Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections for June 22, 2026

On June 22, 1633, Galileo Galilei recanted his published theory that stated the sun was the center of the world and the earth was not.

Georgia’s Trustees voted on June 22, 1737 to seek bids for building churches at Savannah and Frederica.

Georgia Whigs voted on June 22, 1775 to join a boycott against British goods. That same day, the Continental Congress approved the issuance of $2 million in debt-backed currency.

The donut was invented on June 22, 1847.

The Battle of Kolb’s Farm was fought near Marietta, Georgia on June 22, 1864.

The United States Department of Justice was established on June 22, 1870.

Judson Lyons, the first black lawyer in Georgia, died on June 22, 1924, according to the Augusta Chronicle.

On June 22, 1944, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed the G.I. Bill.

On June 22, 1970, President Richard M. Nixon signed a law extending the 26th Amendment Right to Vote at age 18 to all federal, state, and local elections.

On February 14, 1779, British loyalists and Patriots exchanged gunfire at the Battle of Kettle Creek, according to the Athens Banner Herald.

The historic battle took place about 9 miles outside what would become the city of Washington [in Wilkes County] on Feb. 14, 1779. About 600 Tories, loyal to the British crown, and about 340 Patriots, fighting for independence, engaged in gunfire.

The Patriots overcame the loyalists and claimed victory in what historians call the most important victory for the Patriots that occurred in Georgia. The cities of Savannah and Augusta had already fallen into British hands before this key battle in the backcountry.

Today, the battle site is a park of about 250 acres that protects the monuments and a gravesite for Revolutionary War veterans. The Kettle Creek Battlefield Association was formed to secure the site, along with assistance from other groups, including the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution.

Memorabilia and artifacts from the battle site are housed at the Washington Historical Museum in downtown Washington.

Also on display are items such as a powder horn and canteen owned by Andrew Pickens, the South Carolina captain whose trained militia fought at Kettle Creek. Pickens fought alongside Col. John Dooley and Lt. Col. Elijah Clarke, the latter for whom Clarke County is named.

The battle, she said, was the only Patriot victory in Georgia that had a direct influence on the outcome of the war.

“There were no Redcoats or blue coats,” Macchia said. “There were no British here that day. It startles some people when you say, ‘they were all Americans.’”

The city of Washington is organizing its July 4th celebration for July 3, a Friday, with a patriotic concert, fireworks, and a reading of the Declaration of Independence by a George Washington impersonator.

Downtown is already decorated with 22 banners on light poles that honor 22 people who were war heroes from Wilkes County, including Thomas Brown, a man who owned a farm at the battle site, according to Macchia. Brown was a Catawba Indian who was half white and lived on a farm at the battle site.

Washington, Georgia is believed to be the first American city named after George Washington, according to the Athens Banner Herald.

Named after George Washington, the city of Washington in Wilkes County is believed to be the first city in the nation that was legally incorporated to honor the nation’s first president. That legal procedure authorized through the state government occurred in 1780.

“For a town of any size, we were the first chartered,” said Robert M. “Skeet” Willingham, an historian and lifelong resident of the city.

But that honor was almost held by another town about 400 miles away from Washington.

The town of Washington, North Carolina, was incorporated two years later in 1782 by the state’s General Assembly. However, this coastal city was established as a community known as Washington in 1776, according to that city’s history.

Today, the city, midway between Augusta and Athens, has a population of about 10,000. The city on its website boasts itself as “The Original Washington.”

American Patriots retook Augusta from the British with the use of the “Mayham Tower,” according to the Augusta Chronicle.

British Loyalist Lt. Col. Thomas Brown and his regiment of rangers had captured Augusta in June 1780 and fended off a four-day Patriot siege three months later.

By May 1781, Augusta remained under British control. But Patriot militia under Brig. Gen. Andrew Pickens and Lt. Col. Elijah Clarke had joined with a mixed corps of Continental infantry and cavalry commanded by Lt. Col. Henry “Light-Horse Harry” Lee to retake the city.

