The Magna Carta was sealed by King John on June 15, 1215.
The charter consisted of a preamble and 63 clauses and dealt mainly with feudal concerns that had little impact outside 13th century England. However, the document was remarkable in that it implied there were laws the king was bound to observe, thus precluding any future claim to absolutism by the English monarch. Of greatest interest to later generations was clause 39, which stated that “no free man shall be arrested or imprisoned or disseised [dispossessed] or outlawed or exiled or in any way victimised…except by the lawful judgment of his peers or by the law of the land.” This clause has been celebrated as an early guarantee of trial by jury and of habeas corpus and inspired England’s Petition of Right (1628) and the Habeas Corpus Act (1679).
On June 15, 1740, Spanish troops attacked the English who were led by James Oglethorpe, at Fort Mose, two miles north of St. Augustine, Florida. With 68 English killed and 34 wounded, it was the heaviest losses sustained by Oglethorpe during his campaign against St. Augustine.
George Washington accepted the assignment of leading the Continental Army on June 15, 1775.
The Oregon Treaty was signed on June 15, 1815 between England and the United States, establishing the border between the U.S. and Canada.
On June 15, 1864, a funeral was held at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Atlanta for Confederate General Leonidas Polk, who was killed the day before at Pine Mountain near Marietta.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
More than 480k early ballots were cast ahead of tomorrow’s Primary Runoff Elections, according to the Secretary of State’s website.
Democratic – 179,010 – 37.07%
Republican – 302,506 – 62.64%
Nonpartisan – 1,433 – 0.30%
TOTAL: 482,949
Early voting ended Friday with less than 10% of the 61,450 voters on Glynn County’s active list showing up at the polls. The latest numbers as of 11:16 a.m. Friday showed 4,278 votes cast, or 6.9% of the registered voters.
Governor Brian Kemp announced three new judicial appointments, according to a Press Release.
Paige Reese Whitaker currently sits as a superior court judge in the Atlanta Judicial Circuit, where she has served for almost a decade. Judge Whitaker brings extensive trial and appellate experience to her new position. As a Senior Assistant Attorney General for the State for over a decade, she handled complex litigation in Georgia’s trial and appellate courts, while as a Deputy District Attorney in Fulton County, she headed the Appeals Division of the State’s largest and busiest district attorney’s office.
Judge Whitaker serves in numerous legal and civic roles, including as an elected delegate to the State Bar of Georgia’s Board of Governors, President of the Lawyers Club of Atlanta, and Vice President of the Council of Superior Court Judges. She is the immediate past-Chair of the Georgia Commission on Family Violence, an alumna of Leadership Atlanta, and a former adjunct professor of law.
Judge Whitaker earned her bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from the College of Charleston and her law degree from Duke University School of Law. She is an active member of her parish and the proud mom of two college boys.
Joshua “Josh” Geller currently serves as a Deputy Chief Assistant District Attorney for the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office, where he supervises the Homicide and Gangs Unit. Since joining the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office in 2016, he has litigated several high-profile cases involving digital forensics and mental health evidence. Prior to his time in DeKalb County, he served as an Assistant District Attorney in the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office. He also worked in private practice, where he focused his practice on representing indigent clients in criminal matters throughout Georgia.
Throughout his career, he has been recognized for his leadership in public service, including being named Attorney of the Year in the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office in 2009 and contributing to multiple Unit of the Year honors within the DeKalb County District Attorney’s Office. He is an active member of the DeKalb Bar Association, the DeKalb Lawyers Association, and the Lawyers Club of Atlanta.
He earned his bachelor’s degree in political science, with a minor in Business Administration, from Auburn University. He received his Juris Doctor from Samford University’s Cumberland School of Law. Josh and his wife, Ashley Patterson, have lived in DeKalb County for almost 20 years and are the proud parents of two daughters.
