Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for April 14, 2026

The first American society advocating for abolition of slavery was founded on April 14, 1775, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Benjamin Franklin would later serve as President of the organization.

On April 14, 1865, John Wilkes Booth shot President Abraham Lincoln as the President attended a showing of Our American Cousin at Ford’s Theater, seven blocks from the White House; Lincoln survived nine hours before dying the next day.

RMS Titanic hit an iceberg just before midnight on April 14, 1912. Among those losing their lives was Major Archibald Butt of Augusta, Georgia, who had served as a military aide to Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft.

“Captain Smith and Major Archibald Butt, military aide to the President of the United States, were among the coolest men on board. A number of steerage passengers were yelling and screaming and fighting to get to the boats. Officers drew guns and told them that if they moved towards the boats they would be shot dead. Major Butt had a gun in his hand and covered the men who tried to get to the boats. The following story of his bravery was told by Mrs. Henry B. Harris, wife of the theatrical manager: ‘The world should rise in praise of Major Butt. That man’s conduct will remain in my memory forever. The American army is honored by him and the way he taught some of the other men how to behave when women and children were suffering that awful mental fear of death. Major Butt was near me and I noticed everything that he did.”

“When the order to man the boats came, the captain whispered something to Major Butt. The two of them had become friends. The major immediately became as one in supreme command. You would have thought he was at a White House reception. A dozen or more women became hysterical all at once, as something connected with a life-boat went wrong. Major Butt stepped over to them and said: ‘Really, you must not act like that; we are all going to see you through this thing.’”

“He helped the sailors rearrange the rope or chain that had gone wrong and lifted some of the women in with a touch of gallantry. Not only was there a complete lack of any fear in his manner, but there was the action of an aristocrat. ‘When the time came he was a man to be feared. In one of the earlier boats fifty women, it seemed, were about to be lowered, when a man, suddenly panic-stricken, ran to the stern of it. Major Butt shot one arm out, caught him by the back of the neck and jerked him backward like a pillow. His head cracked against a rail and he was stunned. ‘Sorry,’ said Major Butt, ‘women will be attended to first or I’ll break every damned bone in your body.’”

“The boats were lowered one by one, and as I stood by, my husband said to me, ‘Thank God, for Archie Butt.’ Perhaps Major Butt heard it, for he turned his face towards us for a second and smiled.”

Kennesaw Junior College became a senior college on April 14, 1976 by vote of the Georgia Board of Regents.

By this time, enrollment had tripled from an initial student count of 1,014 in the fall of 1966 to 3,098 in the fall of 1975. Numerous local leaders were involved in the fight for four-year status, but the two politicians playing the most pivotal roles were state Representatives Joe Mack Wilson and Al Burruss of Marietta. In time the memories of both would be honored by having buildings named for them on the Kennesaw campus

A U.S. Postage stamp bearing Georgia’s state bird and state flower was issued as part of a series including all 50 states on April 14, 1982, with first day ceremonies held in Washington and each state.

On April 14, 2010, a signature by Button Gwinnett, one of Georgia’s three signers of the Declaration of Independence sold at auction for $722,500 at an auction by Sotheby’s. About 50 examples of his signature are known to exist and six have been auctioned since 1974.

Happy birthday to former Atlanta Braves David Justice and Greg Maddux, who were both born on this date in 1966.

Thirty-seven years ago today “Say Anything” was released, marking the directorial debut of Cameron Crowe, who wrote “Fast Times at Ridgemont High” and later directed “Singles.”

John Cusack, four years past playing a college freshman in The Sure Thing, plays graduating high school senior Lloyd Dobler. Ione Skye, three years after her debut in the very dark drama River’s Edge, plays the brilliant and shy Diane Court. And John Mahoney, four years before he found sitcom immortality as Frasier Crane’s father Martin, plays Diane’s adoring and deeply flawed father, Jim. Writer and first-time director Cameron Crowe was best-known at the time for the screenplay for Fast Times at Ridgemont High — which is fondly remembered now as the launching pad for many respectable careers, but which Roger Ebert had called “a failure of taste, tone and nerve.”