With Pickens blocking British supply lines into South Carolina, Clarke and Lee surrounded and captured Fort Grierson, a secondary British outpost about a half-mile from Augusta’s Fort Cornwallis, formerly Fort Augusta.

When they reached Fort Cornwallis, the British had erected rugged defensive works. The Patriots had only one cannon and few options.

Then Lee got old-school.

Just a month before, Lee helped retake Fort Watson in South Carolina. The Patriots didn’t have the artillery to fire through the fieldworks, so Maj. Hezekiah Mayham suggested building a siege tower similar to those used by medieval armies to scale enemy walls. Patriots built a 30-foot tower, positioned riflemen atop it, and fired down into the fort and over the British battlements to force a surrender.

Lee suggested the same strategy to take Fort Cornwallis. This time, a 6-pound cannon joined riflemen atop a 30-foot tower on June 1, 1781, to inflict heavy damage on the fort for three straight days.

Nothing remains of Fort Cornwallis today, which would have been near the intersection of Sixth and Reynolds streets. Behind St. Paul’s Church, on the city’s Riverwalk, a Celtic cross marks the former site of Fort Augusta.

Some historical accounts record that Brown, the British commander, rejected surrender terms on June 4, which was King George III’s 43rd birthday, waiting instead until June 5 to negotiate.

Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections

On July 1, 2026, Hall County Courts will host a public reading of the Declaration of Independence. From AccessWDUN:

As celebrations are planned across the country for the United States’ 250th anniversary on July 4, Hall County officials will hold an annual ceremony days before the holiday honoring the signing of the Declaration of Independence.

The Hall County Government announced Saturday, June 20, that this year’s annual Declaration of Independence reading will be held from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at Roosevelt Square in Gainesville. This year’s event is being hosted by Hall County Courts.

The event will feature a singing of the national anthem, a presentation of colors by the Hall County Sheriff’s Office and Hall County Fire Rescue Honor Guards and historical impersonators portraying Georgia’s three signers of the Declaration.

One of those signers was Lyman Hall, the namesake for Hall County.

“America’s 250th anniversary provides an opportunity to reflect on the principles upon which our nation was founded and the role Georgia played in securing American independence,” State Court Judge Kelley Robertson said. “We invite residents of all ages to join us as we celebrate our shared history and the responsibility entrusted to us to protect liberty, to preserve justice, and to serve the people.”

The event will be free and open to the public, with parking available in the Main Street and Hall County parking decks in downtown Gainesville. The event will also be livestreamed on the Hall County Government’s website and Vimeo channel.

That article doesn’t actually state the date of the reading. I got that from the County website.

The event is being presented by the Hall County Courts System, the Bench and Bar Committee of the Gainesville-Northeastern Bar Association, and the Northeast Georgia History Center, with support from Hall County Government, the City of Gainesville, and Smith-Hulsey Law, and will feature:

• National Anthem sung by Brooke Morters
• Presentation of colors by the Hall County Sheriff’s Office and Hall County Fire Rescue Honor Guards
• Presentation and reading of the Declaration of Independence
• Historical impersonators portraying Georgia’s three signers of the Declaration: Lyman Hall, Button Gwinnett, and George Walton
• Light refreshments and commemorative giveaways

“America’s 250th anniversary provides an opportunity to reflect on the principles upon which our nation was founded and the role Georgia played in securing American independence,” State Court Judge Kelley Robertson said. “As judges, attorneys and community leaders, we are heirs to that tradition. We are not just keepers of the law—we are its stewards. We invite residents of all ages to join us as we celebrate our shared history and the responsibility entrusted to us to protect liberty, to preserve justice, and to serve the people.”

The event is one of several local initiatives recognizing the upcoming 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. Attendees will have the opportunity to experience a ceremonial reading of the document that helped shape the nation and learn more about the Georgians who signed it on behalf of the colony.

