Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for August 15, 2019

On August 15, 1903, Georgia Governor Joseph Terrell signed legislation requiring that Georgia schools teach elementary agriculture and civics. Two days later, on August 17, 1903, the General Assembly condemned the practice of whipping female inmates.

The Panama Canal opened on August 15, 1914.

Georgia Governor Thomas Hardwick signed legislation creating the Georgia State Board of Forestry on August 15, 1921.

On August 15, 1969, the Woodstock Festival began in upstate New York.

Apocalypse Now by Francis Ford Coppolla was released on August 15, 1979.

Paul Anderson, known for years as the “Strongest Man in the World” for his weightlifting feats, died on August 15, 1994 in Vidalia, Georgia. Anderson was born in 1932 in Toccoa, Georgia. He won an Olympic gold medal in the sport of weightlifting in 1956.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

Governor Brian Kemp ordered twice-yearly cybersecurity training for Georgia state employees, according to WSB-TV.

“Clearly, state agencies are being targeted,” Kemp said. “We’ve got to be more aggressive in defending against that.”

The directive comes after three critical state agencies got hit by ransomware attacks within the last six weeks.

“It is frustrating, but you also have to be realistic. It’s gonna happen. It happens everywhere. We might as well own it and be as prepared as we can and train our people so we can cut down on the number of instances,” Kemp said.

Kemp’s order also beefs up of the “state government systems security review board,” created by Gov. Nathan Deal in 2015.

The order requires state workers to complete at least one form of cybersecurity training within the next three months. Those who don’t will face disciplinary action.

U.S. District Judge Amy Totenberg issued a 153-page order requiring Georgia to end use of its current voting system after 2019 and use hand-marked paper ballots next year if the new state system isn’t ready, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

the plaintiffs had asked Totenberg to order the state to immediately stop using the current system, which it plans to use for special and municipal elections this year. They also said they feared that the timeline for the implementation of the new machines is too tight, which could result in the old machines being used for 2020 elections.

Totenberg’s order made it clear that she shares that fear: She said that if the new system is not ready by March, the state cannot default to the old machines.

Lawyers for state election officials and for Fulton County, the state’s most populous county that includes most of Atlanta, argued it would be too costly, burdensome and chaotic to use an interim system for elections this fall and then switch to the new permanent system next year.

Savannah-Chatham County public schools will purchase iPads and MacBook Airs for students with some Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax for Education (E-SPLOST) proceeds, according to the Savannah Morning News.

Students in sixth, seventh and eighth grades at Mercer Middle School will receive iPads and keyboard cases and students in 10th through 12th grades at Groves High School will receive MacBook Airs. Teachers at both schools will receive MacBook Airs, said David Feliciano, chief data & accountability officer, who presented the information to the school board.

Students will be allowed to take the devices home, and the district’s internet policy allows the school system to monitor the students’ use of the devices at home as well as at school, Feliciano confirmed to a reporter after the meeting. Most of the monitoring involves filtering for inappropriate content, he said.

ESPLOST funds will cover the cost of the computing devices at Mercer and Groves, while many of the other schools in the district with one-to-one initiatives have received grants, PTA funds, or corporate or community funds to purchase the devices, Superintendent Ann Levett said. The way schools have obtained the devices has varied, she said. “Some of it was case by case,” she said. “Now we’re seeing that need more and more.”

“We’ve tended to do it on our own,” in terms of finding the funds to purchase the devices. “The wonderful thing is we can use ESPLOST funds, so we are.”

Democratic State Senator Zahra Karinshak has thrown her hat in the ring for the 7th Congressional District, according to the AJC.

The first-term lawmaker, who flipped a Republican-held district last year, instantly becomes one of the better-known contenders in the crowded race to replace retiring U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall, a Republican who barely clung to his seat in 2018 after a razor-thin vote.

Karinshak told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution she’ll emphasize her military background, her stint as a federal prosecutor and her legislative experience as she appeals to voters in a district that spans parts of Gwinnett and Forsyth counties.

“The time is now,” said Karinshak. “We cannot wait to fix Washington. There is so much partisanship and bickering that we need true leadership. I’m going to hold Washington accountable.”

In 2018, she flipped a Duluth-based seat held by Republican David Shafer, who was running for lieutenant governor and later was elected as head of the Georgia GOP. It was one of a sweep of suburban legislative seats that Democrats captured in the midterm election.