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Macon-Bibb County Commission District 5 voters go to the polls today  in a Special Runoff Election, according to the Macon Telegraph.

The polls are open Tuesday morning for the District 5 commissioner seat runoff election.

The special election to fill the District 5 Commission seat went to a runoff after no candidate secured more than 50% of the votes, according to the Macon-Bibb County Board of Elections.

Results from the special election showed Andrea Cooke, a local mental health advocate, receiving 49.53% of the votes, according to Board of Elections Supervisor Thomas Gillon. She will face Edward Foster, a community advocate, in the runoff election. He received 19.41% of the vote.

The seat was previously held by Seth Clark, who resigned in early January.

Vice President JD Vance speaks at the University of Georgia today, according to Atlanta News First via WTVM.

Vice President JD Vance will be in Georgia on Tuesday.

Vance will be at the University of Georgia (UGA) as part of the Turning Point USA Tour.

The event will be hosted by UGA’s chapter of Turning Point USA, a conservative youth organization founded by Charlie Kirk. Kirk, a political analyst, was assassinated in September 2025 during an event at Utah Valley University.

The VP will be at Akins Ford Arena at the Classic Center. Doors open at 1 p.m. and it begins at 5 p.m.

The University of Georgia’s Young Democrats chapter is planning a 5:30 p.m. protest outside the arena to coincide with the vice president’s arrival.

Vance will likely land at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport before heading to UGA.

With any of the three routes he could take to get to UGA — I-85, I-20 or GA 138 — it would take at least an hour and a half to get there.

From WRDW:

Vance’s visit comes five weeks to the day ahead of Georgia’s nationally watched primary midterms, in which President Donald Trump has lent his support to Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in Georgia’s hugely expensive and bitter gubernatorial primary. Jones is engaged in a high-stakes political battle for his future against billionaire health care CEO Rick Jackson.

All of Georgia’s other top constitutional offices are wide open seats, including lieutenant governor, attorney general and secretary of state. Georgia Republicans are also engaged in a divisive primary to determine who will face Democratic U.S. Senate incumbent Jon Ossoff in November.

From the AJC:

Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Burt Jones is expected to speak before a large crowd of students, eager to reinforce his MAGA credentials as he wages a bruising, high-dollar battle with billionaire health care executive Rick Jackson.

Other top GOP rivals are notably elsewhere: Jackson has a Savannah stop, Attorney General Chris Carr has a long-scheduled fundraiser and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger agreed months ago to participate in a Leadership Atlanta forum.

UGA’s Young Democrats chapter plans an afternoon protest outside Akins-Ford Arena timed to his arrival. And party chair Charlie Bailey called it a “clear warning sign that Republicans are nervous, especially as the president’s approval here continues tanking.”

He added: “With every single Republican candidate for Senate and Governor embracing the failed Trump-Vance agenda, we’ll make sure they do not make it into higher office come November.”

We are deep into election season. From Atlanta News First via WTOC:

Georgia voters are about to have some very busy weeks.

April 14 marks five weeks until the state’s closely contested watched primaries among Republicans and Democrats. Then come some very likely runoffs before the state’s nationally wanted general elections on Nov. 3, 2026 that will chart the state’s electoral future for at least the next four years.

Georgia’s federal races could also directly impact the balance of political power in Washington, D.C.

Here are some key voting and election dates from now through June:

• April 20, 2026 – Absentee ballots mailed for May primary
• April 20, 2026 – Last day to register to vote in May primary
• April 27, 2026 – Early voting begins for May primary
• May 2, 2026 – First day of Saturday voting for May primary
• May 3, 2026 – First optional Sunday voting for May primary
• May 8, 2026 – Last day to request an absentee ballot for May primary
• May 9, 2026 – Saturday voting for May primary
• May 10, 2026 – Optional Sunday voting for May primary
• May 15, 2026 – Last day of early voting for May primary
• May 18, 2026 – Last day to register for the June runoff
• May 19, 2026 – Georgia primary elections
• June 5, 2026 – Last day to request an absentee ballot for the June runoff
• June 8, 2026 – First day of early voting in June runoff
• June 12, 2026 – Last day of early voting in June runoff
• June 16, 2026 – June runoff elections

Georgia election offices are trying to figure out how to count ballots in November, according to 13WMAZ.