Event Details

Reading of the Declaration of Independence

• Wednesday, July 1, 2026
• 10:30 to 11:30 a.m.
• Roosevelt Square, 117 Jesse Jewell Parkway, Gainesville
• Free and open to the public
• Chairs and light refreshments will be available for this outdoor event
• Restrooms are available in the City of Gainesville Administration Building
• Free parking is available in the Main Street and Hall County parking decks.
• Residents unable to attend in person will be able to watch the ceremony live on Hall County Government’s website and Vimeo channel.

A Gold Star and +5 point awarded to whomever thought to include the locations of restrooms and free parking in the event announcement.

Under the Gold Dome Today

TBD Senate Rules Committee: Upon Adj 125 CAP

8 AM HOUSE JOINT EDUCATION 606 CLOB

8 AM Joint Senate Education & Youth and House Education 606 CLOB

10 AM HOUSE GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS 606 CLOB

11 AM Senate Finance 125 CAP

1 PM Senate Floor Session (LD 4) Senate Chamber

2 PM HOUSE FLOOR SESSION (LD4) House Chamber

The Georgia State Senate passed Senate Bill 3EX by State Sen. Max Burns (R-Sylvania), to extend the use of QR codes on ballots, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Savannah Morning News.

The Georgia Senate passed a measure Saturday that would delay a prohibition on the use of QR codes to tally votes until 2028 and also require hand-counting of the two top races on ballots.

Democrats opposed the measure, in part because they would not have an automatic seat at the table on the committee that will set the standards for new voting machines.

The current machines, which rely on QR-code tallies, will become illegal July 1 under a law passed by the Legislature two years ago.

In the meantime, lawmakers failed to adopt or pay for an alternative system, creating an emergency that led Gov. Brian Kemp to call them back to the Capitol for a special session.

Senate Bill 3EX passed the Senate 33-19, after Sen. Jason Anavitarte, R-Dallas, the majority leader, said, “We’re going to continue to stand with the citizens of Georgia, every citizen, no matter where they’re from, no matter what their walk of life is, no matter their view of election integrity or otherwise.”

Lawmakers had approved removing QR codes from Georgia’s election procedures after backlash following President Donald Trump’s loss in the 2020 election and mistrust among some in the way the state conducts elections.

“They are grappling with the reality that they are going to be forced to toe the MAGA line on elections for the rest of time,” Sen. Josh McLaurin, D-Sandy Springs, the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor, said of his GOP colleagues after the vote. “They’re going to litigate this 2020 election over and over again.”

The bill would establish a nine-member legislative committee to set the specifications, standards and requirements for a new voting system. Members would be appointed by the governor and by legislative leaders, currently all Republicans.

Democrats wanted their own appointments, though Republicans noted that GOP leadership has traditionally appointed Democrats to such study committees.

On the Senate floor Saturday, Republicans added an amendment that would require hand counts of votes in the two races atop a ballot before official certification of the results.

That would require a hand count of presidential and gubernatorial elections, which do not occur in the same cycle, plus another race, usually for U.S. Senate.

Garland Favorito, a vocal critic of Georgia’s digital voting process, said the hand-count mandate would be a first in the state’s history of electronic voting.

“It’s not a perfect solution,” said the co-founder of VoterGA, “but it’s a step in the right direction.”

From Atlanta News First via WTVM:

Georgia senators voted Saturday to delay the state’s deadline to remove QR codes from ballots for two years, approving legislation that also requires hand recounts of top races and sets up a new fight over who will help shape Georgia’s next voting system.

The vote came as lawmakers faced a July 1 deadline, set two years ago, to stop counting QR-code ballots, even though legislators have yet to agree on a replacement system.

The bill, Senate Bill 3EX, would postpone the QR code ban for two years and create a nine-member committee tasked with designing a new voting system by 2028.

Democrats criticized the committee’s structure, arguing the bill does not guarantee them representation on the group that would recommend the state’s next voting method. Sen. Josh McLaurin, a Democrat, said, “The Republican majority couldn’t fix this QR code issue. So it’s time to put the nonsense aside.”

Outside the Senate chamber, activists called for paper ballots. One voter, Sam Carnline, said he arrived before sunrise and lobbied lawmakers, including Democrats, to support eliminating QR codes.

