The U.S. House Administration Committee held a field hearing in Atlanta on Monday. Republicans on the panel announced the “American Confidence in Elections Act” to regulate elections in Washington, D.C., and around the country.
The time and place for the hearing were no coincidence. Along with the fact that U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, a Cassville Republican, sits on the committee, U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil explained the choice during a news conference afterward.
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
“You may be wondering why someone from Wisconsin is in Atlanta, Georgia,” the Wisconsin Republican said. “But I think it’s really important because as many of you know, two years ago, Major League Baseball pulled the All-Star Game.”
Steil was referring to the league’s decision in 2021 to move the high-profile game from Atlanta to Denver after the passage of Senate Bill 202, the elections overhaul in Georgia that limited drop boxes in large counties, expanded Sunday voting, gave the Legislature new powers to oversee local elections and required photo ID for absentee voting.
Republicans at the time, including Gov. Brian Kemp, howled over the baseball backlash. A rare Saturday news conference gave Kemp a major league political boost after the 2020 election misinformation campaign, led by former President Trump and his allies, sowed division.
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Months later, Loudermilk brought then GOP Leader — now House Speaker — Kevin McCarthy to a Marietta diner for another news conference to pound on the MLB some more and demand an apology on behalf of the state of Georgia.
Republicans contended then and again during Monday’s events that SB 202 made it “easier to vote and harder to cheat” in the state. Democrats insisted the law put in new barriers to voting. Participation in Georgia elections, especially in-person early voting, has remained high and occasionally broken records.
Mark Niesse has the details on the ACE Act and what it would do at the federal level.
With Democrats in control of the U.S. Senate and White House, it has little chance of becoming law. But it is feeding a new round of GOP talking points on how elections should be run.
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Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
TRUMP GRAND JURY. Two Fulton County grand juries will be selected today, including one expected to decide whether to approve any indictments related to former President Donald Trump, his allies and allegations they tried to criminally interfere with the 2020 presidential election.
The AJC’s Bill Rankin and Jeremy Redmon write that Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who oversaw the special purpose grand jury, will preside over Tuesday’s selection of the two grand juries for this term of court. The special grand jury heard testimony over an almost eight-month period before issuing a final report that recommended multiple people be indicted for alleged crimes.
But only a regular grand jury, the one that will be seated today, can decide who to indict.
District Attorney Fani Willis indicated in a letter a couple of months ago indictments could be obtained between July 31 and Aug. 18.
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
CAMPAIGN CASH. Gov. Brian Kemp has amassed more than $5 million in his “leadership committee,” which has fast become a voter turnout and mobilization apparatus that rivals the state GOP.
Of note from today’s story:
He collected about $1.2 million during a three-day retreat in May in Sea Island that brought together some of his top donors and allies, according to his aides. At the private gathering, Kemp pointedly said he hadn't yet ruled out a White House bid.
Another local tidbit from campaign finance filings:
DeKalb Commissioner Steve Bradshaw is the early fundraising leader in the 2024 race to succeed DeKalb CEO Michael Thurmond. Bradshaw raised more than $160,000 – ahead of Commissioners Larry Johnson and Lorraine Cochran Johnson, his two rivals.
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
WORKFORCE. Lt. Gov. Burt Jones plans to once again support a measure aimed at helping Georgians convicted of felonies rejoin the workforce once they’ve served their penalties.
The Republican’s office said he backs a measure by state Sen. Brian Strickland that would make it harder for state licensing boards to deny an applicant without explanation. Instead, it would only let them reject a license if the person poses a substantial safety risk.
“As our economy continues to grow, we must prioritize workforce development and create more opportunities for Georgians to succeed,” he said. “I’m committed to doing that — and ensuring every Georgian has a fair shot.”
Our AJC colleague Michael E. Kanell spotlighted the legislation, Senate Bill 157, in a weekend story. It passed the Senate unanimously this year but never reached a House vote.
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Credit: Alan Feuer/The New York Times
Credit: Alan Feuer/The New York Times
LEGAL THREAT. The New York Times labeled Ray Epps, an Arizona Republican, the biggest legal threat to Fox News since the defamation suit with Dominion Voting Systems the network settled for $787.5 million.
But Fox’s Tucker Carlson wasn’t the only GOP figure to take aim at Epps, a two-time Donald Trump voter accused without evidence of working as a covert government agent to incite the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome, has also peddled conspiracy theories about Epps, including a March tweet suggesting he would fly to New York to instigate violence during Trump’s indictment.