Georgia election offices are waiting for guidance as a state law requiring major changes to how ballots are counted takes effect in eleven weeks.

A law passed by the Georgia General Assembly in 2024 requires QR codes to be removed from ballots by July 1. The codes are currently used by scanning equipment to tally votes. Under the law, scanners must read the printed text on a ballot instead.

Making that transition requires counties to purchase new certified scanners, update equipment and retrain poll workers — a process election officials say takes months.

The state House of Representatives passed a bill this session to extend the deadline to 2028 and appropriate funding for the switch. The Senate adjourned without calling the bill for a vote.

Marion Hatton, chairperson of the Jones County Board of Elections, said her office hasn’t received much information from the state on next steps.

The uncertainty has trickled down to vendors. Hatton said even the company she orders ballot paper from told her to hold off on large orders.

“They said don’t order a lot right now because we don’t know what’s going to happen after July 1st, and I don’t want you to waste the money,” Hatton said. “Everybody is just up in the air.”

Hatton said Jones County’s current equipment has performed reliably. Her office audits ballots after every election to verify scanner counts against hand counts.

“We don’t have a problem with them because we do audits at the end of every election,” Hatton said. “We’ve always had everything 100 percent.”

However, Hatton said continuing to use QR code ballots after Jul 1 would put her county in violation of state law.

“I’m not using the QR code,” Hatton said. “The law says I can’t. It would be illegal.”

When asked what her office would do if no replacement system is in place before November, Hatton said she would turn to paper.

“Buy a lot of ballots — hand marked paper ballots,” Hatton said. “I don’t know what else I could do.”

Hatton said she has approximately 50 poll workers who would need to be retrained under any new system. She said her office would be ready regardless.

“We’re just gonna do the best we can with what we have and do everything the right way,” Hatton said.

Supporters of the 2024 law argued voters should be able to verify their ballot choices without relying on a code they cannot read. Critics said the push to eliminate QR codes was driven by election distrust rather than documented problems with the current system.

Charles Bullock, a political science professor at the University of Georgia, said hand counting ballots on a statewide scale presents significant challenges — though he noted the burden would fall unevenly across counties.

“In a very small county it might be fine to do a hand count of paper ballots — if you have 1,000 voters or so, that would not be a big burden,” Bullock said. “But you get to the big metropolitan counties around Atlanta and you have half a million votes being cast.”

Georgia cast around 5 million ballots in the 2020 general election, Bullock noted.

“You can just imagine the amount of time this is gonna take if it has to be done by hand as opposed to being done by a scanner,” Bullock said.

Bullock said counties that continue using QR code ballots past the Jul. 1 deadline could face legal action.

“There might even be injunctions to prevent holding the election until you have this behavior brought into conformance with our current law,” Bullock said. “The simplest thing would be for the governor to call a special session.”

Bullock added that the legislature had the option years ago to purchase a hand-marked ballot system when Georgia bought its current equipment — and rejected it in favor of the more expensive touchscreen system now in use.

“That was the alternative which was rejected,” Bullock said. “So that’s part of the reason we’re where we are today — a decision made several years ago.”

Despite the uncertainty, Bullock said he expects a resolution before November.

“I think there will be the fix and I assume the governor will call a special session and we will then continue to use our current equipment,” Bullock said.

13WMAZ sent specific questions to the Secretary of State’s office regarding next steps. The office did not respond.

Georgia’s May 19 primary is not affected by the July 1 deadline. The November general election, which includes races for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state and attorney general, falls after the deadline.

From Atlanta News First via WRDW:

Georgia is approaching a July 1 deadline to stop counting ballots with QR codes, but lawmakers ended this year’s legislative session without approving a replacement system or providing money to change course.

The deadline stems from a law passed two years ago that bans the machine-readable codes that are currently used to tally votes on ballots printed by Georgia’s Dominion ballot-marking devices.