“I want the QR codes off my ballot so I know my voter intent is tabulated,” Carnline said.

The Senate also approved a late addition requiring counties to conduct a manual recount of the top two races on the ballot before election results are certified. Sen. Harold Jones, a Democrat, warned, “When you include this type of provision … you’re inviting chaos.”

Republicans argued the state could handle the changes. The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Max Burns, a Republican, said, “Is the bill perfect? No. Is it good? Absolutely.”

The bill now heads to the Georgia House, where lawmakers could still rewrite it. The next flashpoints are expected to be who gets seats on the new committee and whether the state faces renewed court challenges if the QR code deadline issue remains unresolved.

From Georgia Recorder:

A bill aimed at addressing a looming deadline to remove QR codes from Georgia’s ballots passed the Senate along party lines after a short but contentious debate Saturday.

The measure, which is sponsored by Sylvania Republican Sen. Max Burns, extends the state’s deadline to stop counting ballots by QR codes to 2028, establishes a special committee to help select the state’s next voting system, mandates additional post-election audits on certain statewide contests and requires hand recounts on the two top-ticket races in every election.

“This is a good bill that prepares Georgia for future elections, that secures the elections it will have in 2026 in an orderly fashion and that allows us to do things appropriately,” Burns said as he presented the bill on the Senate floor.

Elections cannot be counted using QR codes after July 1 under current state law, presenting a conundrum for local election officials who use ballot-marking devices that rely on the technology to tally results.

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger told lawmakers in 2025 that updating all the necessary equipment to count elections without QR codes would require roughly $66 million, but lawmakers repeatedly failed to appropriate the funds needed to make the switch ahead of the midterms.

And though Burns’ bill made it through a committee hearing without any changes, it was amended on the Senate floor Saturday to require hand recounts of the top two races for every election before certification can take place and to change the official tally if the original count was found to be “incorrect.”

Burns said a count would be considered “correct” if it falls within a margin of error outlined in state law.

The amendment passed in a 33-19 vote over the objection of Senate Democrats, who argued that hand counts will slow down the certification process in larger counties and could perpetuate election denialism if the results do not exactly align with the machine tallies.

“It sets us up for chaos and I actually believe that is the intention here,” Senate Minority Whip Kim Jackson, a Stone Mountain Democrat, told reporters. “Republicans are baking into the process an opportunity to create doubt in November, so that they can contest what we know will be a blue wave.”

Democrats also continued to protest their lack of inclusion on the special committee tasked with advising lawmakers on what to consider in the state’s next election equipment.

“To have us completely shut out from this process [at] such an important moment in time is despicable and it’s fundamentally anti-democratic,” Jackson said.

Gov. Brian Kemp announced the special session in May, calling lawmakers back to the Capitol to address the QR code issue, along with other topics like property tax cuts and ratifying this year’s gas tax suspension. He also urged them to consider redrawing congressional and state legislative districts for 2028 in the wake of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that diluted a key provision of the Voting Rights Act, but Republican lawmakers in both chambers ultimately backtracked on those plans.

Democrats also voiced hope that the Senate’s changes could be removed by the House as lawmakers consider the bill further.

“I have full confidence that Speaker Burns will try to put at least some of this nonsense behind us, and I hope that he sends back a clean bill that the Senate Republicans can finally accept,” said Sandy Springs Democrat Sen. Josh McLaurin, who is also the Democratic nominee for lieutenant governor.

Burns’ office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The bill could be heard in a House committee as soon as Monday.

Meanwhile, in the State House, Democrats voted against a raft of local bills on property tax relief, according to the Capitol Beat News Service via the Savannah Morning News.

For a second time this year, Democrats in the Georgia House rejected a Republican plan to reduce homeowner property tax bills.

The Democrats’ argument was unchanged from their refusal to support a similar GOP tax plan earlier this year: a sales tax to subsidize homeowner property tax bills would have raised prices on everyone for everyday necessities, from baby formula to school supplies.