Mercedes G. Ball is an Assistant General Counsel and the Director of the Client Assistance Program at the State Bar of Georgia. In this capacity, she leads the resolution of all informal complaints and certain formal grievances lodged against Georgia attorneys. Prior to her time with the State Bar, Mercedes served as a Child Advocate Attorney at the DeKalb County Child Advocacy Center where she represented the interests of dependent children in civil court proceedings, mediations, and panels. Before her work with DeKalb, she was an attorney at a Metro-Atlanta law firm.
Mercedes is committed to civic service. She has served in leadership roles in the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys, the Junior League of DeKalb County, and the DeKalb County Department of Family and Children Services Advisory Board. She is the recipient of the 2019 University of Georgia School of Law Young Alumni/Alumna of Excellence Award, the 2019 Junior League of DeKalb County President’s Award, and the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys’ 2020 Bensonetta Tipton Lane Award for Commitment to the Family.
Mercedes earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science, cum laude, from Spelman College and a Juris Doctor from the University of Georgia School of Law. She resides in Decatur where, in her spare time, you can find her baking, reading, and spending time with loved ones.
Judge Whitaker was appointed to the Georgia Court of Appeals, according to the AJC.
Gov. Brian Kemp has appointed Fulton County Superior Court Judge Paige Reese Whitaker to the Georgia Court of Appeals after her loss in last month’s election to retain her county bench seat.
The move could void the result of the nonpartisan election that Whitaker, a judge since 2017, narrowly lost to judicial newcomer Nikia Smith Sellers, a prosecutor in the office of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Georgia law allows the governor to appoint a judge when there is a vacancy on the bench, and that person serves a shorter term until the next nonpartisan election. The process has previously been challenged in court when its timing has voided an election.
Whitaker’s current elected term in Fulton ends Dec. 31. Her appointment to the Court of Appeals officially ends that term early and creates a vacancy in Fulton to be filled by Kemp. His appointee would likely be subject to election in 2028, based on the timing of the appointment.
Kemp will soon have another opportunity to appoint someone to the Court of Appeals, as Judge Brian Rickman is stepping down next month to return to private practice. Rickman is in the middle of a six-year elected term and plans to join personal injury litigation firm Cathey & Strain.
Governor Brian P. Kemp today announced the following judicial appointments: The Honorable Paige Reese Whitaker to the Georgia Court of Appeals, filling a vacancy created by the appointment of the Honorable Benjamin A. Land to the Supreme Court of Georgia; Joshua “Josh” Geller to the Superior Court of the DeKalb Judicial Circuit, filling a vacancy created by the resignation of the Honorable Stacey K. Hydrick; and Mercedes G. Ball to Division B of the State Court of DeKalb County, filling a vacancy created by the passing of the Honorable Ronald B. Ramsey, Sr.
Governor Kemp endorsed Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones as the next Governor, according to the Savannah Morning News.
In a few Sunday evening posts shared to his various social media accounts, Kemp threw his wholehearted endorsement behind Burt Jones as the lieutenant governor gets ready to face healthcare CEO Rick Jackson in this week’s runoff election.
“Burt Jones has been a strong, trusted ally in those victories for the people of our state,” Kemp wrote. “The hardest part about being governor is making decisions that aren’t always popular or easy. I’ve worked alongside Burt for nearly fifteen years and I’m confident that he will always put hardworking Georgians first.”
Jones expressed his thanks for Kemp in multiple social media posts of his own, calling it an honor and expressing his gratitude for working alongside the governor.
“It’s time we come together as a party, finish strong on Tuesday, and look to November and keep fighting for all the principles, freedoms and values that make Georgia the best state in the nation,” Jones wrote.
Whoever wins the Republican nomination will face Democratic nominee and former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms. Shortly after Kemp’s announcement, her spokesperson TaNisha Cameron released a statement:
“We’re ready to take on and defeat whichever Trump wannabe comes out of this divisive Republican primary. Burt Jones and Rick Jackson are running to enrich themselves as they refuse to fight for Georgians facing rising costs and threats to their health care. As governor, Keisha will focus on bringing down costs, expanding Medicaid, and investing in education.”
LG Jones campaigned in Statesboro, according to the Statesboro Herald.