Critics, including some conservative activists, argue voters cannot read the QR codes and therefore cannot personally verify what the scanning equipment is counting.

In the final days of the session, House leaders backed a bipartisan proposal to delay the QR-code ban, arguing the state should not overhaul election administration close to a major election. The Senate did not take up the measure.

House Speaker Jon Burns said lawmakers would consult with Gov. Brian Kemp about next steps.

“We’ll sit down with the governor, but certainly, election reform is something we were committed to,” Burns said.

County election officials, who are required to use the current equipment, say the lack of direction complicates planning for November.

“We’re in limbo. We have no direction. We can’t prepare for elections overnight,” said Deirdre Holden, the elections administrator in Paulding County, west of Atlanta.

Voting rights advocates say the timeline for major changes is tight.

Rachel Glover, associate director of the ACLU of Georgia’s Voter Access Project, said ordering equipment, updating procedures, and training staff and poll workers can take six months to a year.

“The General Assembly created this problem by passing SB 189 in 2024, and it’s their responsibility to find the solution,” Glover said.

If Georgia reaches July 1 without changing how ballots are counted, outside groups could file lawsuits arguing the state is out of compliance with its own election law, potentially putting election rules on a judge’s timetable.

“It’s going to have to be addressed one way or the other. A special legislative session is the most likely way to get this resolved,” said Zachary Peskowitz, a political science professor at Emory University.

Democratic state Rep. Saira Draper warned in a video statement that court intervention could add uncertainty.

“That’s a scary proposition. What happens next with our election system goes to a judge. it’s unpredictable,” Draper said.

The political calendar adds pressure. Early voting for Georgia’s May 19 primary is approaching, and a special session would pull lawmakers — many of them candidates — back to Atlanta during a key stretch of campaigning.

Kemp’s office said it would begin reviewing bills and the budget Monday, including “the consequences of bills that did not pass.” Kemp has not said whether he will call lawmakers back into session.

For now, counties say they are waiting for guidance as the July 1 deadline nears.

From the AJC:

Georgia’s State Election Board meets in Dawsonville Wednesday amid a looming deadline set by the Republican-controlled General Assembly that could soon make counting votes with the state’s current system illegal.

Meanwhile, the State Election Board could take matters into its own hands. A proposal before the board would trigger a switch to paper ballots filled out by hand in place of the current system of touchscreen machines.

The state board, controlled by a Republican majority, could consider a petition from election security advocates that would temporarily mandate all 159 counties switch to hand-marked paper ballots as the primary voting method starting in July.

Counties would still be permitted to use touchscreens to accommodate people with disabilities.

Under the proposal, counties with multiple early in-person voting sites and at least 20 ballot permutations could print ballots on demand at polling locations to accommodate different configurations of districts and races.

If the board chooses to advance the proposal, it would kick off a mandatory 30-day public comment period before the board could consider approving the petition.

Last month, the board approved a resolution urging lawmakers “to move to hand-marked paper ballots as soon as practicable.”

House Bill 945 by State Rep. Bruce Williamson (R-Monroe) would help seniors and disabled people avoid being scammed, if signed into law by Gov. Kemp, according to Atlanta News First via WALB.

A new law now on Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk would give banks and credit unions a tool to temporarily delay certain transactions when there is reasonable cause to suspect financial exploitation.

House Bill 945 applies to an “eligible adult,” defined in the bill as someone 65 or older or a disabled adult. Under the bill, a financial institution may place a hold on the execution of a financial transaction if it has reasonable cause to suspect the transaction may involve, facilitate, result in, or contribute to financial exploitation.

The bill allows holds on transactions involving:

• An account of an eligible adult.
• An account on which an eligible adult is a beneficiary.
• An account of a person suspected of perpetrating the exploitation.

If a hold is placed, the financial institution must notify in writing all parties authorized to transact business on the account and any “trusted contact” on the account within three business days, unless the institution reasonably believes those people may be involved in the suspected exploitation.

The institution must also initiate a review of the facts and circumstances that led to the hold.