“The no-vote today is a vote for no new taxes,” said Rep. Tanya Miller, D-Atlanta, on Saturday, the third day of a special session. She called the Republican proposal, which would have let 67 communities put a 1% sales tax on the ballot, a “bait and switch.”

Republicans contended that fast-rising property tax bills have become unaffordable and that their approach would have helped.

A penny-on-the-dollar sales tax would have saved homeowners in Gwinnett County $250 million and homeowners in Forsyth County at least $60 million, said Rep. Shaw Blackmon, R-Bonaire, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

It is “the kind of relief that could have helped some residents stay in the homes they own,” he said.

Blackmon was in charge of crafting the chamber’s approach to affordability during an election year when the issue is a top concern.

During the regular session, he had proposed House Resolution 1114, which would have put a constitutional amendment on the ballot statewide asking voters if they wanted to pay more in sales tax so homeowners could pay less in property tax.

Republicans have a majority in the House and Senate, but constitutional amendments require a two-thirds majority. Democrats rejected HR 1114.

Then, in the waning hours of that regular session, the Senate devised Senate Bill 33, which splintered the same idea into local votes by each community. The bill passed because it did not require a two-thirds majority, and Gov. Brian Kemp signed it into law in May.

Kemp then called lawmakers back to the Capitol to deal with lingering election issues and added the local sales tax question to their agenda.

The catch: although SB 33 did not require a two-thirds majority, each local bill it authorized did. Democrats remained opposed on Saturday when local legislative delegations brought their measures to a vote as a package in the House.

There were only three such measures in the Senate, and Democrats there denied each one a two-thirds majority, as well.

The sales taxes would have driven up costs for shoppers, Senate Minority Whip Kim Jackson, D-Stone Mountain, said after the vote. “Whereas only those who are lucky enough to afford a house will see any relief,” she said.

Republicans had pointed out that tourists pay sales taxes too. They did not point out, however, that the revenue would have subsidized only the local government portion of the tax bill and not the school portion, which is typically the largest share.

The disagreement promises to be a potent election year issue.

Democrats will argue that the scheme was illegal from the start.

Miller, one of the Democrats who spoke against the measure in the House, is her party’s nominee for state attorney general. She argued after the vote that as a product of the Senate, SB 33 was unconstitutional because tax legislation must originate in the House.

But Republicans contended that Kemp signed it, so it’s legal. And Rep. Scott Hilton, R-Peachtree Corners, said the Democratic Party “deep down knows” the sales taxes would have been popular among voters if the measures had appeared on their ballots.

“But voters are being denied that chance right now. Denied the chance to have a more affordable life, to be able to afford their home, to stay in their homes,” he said. “Today, Democrats have denied that chance.”

From Atlanta News First via WALB:

Impasse is an understatement.

The debate over property tax relief got so heated during a rare Saturday session of the General Assembly, House Speaker Jon Burns had to issue a stern warning to lawmakers from his dais.

In front of legislators was a familiar plan: reduce property taxes and offset the lost revenue by increasing local sales taxes. The GOP-led effort allowed local cities and counties to put the measure, if they decide, on their 2028 ballots to let citizens vote on it.

It was what Republicans had tried — and failed — to do at the beginning of the regular legislative session several months back.

For those municipalities that decide to put the measure on their ballots should Senate Bill 33 pass, an affirmative vote from citizens would create a floating local option sales tax, just one penny for every dollar spent on retail items, to make up the revenue lost by decreasing property taxes. Republicans say it’s a simple way to let homeowners overwhelmed by ballooning property taxes to have their own say in the matter.

“It is again our opportunity to trust the wisdom of people in counties and cities across this state,” said Rep. Shaw Blackmon, a Bonaire Republican, who sponsored the measure in the House.

“Every dollar that comes into that county or city must be offset on the property tax, so this is not new spending, it’s basically an offset,” said Moultrie Republican Rep. Chas Cannon. “That’s why it’s separate from the SPLOST or the TSPLOST or the LOST. You can buy things with that penny. This penny you can’t go out and buy an item, you have to reduce property taxes by the same amount.”