Speaking to a crowd inside the banquet room of Forest Heights Country Club, the Republican was introduced by State Sen. Billy Hickman. The state’s lieutenant governor, Jones announced his candidacy last year and is endorsed by President Donald Trump. Jones and Trump held a campaign phone call Thursday evening.
In the May 19 primary, Jones took 38.4% of the votes, falling short of the 50% plus one needed to avoid a runoff. Rick Jackson was second with 32.5% and the runoff on Tuesday will decide the Republican nominee to face former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is the Democrat’s nominee to replace Gov. Brian Kemp.
It’s been a costly race on the Republican side, both in terms of money spent and accusations hurled at each other, Jones acknowledged Thursday.
“It’s been a nasty campaign,” he said. “And it’s been very expensive. We’ve had $200 million spent against us. I give us the best chance.”
“It didn’t happen by accident,” he said. “It is because of the grass roots efforts of people just like you and the relationships we have in counties all over the state that we were successful.”
Jones said one of his goals is to eliminate the state income tax and the property tax for homeowners.
“There is a way of doing it, but you have to have the legislature on your side,” he said. “I want to put more money back in your pockets.”
With the governor’s seat up for grabs as Kemp reaches his term limit, and U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff also running for re-election, Jones called Georgia “ground zero” for the national political stage, and added nearly $1 billion could be spent on the Senate and governor’s races.
“They are beatable,” he said about Ossoff and Bottoms. “But if you pick the wrong person, we will lose.”
Governor Kemp and Derek Dooley campaigned in Columbus, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.
Gov. Brian Kemp and U.S. Senate candidate Derek Dooley visited Columbus on Friday, making their case for Dooley to be the Republicans’ best chance to beat Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) as the GOP primary runoff election against U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Jackson) approaches.
Kemp and Dooley, a former college football coach, attended a meet-and-greet event at Scofflaw, visiting with Columbus residents along with local leaders, including state Sen. Randy Robertson (R-Cataula) and Columbus Councilor John Anker, the incumbent who is facing his own runoff against dentist Cathy Cook for the council’s citywide District 9 seat.
“I decided to come because these are Columbus citizens who are engaged in politics,” Anker told the Ledger-Enquirer. “I want to talk about the issues that help the most citizens. That includes you and them and me, and Coach is part of that, if he makes it through this runoff to the November election.”
Robertson has endorsed Dooley. He spoke with Dooley to “reinforce my support for him, to reinforce the character that I’ve seen in him,” Robertson told the Ledger-Enquirer.
“Once he is our nominee, I’m willing to go anywhere in the state of Georgia, anywhere in the United States of America, and stand up for somebody with his character, his energy and in the good that I know will do for the state of Georgia,” Robertson said.
“If you take all the personalities out of the Republican primary, you simply ask the question, ‘Who and what is the right dynamic to beat an incumbent senator?’” Kemp said. “It is political outsiders like Derek Dooley that have done that around the country.”
“We already know what (Ossoff’s) game plan is,” said Dooley, whose late father, Vince, was the University of Georgia’s head football coach for 25 seasons, winning six Southeastern Conference titles and the 1980 national championship. “He’s building up a war chest. He’s hoping Mike Collins, my opponent, wins this nomination so that he can go full attack on Mike’s House ethics charge for abusing taxpayer money or maybe a lot of the inappropriate social media posts his campaign and him has put out.”
President Donald Trump endorsed U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-Jackson) for United States Senate, according to the Savannah Morning News.
President Donald Trump endorsed GOP Rep. Mike Collins over former Tennessee head football coach Derek Dooley in Georgia’s upcoming Republican runoff, as the party looks to defeat Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in November.
““A very successful Businessman prior to becoming a distinguished U.S. Congressman, Mike has brilliantly served his Community, during a career loaded with accolades and wins, always fighting tirelessly for our America First Agenda,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in the early morning hours of his 80th birthday, June 14.
The endorsement of Collins, 58, comes after Gov. Brian Kemp, a longtime Trump target, supported Dooley, a personal family friend and political newcomer. Elected to the House in 2022, Collins finished first in the five-way May primary with nearly 41% of the vote while Dooley won 30% over Rep. Buddy Carter and two other lesser-known hopefuls to advance.