She also used a livestream to show a video of Epps shouting to a crowd on the eve of the violent mob that she said seemed “coordinated.”
The Times reported that Epps and his wife fled Arizona, lived in a camper, and sold their ranch after receiving death threats. And he and his wife are proceeding with plans to sue Fox News for defamation.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
OUT OF THE OFFICE. If you’ve had a hard time reaching state lawmakers this week, they may be at the Southern Legislative Conference in Charleston, South Carolina.
The nonpartisan confab focuses on workshops and policy downloads on regional issues like ports, economic development, agriculture, and more.
Among the Georgians speaking was Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper, who gave a preview of the upcoming 2023 Farm Bill. PSC Commissioner Tim Echols’ EV panel, “New Hope or All Hype?” drew a standing-room-only crowd of Southern lawmakers looking to get their arms around the green energy trend.
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
HOUSING STANDARDS. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will begin inspecting public housing complexes using new rules to ensure the facilities meet public safety and health standards.
These new rules for the National Standards for the Physical Inspection of Real Estate, also known as NSPIRE, will help public housing authorities and cities better serve their residents by identifying multifamily housing properties that are unsafe or unsanitary, housing officials said.
“The purpose of the new standards and inspections are to address the issue of substandard rental properties, promote greater compliance with health and safety standards, and preserve the quality of our country’s neighborhoods and available housing,” HUD Secretary Marcia Fudge said in a news release about the inspection rules.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s award-winning “Dangerous Dwellings” investigation identified more than 250 chronically dangerous apartment complexes in metro Atlanta, and dozens of them continued collecting federal rent subsidies despite failing health and safety inspections. The AJC project led to various local governments to make pledges to improve oversight.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- The U.S. House returns today. The Rules committee will begin processing 1,500 amendments to the National Defense Authorization Act.
- The Senate will focus on confirmations.
- President Joe Biden is in Lithuania for a NATO meeting where his schedule includes bilateral meetings with Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
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Credit: AJC staff
Credit: AJC staff
SHIPP MEMORIAL. The funeral for the legendary political columnist Bill Shipp, who died Saturday at the age of 89, will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at the Mayes Ward Funeral Home in Marietta. Visitation will be at 1 p.m.
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JOHN LEWIS STAMP ISSUE. On July 21, the same day a commemorative stamp honoring the late Congressman John Lewis will go on sale, the community is invited to a public celebration of his life and legacy as a political and civil rights leader.
“This celebration on July 21 is to bring everybody together,” longtime aide Michael Collins said. “There are many people that want to come to just celebrate Congressman Lewis’ life one more time and his legacy one more time.”
The Postal Service is prepared to meet demand by printing two million panels with 15 stamps each or 30 million stamps total.
Pre-orders are already underway via the USPS website. Stamps will also be sold nationwide, including at the main post office in Atlanta, which will soon bear Lewis’ name.
The event at Morehouse College is open to anyone who wants to attend, as long as they RSVP.
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Credit: Nathan Posner for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Credit: Nathan Posner for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
RALSTON LEGACY. The University of Georgia’s School of Law is honoring the late state House Speaker David Ralston’s legacy with a memorial fund that will award scholarships, summer fellowships and other programs at his alma mater.
The Ralston fund was established by Joel Wooten, a 1975 graduate law school graduate and close friend of Ralston. The University of Georgia Foundation is pitching in matching funds.
Ralston’s son Matthew said his father often reminded state legislators that “your Zip code should not dictate your direction in life.” The fund, he said, would help recipients “serve the rural parts of the state after receiving a world-class legal education.”
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
DOG OF THE DAY. We love a good oxymoron here at The Jolt. So imagine our delight when we saw Daisy Correll, a Tennessee bulldog, come across our desks.
Daisy lives in Chattanooga with her people, including Everette Correll, where she enjoys napping, eating, and wearing red and black. At this point she could just join The Jolt staff we have so much in common.
And along with being Daisy’s biggest fans, an informed source tells us the Corrells also read the AJC every day, proving: “You don’t have to live in Atlanta to appreciate good journalism or an affectionate bulldog.”
For such interstate wisdom, we crown Daisy the Dog of the Day.
Send us your dogs of any political persuasion and cats on a cat-by-cat basis to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us on Twitter @MurphyAJC.
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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.