But Democrats urged their colleagues to consider the impact of a new tax, especially on those who are not homeowners. And they fretted over what lost revenue could mean to cities and counties already operating police, fire, water, sewer and other essential government services on a shoestring budget.

“You keep hearing the word over and over again, offset, offset, offset,” said Rep. Sam Park, the Democratic House minority whip. “What do you need to offset if you’re otherwise going to take away money that goes to local services?”

“Not everyone is a homeowner,” said House Minority Leader Rep. Carolyn Hugley of Columbus. “We have a responsibility to all our citizens. And so when we say, we’re only are concerned about homeowners, what about people who are renters? What about local business people? When you shift the taxes around, it’s going to go to them. So we have to be fair to everyone.”

Ultimately, the House took no further action on SB33 on Saturday other than reading it to a nearly-empty chamber for the first time, a procedural step.

Democrats also hinted at possible legal action should the measure pass, noting that all revenue related legislation has to originate in the House, not in the Senate.

They also accused Republicans of using the ballot referendum element of the bill to drive voters to the polls in 2028 during the next presidential content.

“This is all about turning out voters in November. That’s what this is about,” suggested Hugley. “Because there is no urgency here.”

From Georgia Recorder:

House Republicans are attempting to pass a wave of local property tax measures during an ongoing special session that would allow communities to vote on whether to raise their sales taxes to give homeowners a tax break.

But Democrats have so far successfully blocked the effort, stymying GOP lawmakers from putting the question before voters this November. They argue the change represents a new tax that shifts the burden of paying for local services from homeowners to lower income Georgians – and they question the rush to put it before voters this year.

An attempt to pass dozens of local property tax measures failed Saturday in both the House and Senate, but Republicans say they aren’t giving up. Lawmakers will be back Monday for a special session that has no set end date.

“We still have a chance to get this right,” said Rep. Shaw Blackmon, a Bonaire Republican who has led the House GOP’s efforts to target local property taxes.

House Republican leaders have prioritized property tax relief this year, saying it is needed to curb rising property taxes and help people who are struggling to stay in their homes. They unsuccessfully pushed to eliminate local property taxes statewide earlier this year, instead settling for a last-minute compromise that Democrats say is unconstitutional because of how it was passed.

The ongoing special session was originally called to redraw Georgia’s political maps – although those redistricting plans were abandoned – and to address a looming deadline for the state to stop using ballot QR codes to count votes. Gov. Brian Kemp later opened the door for lawmakers to tee up local property tax referendums.

Dozens of referendums are in the works for communities all across the state, from Fannin County in north Georgia to Lowndes County in south Georgia.

“We missed an opportunity to help our neighbors today,” said Rep. Gerald Greene, a Cuthbert Republican who had sponsored several tax referendums for south Georgia communities.

Republicans control both chambers of the Legislature, but since the measures involve homestead exemptions, they need two-thirds support to pass. That means Democratic votes are needed in both chambers.

“Today what we witnessed once again was Republicans cosplaying a care for affordability in this state,” said Rep. Tanya Miller, an Atlanta Democrat who chairs the minority caucus and is the party’s nominee for attorney general.

“What they are trying to do is a bait and switch. What they propose today was nothing more than a tax increase on the people who are already hit the hardest,” she said, referring to the sales tax.

Republicans criticized Democrats for denying communities a chance to decide for themselves whether to lean more on sales tax revenue to offset property taxes on homeowners.

“This bill is very simple. It’s giving voters the chance to vote to lower their property taxes. Give voters that chance to do that,” said Rep. Scott Hilton, a Peachtree Corners Republican.

“I believe the minority party deep down knows this would overwhelmingly pass if put on the ballot, but voters are being denied that chance right now, denied the chance to have a more affordable life, to be able to afford their home, to stay in their homes,” he added.

House Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley, a Columbus Democrat, said GOP leaders are manufacturing a crisis by pursuing the tax measures during the special session instead of waiting until lawmakers return for their regular session in January.

She framed the proposed local tax referendums as a GOP ploy to turn out conservative voters in November.