Both Collins and Dooley will face off in a June 16 runoff since no candidate in the five-way Republican primary surpassed the 50% threshold required to face Ossoff in the Nov. 3 general election.
Republicans view Ossoff as a top target to pick up a Senate seat. He is the only Democratic senator up for reelection in the midterms who represents a state Trump won in 2024. The nation’s youngest senator, 39, is the best-funded federal candidate this cycle and leads potential opponents in the polls.
In a post on Truth Social early Sunday morning, President Trump said in part, “Mike Collins is a true Friend, Fighter, and WARRIOR, who has been with us from the very beginning, and has my Complete and Total Endorsement to be your next United States Senator.”
Congressman Collins is facing Derek Dooley in the GOP runoff and President Trump had some comments for Dooley in his post.
President Trump called Dooley a “nice person” but called him out for not voting in previous elections and said, “no one really knows who he is.”
In the social media post, President Trump said, “It is my Great Honor to endorse “MAGA” Mike Collins, a Highly Respected Congressman who has been with me from the very beginning, and is running for the United States Senate in Georgia, a very special place to me, and where we just had a BIG Presidential Election Win with the Most Votes Received by any single Candidate in Georgia’s History, for any Election. Mike is strongly supported by the most Highly Respected MAGA Patriots in Georgia and beyond, and many Republicans in the U.S. House and Senate — He is a WARRIOR and WINNER!”
In the same post, President Trump said of Dooley, “I don’t know Derek Dooley, and neither does anyone else, but he seems like a nice person.” He went on to say Dooley hasn’t lived in Georgia for most of his life and “didn’t vote in 2020 or 2016.”
From the Associated Press via WJBF:
In the closing stretch of Georgia’s Republican U.S. Senate runoff, Rep. Mike Collins celebrated his 11th-hour endorsement from Donald Trump on Sunday and dismissed any ideas that the Republican president’s stamp of approval is a risky bet in a potential showdown with Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff in November.
Trump disclosed his choice of Collins over former football coach Derek Dooley in a middle-of-the-night social media post that praised the second-term congressman for his loyalty.
“I’ve always said that President Trump has this just impeccable ability to put his thumb on the scale at the right time,” Collins said at a campaign stop Sunday in the northern Atlanta exurbs.
Collins called it “encouraging” to have the president’s approval. Looking past Dooley to the potential matchup with Ossoff, the congressman said he planned to invited Trump to Georgia, despite the president’s sagging approval ratings.
“I’d love to have President Trump in Georgia every day, any day he wants to come down,” Collins said.
Dooley responded to the president’s pick by saying Georgia voters do not want “typical D.C. politicians like Mike Collins.” In an X post, Dooley expressed confidence that he’d still win.
With Kemp as his top surrogate, Dooley argues that a first-time candidate has a better shot to defeat Ossoff, the only Democratic senator facing voters in a state Trump carried in 2024.
Kemp was the top choice of Senate Republican leaders looking for an Ossoff challenger. Kemp recruited Dooley, a childhood friend, to run instead.
Both the president and the Georgia governor are now putting their support behind Jones in the state’s race for governor. A GOP gubernatorial candidate who did not make it to the runoff, Chris Carr, endorsed Jackson, while Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has publicly endorsed Jackson as well.
“Burt knows how to get things done as governor because that’s what he has done as a state senator and as your Lt. Governor,” Kemp said.
Kemp said Jones worked with his administration to return more than $9 billion to taxpayers, increase pay and retirement benefits for state law enforcement officers, and support tort reform legislation.
The governor also contrasted Jones with Democrats, specifically referencing former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.
“This fall, Georgians will have a clear choice to make in their next governor,” Kemp said. “I believe Burt Jones will make a strong case to the voters for four more years of conservative leadership that ensures our state’s best days are ahead.”
Rick Jackson will campaign in Augusta today, according to WRDW.
Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson will hold his final campaign stop in Augusta on Monday.