A hold expires on the 15th business day after it is placed, but the financial institution may extend the hold for up to an additional 15 business days if its review continues to support a reasonable belief of financial exploitation.

The bill says the length of a hold may be shortened or extended by a court. It would allow an eligible adult to designate at least one trusted contact on an account. A financial institution could contact that person to address possible financial exploitation or other concerns related to account administration.

To add a trusted contact, account holders should speak directly with their bank or credit union.

HB 945 includes immunity provisions for financial institutions and their employees who act in good faith and exercise reasonable care under the bill.

The bill’s current version does not include a specific effective date clause. That typically means it would take effect upon the governor’s signature, unless another date is set in the final enrolled act.

Resources for seniors and families

To report suspected elder financial abuse to your bank or credit union, ask to speak with a fraud or compliance officer.

You should also file a police report with your local department if you believe you or a loved one is the victim of financial exploitation or fraud. Keep a copy of the report number; you may need it when contacting your bank, an attorney or a state agency.

You can also report it to these agencies:

• FBI Elder Fraud Hotline: Call 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov.
• Federal Trade Commission: Report fraud at reportfraud.ftc.gov.
• Georgia Division of Aging Services/Adult Protective Services: Call 1-866-552-4464 to report suspected exploitation of a vulnerable adult in Georgia.

House Bill 951 by State Rep. David Clark (R-Buford) awaits Governor Kemp’s signature or veto and would require the state health benefits plan to provide prosthetics to amputees on an equal basis as commercial insurance is required, according to Georgia Recorder.

Hannah Nabors, a special education teacher in Rome, lost her left leg last February after she was pinned under her car for two hours following a crash.

But Nabors, who is also a cross country and soccer coach, was immediately determined not to let the loss of a limb stop her from living her life. After waking up from surgery, Nabors told her family that she wanted to run the Boston Marathon.

She quickly learned, though, that because she was a state employee, her insurance would not cover the running blade she would need to pursue her goal.

In Georgia, state-regulated commercial insurance plans give people living with limb loss or limb difference access to three medically necessary prosthetic or orthotic devices per affected limb every three years, thanks to a law passed in 2025. However, that is not the case for amputees like Nabors who are on the state health benefit plan – which covers one basic device every three years.

“It’s not fair that if I had any other job besides serving the state, I would have access to up to three devices,” Nabors said.

Nabors was able to afford a running blade after her community in northwest Georgia hosted a fundraiser for her last August. She said that without that donation, she probably would not even have been able to afford a prosthesis to use in the shower.

Nabors says she cried after the first time she ran a mile with her specialized leg.

“To reclaim a part of my life that I thought was gone forever is something I will never take for granted,” she said. “But it’s not fair that there are people in Georgia who maybe don’t have an amazing community like Rome to fundraise for a blade.”

Stories like Nabors’ inspired state Rep. David Clark, a Buford Republican and candidate for lieutenant governor, to introduce House Bill 951 in this year’s just-ended legislative session.

Clark’s bill would guarantee that same access to three prosthetic devices, specifically one basic device and two specialized ones, for state employees starting next year.

Language from the bill passed both chambers and is awaiting Gov. Brian Kemp’s signature, but the path to passage was anything but straightforward.

In 2025, Clark included state employees in another bill, which was his first bill to require health benefit policy coverage for medically necessary orthotic and prosthetic devices, but it stalled in the Senate after it passed in the House.

This led Cataula Republican Sen. Randy Robertson to include the proposal in a bill he sponsored last year.

Robertson says he was inspired to take on Clark’s bill after meeting a young patient with the advocacy group So Everybody Can Move Georgia who told him that his family’s insurance company denied him from receiving a shower prosthesis.

“They didn’t see showering as a health issue,” Robertson said. “It motivated me that a young boy was being denied.”

But Clark and Rachael Auyer, Georgia’s co-state lead of So Everybody Can Move, say the state health benefit plan and the health plan for the University System of Georgia, which covers members of the Board of Regents, was left out due to state budget concerns.

“We had a fiscal note that didn’t match the actual cost our state would incur,” Auyer said.

