both touching and also inspiring,” he said. “I think dad would be both very touched and very inspired that his legacy is living on and that what he said and what he did mattered to so many of you in so many ways.”

Blunt was close friends with Johnny Isakson, who died in late 2020.

A separate bill naming the VA Medical Center in Decatur after the late U.S. Sen. Max Cleland was also recently signed into law.

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Credit: Oliver Contreras/The New York Times

Credit: Oliver Contreras/The New York Times

TODAY IN WASHINGTON:

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Credit: Cedric Smith

Credit: Cedric Smith

GREY FOR THE WHITE HOUSE. The penultimate day of the U.S.-Africa Leaders’ Summit in Washington had a distinct Georgia flair.

Celebrated Savannah chef Mashama Bailey was tapped as a guest curator for the White House dinner that President Joe Biden hosted Wednesday for 49 heads of state and the leader of the Africa Union.

Bailey has garnered numerous honors since opening the acclaimed restaurant The Grey on the site of a once-segregated Savannah bus station, along with John Morisano in 2014. This year, she made history as the first Black woman to be named Outstanding Chef by the James Beard Foundation. Bailey is also chairwoman of the Edna Lewis Foundation and co-author of “Black, White and The Grey.”

Gladys Knight entertained guests for the evening, performing “The Best Thing That Ever Happened” and other hits for attendees. The Atlanta native was recently among the artists honored by the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

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Credit: Nicole Craine/The New York Times

Credit: Nicole Craine/The New York Times

DAD DUTY. Senators waited more than an hour for U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock to cast a deciding vote Wednesday to defeat a Republican-led effort to repeal Biden administration rules on charter schools.

But Warnock had a personal reason for his tardiness: he was at school, too.

The senator had flown back to Atlanta Tuesday night in order to attend his daughter’s school holiday recital Wednesday morning and, as we all know, children’s performances rush for no one.

“I sat listening to a bunch of first- and second-graders sing ‘Jingle Bells,’” Warnock told our Washington insider.

As soon as the assembly ended, he flew back to Washington. But the timing of it all, and the even split in the Senate, meant that Democrats needed one more vote to defeat the charter school resolution. After waiting for Warnock to arrive, the measure failed on a tied 49-49 vote.

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AS ALWAYS, Jolt readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com and greg.bluestein@ajc.com.