Jackson will visit Daniel Field Airport at 9 a.m.
Monday’s visit will be several that Jackson has made to the CSRA ahead of the runoffs. He’s also made stops in Columbia County.
Two Republicans are vying in the Runoff Election for Public Service Commission District 5, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Augusta Chronicle.
An election on the Republican ballot Tuesday goes to the core of two overarching concerns during this election cycle: affordability and data centers.
The five-member Georgia Public Service Commission does not decide whether technology companies can build their data centers, which consume land to house their computer servers, often use water to cool them and consume copious amounts of electricity to power them.
But the elected commission members’ decisions can affect the companies’ cost of doing business by controlling electricity rates and, by extension, the amount of money that regular customers pay to cool, heat and power their homes and businesses.
Candidates on both sides of the aisle have talked of the need to contain rising consumer bills after a half dozen increases in recent years were blamed for Republicans’ loss of two seats on the commission last year.
The commission can control electricity rates through its regulatory authority over Georgia Power, a monopoly energy producer.
The challenge for affordability-minded voters: how to pick the candidate commission for District 5 who can do more than talk a good game.
Democrats have already settled on their choice, sending Shelia Edwards of Cobb County to the November general election.
Republicans have more work to do, after two of their candidates emerged from a field of three in the May 19 primary.
Engineer Josh Tolbert and businessman Bobby Mehan won the most votes, but neither had the majority required to avoid a runoff.
Tolbert came close, with about 47% of the vote to Mehan’s 31%.
Mehan, of Haralson County, has pitched his executive resume as the right preparation to deliver affordability, saying his former leadership of a small global health care technology company and his current roles as managing partner of a local private equity firm and state mediator have conferred the skills to deliver on an unequivocal promise.
“Throughout this campaign, I have cast a clear vision: no new rate increases,” Mehan said at a Georgia Public Broadcasting debate with Tolbert in late May, repeating a prior promise.
Tolbert has positioned himself as a technical expert, saying his four engineering degrees, including a doctorate in mechanical engineering, combined with his professional experience, including as chief technology officer of a small nuclear power company, make him the best choice to rein in costs.
“I’ve designed power plants. I’m a small business owner that can connect technical choices with economic outcomes. This is expertise the Public Service Commission needs,” Tolbert said at that same debate.
Tolbert said Mehan was offering more of the same policies that allowed Georgia Power to increase costs for its customers in recent years.
The commission approved a half dozen rate increases when all five members were Republican, which may have precipitated the ouster by two Democrats last year.
“My opponent says that what we need is more non-technical people on the commission. But if we approach the problem in the same way we always have, we should expect the same result,” Tolbert said at the debate. “This job is technical. It’s time we send an engineer to do it.”
He said his expertise would empower him to ask insightful and hard-hitting questions that the commission could use in negotiations with Georgia Power to push back against pressure to let the company increase customer bills.
Tolbert said Mehan’s hard line against any rate increase was unrealistic, an empty slogan to win the election.
Mehan said his executive decision-making skills would allow him to judge guidance offered by the commission’s own experts, which he said he would rely upon, and that Tolbert’s approach would be slower than a blanket denial on rate increases.
“If technical scrutiny is what Josh is saying that we require to keep the Republicans in power in this seat, then that sounds like to me, that’s going to be more time. Time is money,” Mehan said. “If affordability is the number one issue to voters, then I think we’ve got to figure out how to do this and do this quickly. … If there’s anything that I’m good at, it’s the top-line growth.”
Both said they like nuclear power as a clean and reliable energy source, but they said new plants would be too expensive to build for the foreseeable future. Both said they back solar power and other renewables, but both also say fossil fuels must remain part of the mix due to their large share of Georgia Power’s portfolio.
Whoever wins the runoff will face an opponent who took nearly 56% of the vote during the three-way Democratic primary. Edwards said her background in writing technical documents for NASA had prepared her to help the commission contain customer costs.
Were she to win, she would flip a longtime Republican seat, joining the other two new Democrats to establish a Democratic majority on the commission.