Auyer says last year, they were told the fiscal note to have the state health benefit plan cover three prosthetic devices per affected limb would be $55 million, but that she knew that number was out of proportion.

“Our patient population is a small percentage of our overall population and even smaller of our state health benefit and board of regents employee population,” Auyer said.

The fiscal note for Clark’s bill provided by state auditor Greg Griffin determined that less than 25,000 members on both the state health benefit plan and university system health plan use prosthetic or orthotic devices. The new projected cost to cover three devices for these members came to $1.5 million.

Clark’s new bill also stalled in the Senate after it passed in the House earlier this year. But the proposal ultimately passed as part of Senate Bill 503 through some late-session legislative maneuvering.

Kelley Berk, a certified prosthetist at Shamrock Prosthetics and the patient advocate lead for So Everybody Can Move Georgia, says they are “fighting for basic human health care.”

“Mobility is medicine,” Berk said.

Lynda Fisher, a patient advocate for So Everybody Can Move, is proof of this.

Fisher, a Board of Regents employee, lost her daughter in a June 2018 crash and was left with chronic ankle pain. About four years later, she decided to have her left leg amputated below the knee.

Fisher, who says she was training to run a triathlon with her late daughter before the accident, said she was able to get a running blade through a grant from the Challenged Athletes Foundation.

“It was through the healing of my body that I began to deeply heal from the grief and the sorrow of losing my daughter,” Fisher said. “Had I not received that grant, I would not have been able to get a running blade through my insurance because it’s not covered.”

Fisher said realizing that there were others in the limb loss and limb difference community who might not have the capacity to advocate for themselves inspired her to speak at the state Capitol two years ago.

“We all have to fight for our health care,” Fisher said. “I’m going to fight for you because I’ve been where you are.”

Nabors said the moment after running her first mile and her career as a special education teacher inspired her to advocate for change at the Capitol. She says she repeatedly told her students that their disabilities did not have to hold them back and that she’s had to believe that for herself since her accident.

“Hard doesn’t get the final say,” said Nabors, who is set to accomplish her goal of running in the Boston Marathon later this month. “I want to show that we are still capable of living full lives.”

Some Savannah area doctors hope Governor Kemp will sign House Bill 350, the “Baby Box” bill, according to WTOC.

A bill that awaits Governor Kemp’s signature has local doctors’ support because it could save some of the community’s tiniest lives.

After passing unanimously in the Georgia House and Senate, the Eliza Jane Warner Act would allow mothers and families the opportunity to safely and without identifying themselves relinquish their baby into safe hands.

Michael Bossak, vice president of Memorial Health’s Children’s Hospital, said the hospital does see babies brought in under safe haven laws.

“We certainly have had babies delivered to this hospital and brought here for safe haven laws. It is not a super common thing, but we definitely see it every once in a while.”

Georgia’s safe haven laws could change under the new act. Bossak said it would increase access for families who may not be able to care for a baby at that time.

“So this allows for much greater access to allow patients and families to drop off babies that they may not be able to care for at that time, and so it gives much greater access to the community to allow for these possibilities,” Bossak said.

New additions to the law would add baby boxes — a way for families to surrender their babies without having to come face to face with someone.

“No matter how well that person is trained that’s accepting that baby, there is going to be a level of judgment that goes into that, and having the ability to do this anonymously and knowing that that is going to trigger a bunch of safety alarms in the background and that your baby is going to be quickly and well cared for really sort of sets that apart from other things,”Bossak said.

Bossak believes these boxes are something the Savannah community should invest in.

“I think it’s going to be something that would be beneficial to the community, and so I think it’s worthwhile for us to raise those funds throughout the community to kind of help get these places in those areas,” he added.

The new bill would also extend the current safe haven window from 30 to 45 days to surrender newborns — something Bossak believes will help save more families and babies.

The baby boxes are not government funded, so money would have to be raised locally. Bossak says it would be beneficial to have that option for families in Georgia.

State Rep. Kasey Carpenter (R-Dalton) is revealed to have painted his face black for a costume party in 2010, according to Georgia Recorder.

Dalton Republican state Rep. Kasey Carpenter is facing criticism after a photo of him dressed in blackface has been circulating on social media.

