If you thought Georgia Republicans were finished making changes to the Georgia election system after the 2021 legislative session, think again.
House Speaker David Ralston said in an interview that he sees a piece of unfinished business in the way allegations of fraud are currently handled, in which Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office receives complaints and investigates them. Cases are then brought before the State Election Board, which can refer them to Attorney General Chris Carr’s office for further investigation.
In 2020, Raffensperger also brought in the GBI to help the nearly two dozen investigators on his staff wade through allegations.
But Ralston said he wants that process reversed, with the GBI given original jurisdiction over investigations.
“The GBI, I think, is the most professional, thorough investigative agency we have in the state,” he said. “The GBI shouldn’t have to wait on an engraved invitation from the county government or the Secretary of State’s office before they can come in and investigate.”
Ralston also expressed frustration that allegations of fraud continue to swirl around Georgia’s 2020 elections. OF course most of those originated with former President Donald Trump, who lost the state.
No evidence has ever proven widespread fraud in Georgia’s 2020 elections.
Last week, the Speaker also promised new funding for the GBI to initiate investigations in cases where election fraud is suspected. That would be tucked into a broader budget measure that would be difficult for Democrats to oppose.
The GBI-first approach would likely have support in the GOP-controlled state Senate.
Sen. Butch Miller, the president pro tem, said in a statement, “If the GBI suspects there’s fraud or any other illegal activity happening in our elections I want it to have jurisdiction to investigate- it protects against a Secretary of State who’s prioritizing his or her own politics.”
Miller said he’s talking with colleagues about how to structure or fund the proposal next year.
The move would be another attempt to drain power away from Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office following the 2020 elections. In the last legislative session, Republicans demoted Raffensperger from chair of the State Election Board to a non-voting member, and added new restrictions to his role.
Raffensperger’s chief operating officer, Gabriel Sterling, called the moves, “Political payback, no question,” after months of power struggles between his boss and fellow Republicans.
Look for Raffensperger to have his own election-related legislative agenda for 2022, though he’s so far keeping mum about it.
Democrats, meanwhile, are sure to seek to reverse the most contentious changes in Senate Bill 202, including the provision that gives the Legislature more power to take over county elections.
But their best bet might involve working with Republicans to water down some of the more legally ambiguous parts of the measure.
It’s important to note that the GBI proposal would also rein in future secretaries of state, including any Democrats elected. State Rep. Bee Nguyen is running in 2022 and is seen as a formidable challenge to any Republican next November.
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The race for Atlanta City Hall is still up for grabs. That’s according to a SurveyUSA poll commissioned by 11Alive News of 516 likely voters.
The poll showed former Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed in the lead with 17% of the vote, followed by City Council President Felicia Moore at 10%. The rest of the contenders were bunched up in the single-digits.
What does it mean? Not much, with 40% of the electorate undecided. Reed instantly became the frontrunner when he entered the wide-open race earlier this year, though the poll shows his advantage is beatable.
Reed tried to frame the poll as proof the race is a two-person contest between him and Moore. But other contenders, including Councilmen Andre Dickens and Antonio Brown, hovered a just a few percentage points behind Moore.
Most interesting for our purposes are the crosstabs. Among the findings:
- Reed leads Moore by 13 points among conservatives, and the two are deadlocked among moderates and liberals. Reed also has a 13-point advantage among Black voters, while he and Moore are within the margin of error among white voters.
- About two-thirds of likely voters say a candidate facing investigation for alleged campaign finance violations would be a major factor in their vote. The AJC reported Reed is now facing such a federal probe.
- Roughly three of every four voters say crime will be a major factor in their vote, and Reed has a 6-point lead among voters who have that stance. About one-fifth of likely Atlanta voters say they or someone in their household has been the victim of a violent crime over the past two years.
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Credit: AP
Credit: AP
About nine months ago, your Insiders were witness to one of the strangest spectacles in modern Georgia politics:
Then-U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, the wealthy financial executive, drove up in a Hummer with Marjorie Taylor Greene, then a QAnon-promoting fringe congressional candidate, to announce an electoral alliance.
It’s safe to say, that partnership is shattered now. Greene, now a congresswoman, has disavowed the former senator because she dropped her challenge to Joe Biden’s victory following the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Greene elaborated on Steve Bannon’s radio show Tuesday:
Greene: “I was very, very excited about all the hard work we had done to object to Joe Biden’s Electoral College votes. That got interrupted. It got ruined. Senator Kelly Loeffler dropped out after she signed her name to object for Georgia. She ripped her name off, after that Capitol attack. It caused us to fail.”
Bannon: “I think that’s why she’s not back in the Senate.”
Greene: “Oh, she won’t be. She will not be. People will not vote for her again.”
We should note, of course, that Loeffler’s objection would not have changed the outcome of the Senate vote, which would have failed by a wide margin.
And, contrary to Bannon’s remark, it is not why she lost the race. The vote was held the day after she and then-U.S. Sen. David Perdue lost the runoff.
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U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene had a busy day on Capitol Hill Tuesday. She started with a morning press conference to announce that she had filed a lawsuit with two other GOP lawmakers over the $500 fines they received for refusing to follow mask guidelines on the House floor.
In the afternoon she was scheduled to participate in a second presser with Rep. Matt Gaetz to criticize the Justice Department’s treatment of people jailed for crimes related to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
But that presser went off the rails after protesters showed up and drowned out Greene and Gaetz’s speeches. Footage of the botched event was posted to social media.
There was shouting, a man who blew a whistle nonstop and even a go-go band, but no violence. The lawmakers ended their event and were whisked to waiting cars.
Greene in a statement described the protesters as a “leftist mob.”
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As the first day of school approaches next week for many Georgia schools, administrators are announcing new mask policies.
Gwinnett County Schools’ Alvin Wilbanks said Tuesday the state’s largest school system will require masks for grades K-12 and for all faculty, staff and visitors.
“The facts and recommendations are clear,” Wilbanks said in a statement. “Masks do make a difference and we must do all we can to keep students in school, in person.”
Savannah-Chatham Schools announced Tuesday it will also require masks for all indoors.
The AJC’s Alia Malik reports that Atlanta Public Schools announced last week it will require masks for all when school resumes next week. So will Clayton County and DeKalb County. Masks remain optional in Cobb County and Marietta City schools.
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POSTED: The U.S. Department of Justice gave former U.S. Attorney BJay Pak clearance to testify before congressional committees looking into his abrupt January resignation and whether he was pressured by former President Donald Trump and his allies to overturn general election results.
Pak wouldn’t comment, but he has previously said he would testify before the House Oversight Committee if he were allowed.
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Republican congressional candidate Jake Evans’ Twitter feed was temporarily restricted again, this time shortly after he touted the endorsement of a local tea party group.
Evans, among several Republicans challenging Rep. Lucy McBath, said it’s a sign “Big Tech is going to try to silence me.”
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One conservative whose Twitter feed is alive and well is Christian Walker’s, the son of possible Senate contender Herschel Walker.
In a series of tweets Tuesday night, the younger Walker slammed American gymnast Simone Biles after she withdrew from the team competition in the Olympics for what Biles said was a mental health issue.
In one now-deleted Tweet, the younger Walker wrote, “‘Mental health issues’ have become the excuse for EVERYTHING. Just claim you have mental health issues, and everyone’s supposed to give you a pass for bad behavior. Quitting only when you’re about to lose is pathetic.”
Herschel Walker has written extensively about his own mental health, including episodes of violence against his friends and family he said resulted from his mental health disorder.
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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.