Edwards said at a Georgia Public Broadcasting debate in April that a commission led by her and the other two Democrats would discourage Georgia Power from requesting unreasonable rate increases.
“We’re taking mothers and children off welfare, but we’re steadily giving these corporations corporate welfare and that needs to stop,” she said. “We have to have those conversations with Georgia Power. And I think they’re going to turn around to be reasonable people when I’m on the PSC as the third vote.”
Two current or recent State Senators are in the Runoff Election on each side for Lieutenant Governor, according to the AJC.
The most heated down-ballot fight may be the Republican race for lieutenant governor, where state Sen. Greg Dolezal and former state Sen. John F. Kennedy have spent months battering each other with negative ads, digital attacks and campaign spots generated by artificial intelligence.
Both candidates are running as conservatives aligned with the party’s base, though Kennedy has emphasized his legal and policy credentials while Dolezal has cast himself as a more combative outsider.
On the Democratic side, State Sen. Josh McLaurin faces former state Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes in a contest that has turned increasingly personal.
McLaurin has criticized Parkes for resigning from the state Senate to pursue higher office. Parkes argues McLaurin lacks the profile to mount a competitive statewide campaign.
The Republican runoff for secretary of state pits state Rep. Tim Fleming, a former Kemp aide with broad party support, against party-switching ex-Democrat Vernon Jones, the former DeKalb County chief executive who has unsuccessfully sought other GOP offices.
Democrats are also choosing a nominee in a closely watched runoff between Fulton County Commissioner Dana Barrett and former judge Penny Brown Reynolds.
Barrett has built her campaign around voting rights and her role in battles over Fulton County’s election system. Reynolds has emphasized her experience as a judge, federal official and voting rights advocate.
Two Republicans meet in the Fourteenth Congressional District Runoff Election, according to the AJC.
Trump hasn’t endorsed longtime congressional aide Rob Adkerson or neurosurgeon John Cowan. Neither have Kemp, U.S. Rep. Brian Jack or other party powerbrokers who often help settle intraparty fights.
That vacuum has left both candidates to fight over who can best claim the district’s conservative mantle.
Cowan, who finished first in the May primary, has campaigned as a staunch Trump ally even as rivals have resurfaced some of his old social media posts critical of Trump and U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who defeated him in a 2020 runoff.
Adkerson, a longtime Loudermilk aide, campaigns as the race’s more reliable conservative and has lined up support from prominent local Republicans.
Legislators in Special Session beginning this week will work to replace the state’s vote counting procedures in time for November’s General Election, according to the Associated Press via WJBF.
When Georgia lawmakers return to the Capitol this week for a special session, they are expected to try to clean up an election mess of their own making.
The election system used throughout the political battleground state relies on a QR code printed on ballots to tally the votes. Legislators passed a law two years ago barring the use of that barcode for the official vote count beyond July 1 of this year, but no replacement method of tabulating votes was ever implemented.
One of the instructions Republican Gov. Brian Kemp laid out for lawmakers when he called the special session is to “address issues created” by that law. Meanwhile, the secretary of state’s office and the State Election Board have further muddied the waters by issuing conflicting guidance for county election officials about how votes should be cast and counted.
If the issues are not resolved soon, there is likely to be confusion and possibly litigation over the state’s elections after July 1. A special election to fill a U.S. House seat is scheduled for that month.
Georgia’s current election system was first used statewide during the 2020 primary. After the general election that year, when Republican President Donald Trump narrowly lost the state to Democrat Joe Biden, Trump and his supporters claimed without evidence that the machines had deleted or switched votes.
Trump’s backers continued to complain about the touchscreen voting machines, with some loyalists espousing wild conspiracy theories. Election integrity advocates also criticized the machines, saying they are vulnerable to hacking and that voters cannot be sure their selections are accurately reflected because people can’t read QR codes.
Republican lawmakers in 2024 tried to address those concerns by passing a law banning barcodes for the “official tabulation count” after July 1, 2026. But in the two years since, no other counting method has been adopted. Now, the deadline is fast approaching and a major midterm election looms.