The grainy photo shows Carpenter posing alongside his wife at a party with his white skin painted brown.

Carpenter said the photo was taken at a Chattanooga bar about 12 years ago when he was in his 30s. He said it was a costume party where guests dressed like power couples, and they chose to dress like Kanye West and Kim Kardashian, who were married at the time.

In a phone call Monday, Carpenter called the getup a mistake and said he is not racist.

“I think most of my constituents know, both white and my minority constituents, know where my heart is and know that I’m a man of all people,” he said. “Clearly it was a mistake, but it was nothing done with bad intentions or some subversive messaging.”

“I guess an election year is a good time to drop a racially sensitive photo of somebody,” he added.

Carpenter is set to face Cleve Manis, who works in construction, in the GOP primary May 19. The winner will face Democrat Quentin Postell, a college student, in the November general election.

“Instead of focusing on what you’ve done to help minorities, they want to post a one-off shot of something from 12, 14 years ago that – we can argue whether or not it was blackface – I would argue I was Kanye West. It was a person, I wasn’t representing a race or some kind of historical insensitive subject.”

Carpenter has been a proponent of legislation to offer in-state tuition to Georgia college students who came to the U.S. as children illegally and are protected by the federal Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program or DREAM Act. About 38% of Whitfield County residents are Hispanic.

For other examples of legislation he has sponsored that would help minorities, Carpenter listed the Safe at Home Act, a tenant protection bill that passed in 2024; a stalled homelessness prevention bill and a bill that would have prevented an artist’s song lyrics from being used in criminal trials.

House Speaker Jon Burns’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. House Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley, a Columbus Democrat, offered sharp criticism.

“Maya Angelou tells us, ‘when someone shows you who they are, believe them the first time,’ and this blackface photograph is just the latest example of how Kasey Carpenter’s own actions, and votes, make clear he does not represent all Georgians in the 4th District,” Hugley said.

The sensitivity surrounding blackface stems from Jim Crow-era minstrel shows used to mock, belittle and demean Black people and their struggles, and the practice is widely seen as offensive and racist.

Georgia NAACP President Gerald Griggs called on Carpenter to issue an unambiguous apology.

“We have never come to a place in society where skin color has not mattered,” he said. “One of the greatest Georgians said that he hoped we could get there, but considering the outright attack on diversity, equity and inclusion, the erasure of African American history, the attempts to roll back voting rights show that we are not there by a long shot. So my hope would be he would just make a very short statement. ‘I’m sorry for doing something that is racially insensitive,’ period, full stop.”

Suspended Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch was in court for a hearing in the DUI case against him, according to AccessWDUN.

Hall County Sheriff Gerald Couch had a hearing Monday to discuss bond conditions and future court dates following his arrest for allegedly driving under the influence while in a county vehicle in late February.

Couch was previously arrested on Feb.27 on charges including DUI, failure to maintain lane and an open container violation. At the time of his arrest, he had been pulled over by deputies on Ledan Extension in the northwest part of Hall County at around 10:30 a.m. Deputies reported they saw him swerving and driving erratically.

On March 17, Couch was suspended for 60 days by Georgia Governor Brain Kemp.

The case was filed in the State Court of Hall County. Athens-Clarke County State Court Judge Charles E. Auslander, III was appointed to preside over the case after all Hall County State Court Judges recused themselves from the case.

During the hearing on Monday, Couch’s attorney, Blake Poole, argued that the bond condition prohibiting Couch from driving a vehicle should be removed. Poole argued that this case was Couch’s first accusation of driving under the influence.

“We submit that the condition prohibiting him from driving a motor vehicle,” Poole said. “That is excessive, particularly considering it’s been 45 days since his arrest and bonding out, and he’s not having any issues. He’s obviously showing his ability to follow the court’s order.”

Poole also argued that an order to the effect of Couch’s was found in previous first-offense DUI cases, and that Couch should be given bond conditions that are consistent with other cases.