Trump singled out those machines, which are used in at least some counties in more than a dozen states, in his first executive order on elections shortly after he took office for his second term in January 2025. That order has been blocked by multiple courts and is not being enforced.
Last month, Kemp announced a special legislative session, scheduled to start Wednesday, to draw new congressional maps for the 2028 elections and to address the QR code issue.
It’s possible that lawmakers could extend the deadline in the law to allow the QR codes to be used for now and give themselves some breathing room to come up with a new system before elections in 2028. But in the waning hours of the regular legislative session earlier this year, they rejected a proposal that would have done that.
Even if lawmakers agree on a solution, it might be tough to implement before a special election to fill the remainder of the term of U.S. Rep. David Scott, who died in April. The special election is set for July 28, with early voting beginning July 6.
The secretary of state’s office last week issued guidance to election officials in the six counties included in that congressional district. The office says it’s preliminary and subject to change based on any developments from the special session.
The ballots will be run through the scanners, which will read the QR code to generate the election night vote count. Then, before county certification, electronic images created by the scanners for each ballot will be uploaded to a server, where optical character recognition software will be used to tally the votes using the human-readable text. The results of that second process will be the official tabulation count.
The secretary of state’s guidance expressly says counties must continue to use the current election system, including the touchscreen voting machines, and that there is nothing in the law that authorizes the use of hand-marked paper ballots for in-person voting.
The State Election Board weighed in two days later with conflicting guidance. Board members argued the plan proposed by the secretary of state is not authorized by law.
The board passed a resolution instructing counties on what to do if the special legislative session does not result in an extension of the deadline for using QR codes. The resolution directs counties to use their emergency backup, which calls for hand-marked paper ballots with scanners used to count voters’ selections.
When asked about the conflicting guidance during the election board meeting, Elizabeth Young, a lawyer with the state attorney general’s office, said that while the guidance is not binding, “obviously it would cause confusion for elections superintendents if they are getting differing instructions from two agencies, both of which have some authority over what they’re doing.”
The election board has been controlled by a Trump-aligned majority and is often at odds with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican who is a frequent Trump target.
Henry County in Atlanta’s suburbs is one of the counties where voters will go to the polls for next month’s special election. Axiver Harris, interim elections director, said the county is aware of the conflicting guidance and is awaiting further clarification from the state.
“Given the uncertainty surrounding the guidance currently available, we believe it is wise to wait for further direction to ensure that any decisions made are consistent with state requirements and election administration best practices,” he wrote in an email.
Marcye Scott, who is running in the special election to serve the remainder of her late father’s term, said she is not sure most voters are even aware of the issue and is focusing her attention elsewhere.
“My goal is to get people to the polls, get my people to the polls and get them to vote for me,” she said.
But Carlos Moore, another of the six candidates running in the special election, said he is worried about legal challenges if a new method of vote-counting is implemented without enough time. He hopes lawmakers extend the deadline to allow the use of the QR codes for now.
“I would ask that legislators do the right thing, leave well enough alone for the special election,” he said. “Otherwise, it’s almost certain there will be challenges in court.”
Columbus voters will elect a new Mayor, according to the Ledger-Enquirer.
The runoff for the mayor’s race is between former city manager Isaiah Hugley, who received 45% of the initial round of votes among six candidates May 19, and Columbus Councilor Joanne Cogle of District 7, who finished second with 25%. Mayor Skip Henderson couldn’t run for re-election because city law limits the mayor to two four-year terms.
In a June 8 Facebook post, lawyer Chris Breault, who finished third with 13% of the vote, endorsed Cogle.
Licensed professional counselor Jaketra Bryant, who finished fourth with 9% of the vote, told the Ledger-Enquirer she isn’t endorsing either of the mayoral runoff candidates.
U.S. Army veteran and S&J Contractors co-owner Steve Kelly, who finished last with 3% of the vote, told the L-E he endorses Cogle.
U.S. Army veteran and former Columbus police officer Mark LaJoye, who finished fifth with 5% of the vote, declined to answer whether he endorses either of the mayoral runoff candidates.
Becca Zajac and Laketha Ashe meet in a Runoff Election for Columbus City Council District 7, according to WTVM.
Last month, Zajac received 45.2% of the vote and Ashe came in second with 37.7%. Both candidates said they are working to reach more voters this time.
Augusta voters will elect a Mayor and other local officials, according to the Augusta Chronicle.
Voters in Richmond and Columbia counties will head to the polls on June 16 to decide election runoffs, including the races for Augusta mayor, both county commissions, and key Georgia GOP contests.
Richmond County voters will decide the Augusta mayor’s race and the District 8 seat on the Augusta Commission.
In the May 19 general primary and nonpartisan election, incumbent Mayor Garnett Johnson received 16,313 votes (42.8%), followed by Steven Kendrick with 13,531 votes (35.5%).
In the District 8 commission race, Evett Williams led with 2,453 votes (48.36%), while Michael Cioffi placed second with 1,923 votes (37.91%).
Columbia County’s District 1 commission seat, contested between two Republicans, will also be decided.
Alex Griffin led the May 19 primary with 2,578 votes (45.54%), followed by Bobby Timmerman with 2,129 votes (37.61%).
Candidates made their final pitches ahead of Tuesday’s runoff for the Georgia primary at a GOP candidate breakfast in Richmond County.
Candidates included Augusta Mayor Garnett Johnson, who is running for re-election against Steven Kendrick. Josh Tolbert is running for public service commissioner against Bobby Mehan. Shane Claffey spoke for Burt Jones, who is running for governor against Rick Jackson.
Johnson said Augusta could be more efficient and effective for its voters.
“We went through a process called a charter review committee,” Johnson said. “In my opinion, they made some delivered promises and changes that should be made in my next term. I’m going to make sure that those changes are implemented. We are going to ask the voters to decide and how to make Augusta better.”
Kendrick ran for mayor in 2022. He said some of his goals are to conduct an operational audit of city departments to find inefficiencies and to provide tax relief to neighbors, saying the city is not bringing in enough revenue.
Athens-Clarke County voters will elect a Mayor, according to the Athens Banner Herald.
The nonpartisan race pits former ACC commissioner Tim Denson against current Commissioner Dexter Fisher, the two candidates who emerged from a field of five in the May 19 election with the highest number of votes.
Besides the mayor’s race, voters will also decide two seats on the council that ended without a winner. Incumbent District 9 Commissioner Ovita Thornton is facing challenger Tracy Smith, while the District 5 seat, without an incumbent, is a race between Kimberly Bennett and Craig Topple.
In a key GOP runoff, two men are seeking the party’s nomination for the state Senate District 46 seat. Marc McMain and Doug McKillip are staging a race to represent the party in the November General Election.
Rome City Commissioners will meet to discuss property tax relief, according to WRGA News.
The Rome City Commission will discuss a referendum regarding a penny sales tax that will offset property taxes on homesteaded properties during a called meeting on Monday.
The resolution will ask the state legislative delegation to introduce local legislation for Floyd County during the 2026 special session of the Georgia General Assembly to have a referendum to let voters decide on a local homestead option sales tax.
The LHOST was created by the legislature during this past session and allows local counties and municipalities to levy a 1% sales tax dedicated entirely to subsidizing and reducing property taxes for homesteaded properties.
Last week, the Floyd County Commission approved a similar resolution, and county attorney Chris Jackson explained more.
“It’s an opportunity for voters to consider a different method to reduce the homestead property tax,” he said. “This tax relief, or tax shift, would be a shift in favor of, specifically, home-owned properties that are your primary residence.”
Last year, Floyd County voters defeated a floating local option sales tax, which would have gone to reduce property taxes.
This LHOST is different.
While both sales taxes provide property tax relief, the LHOST prioritizes homestead properties by providing these properties an exemption first, with general property tax rollback only if excess funds exist.
Comparatively, all FLOST revenue would have been used for general property tax relief, rolling back the millage rate applicable to all properties in the jurisdiction.
Monday’s called Rome City Commission meeting begins at 9 a.m. at Rome City Hall.
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