State prosecutors Gilbert Crosby and Jason Samuels had consented to a compromise that would allow Couch to drive a personal vehicle with an ignition interlock device that would be installed at his expense. The compromise would still prohibit Couch from driving any vehicles owned by a municipal, county, or state entity.

Prosecutors also argued that while the incident from Feb. 27 was Couch’s first official allegation of DUI, it was not the first actual occurrence of DUI. Prosecutors alleged that the day before his arrest, Couch was taken to a hospital for “severe alcohol intoxication,” during that test, Couch reportedly took an ethanol content examination, which returned a result of .373.

Poole objected to the presentation, saying that the case is only to discuss events that occurred on Feb. 27.

Judge Auslander ultimately agreed to modify the conditions of Couch’s bond, requiring him to use the SCRAM remote breathalyzer device. The device is equipped with facial recognition and requires random testing. Auslander also required that Couch submit an alcohol treatment aftercare plan, and prove his compliance with the plan.

An arraignment was scheduled for Monday, but did not occur because the prosecution had not yet filed the accusation against Couch.

Court officials also discussed possible trial dates in the case, agreeing to possibly begin the trial in September of this year.

Dougherty County Superior Court Chief Judge Denise Marshall appointed a new Juvenile Court Judge, according to WALB.

Dougherty County Superior Court Chief Judge Denise Marshall has appointed Valerie Brown-Williams as Dougherty County’s new Juvenile Court judge, according to an announcement shared Monday, April 13.

Brown-Williams has served as Dougherty County’s associate juvenile judge since June 2025.

According to her official biography, Brown-Williams is a graduate of Mercer University School of Law and is a member of the Dougherty Bar Association for years, previously serving as treasurer. She is also a member of the Child Protection and Advocacy Section and the Family Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia.

A swearing-in ceremony for her new full-time role will be scheduled at a later date, and the time will be announced once finalized.

According to Dougherty County, the Juvenile Court was established to “assist, protect and restore, if possible,” children under 17 in cases alleging delinquency (except capital offenses), including for traffic offenses. They also preside over juveniles in need of treatment or commitment as a mentally ill or special needs.

The court also handles proceedings such as:

• Judicial consent for marriage
• Employment or enlistment when required by law
• Transfer of juveniles through the Interstate Compact
• Termination of the legal parent-child relationship (excluding adoption)
• Notices related to an unemancipated minor seeking an abortion

Dougherty County officials say the Juvenile Court processes an annual caseload of more than 2,200 petitions, including “collecting restitution for victims, handling traffic fines, and insuring that indigent juveniles have legal counsel is a routine part of the Court’s daily function.”

Democratic candidate for Governor Jason Esteves spoke about abotion, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Augusta Chronicle.

Jason Esteves, who resigned from his state Senate seat in Atlanta last year to run for governor, said in an online event with reporters that if elected governor he would work to repeal Georgia’s 2019 law banning abortion once fetal cardiac activity is detected, typically six weeks into a pregnancy.

The law penalizes doctors who disobey, leading to cases in which pregnant women were refused treatment.

“Republicans have made it less safe for people to have babies,” Esteves said.

He did not say the name of one of his opponents in the primary, Geoff Duncan, who was a Republican and the Georgia lieutenant governor when that law passed.

Esteves, instead, let his former colleague in the Senate, Minority Whip Kim Jackson, D-Stone Mountain, target “Republicans like Duncan,” who “passed Georgia’s horrific abortion ban, which has led to the deaths of black women.”

The sharpest attack came from Shanette Williams, whose daughter Amber Nicole Thurman, died after doctors, hesitant about the new law, delayed removing remnants of her fetus after she self-aborted with pills.

“The only thing I see when we talk about Geoff Duncan is him standing behind the governor of the state of Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp, as he signs the bill into law. I see Geoff Duncan smiling and clapping as if this was the right thing to do,” Williams said. “How is it that you can run for governor after you were a part of murdering my child?”

Duncan said in a statement that he had reversed his views on abortion, saying part of his path of switching to the Democratic party “was understanding the devastating situations that women experience and doing the work to learn as much as I can to make it right. I was wrong to believe a room full of legislators knew more than millions of women.”