“There is no reason for us to rush through this,” Hugley said. “The other thing is that you’re asking people to raise a sales tax on themselves so that homeowners can get a relief. You’re picking winners and losers, and that’s not what we should be doing here.”

From the AJC:

More than 90 bills have been filed in this week’s special legislative session by Republicans to allow voters in counties and cities across Georgia to raise sales taxes by one penny, with the proceeds used to lower or eliminate property taxes on primary residences.

But the bills require a two-thirds majority vote in the House and Senate, and nearly every Democrat voted against advancing the bills in the House. A motion to approve 66 of the bills failed by a vote of 95-67 — far short of the 120 votes needed to pass.

More than 90 bills have been filed in this week’s special legislative session by Republicans to allow voters in counties and cities across Georgia to raise sales taxes by one penny, with the proceeds used to lower or eliminate property taxes on primary residences.

Saturday’s votes were the latest skirmish in a monthslong battle over how best to grant tax relief. Earlier this year, legislators agreed to spend $850 million to offset local property taxes.

Republicans want to go much farther. House Speaker Jon Burns has proposed eliminating property taxes on “homesteads,” or people’s primary residences.

Lawmakers ultimately approved a scaled-back proposal that allows voters to raise sales taxes to lower taxes on homestead properties. As written, the law would allow such referendums beginning next year, with the proceeds offsetting property taxes beginning in 2028.

But this month’s special session gave Republicans a chance to put the referendums on the ballot this November. Among the bills defeated Saturday are those that would authorize November referendums in Cherokee and Walton counties. Bills also have been filed for similar referendums in Gwinnett, Fayette and Forsyth counties, plus other counties and cities across the state.

Democrats said the push for votes this year amounted to a political stunt, given that the property tax relief wouldn’t start until 2028. And they say the bills benefit some Georgians at the expense of others, including renters and small business owners.

“Your asking people to raise sales tax on themselves so that homeowners can get relief,” House Minority Leader Carolyn Hugley, D-Columbus, said. “You’re picking winners and losers.

Saturday’s votes won’t be the last. House Republicans plan to push to reconsider the vote on the property tax bills on Monday.

Rain may have suppressed voter turnout in Albany, according to the Albany Herald.

Enthusiasm for the Tuesday general runoff election was not evident in Dougherty County, with turnout coming in at 10.51% of active voters participating.

Lee County actually had stronger turnout for early voting, Dougherty County Elections Supervisor Ginger Nickerson said of the county with a strong Republican leaning. There were also local school board races on the Lee County ballot, while no local elections were on the ballot in Dougherty county.

A rainy day also depressed Dougherty County turnout, Nickerson said.

“A lot of people don’t vote when it’s raining,” she said. “People don’t do a lot of things when it’s raining.”

Some of that enthusiasm north of Dougherty County was likely due to the Republican race to replace outgoing Gov. Brian Kemp, who cannot seek a third term because of term limits.

As expected, Democratic turnout was heavier in Dougherty County, with more voters casting ballots in the Democratic runoff for lieutenant governor, at 3,682, than were cast in the Republican governor’s race, with 2,388 choosing Republican ballots.

In Dougherty County, 6,160 turned out for the runoff, including votes cast on Election Day and during early voting, out of 58,633 registered voters in the county. More than 1 million voters cast ballots statewide in the runoff contests.

Democrat Adrienne White won the Special Election for the Senate seat vacated by former Sen. Nabilah Parkes (D-Gwinnett), according to the AJC.

Democrat Adrienne White defeated GOP opponent Aizaz Shabaz Shaikh for the District 7 seat vacated by former Democratic state Sen. Nabilah Parkes in March. Parkes resigned to run for higher office.

The district, which stretches from Peachtree Corner to just north of Lawrenceville, has been comfortably Democratic since 2022, but Democrats worried the seat would flip to Republicans because the race would be decided in last week’s primary runoff election.

Democratic voters didn’t have a governor or U.S. Senate runoff on their ballot to incentivize voters to show up like Republicans did.

Instead, they turned to grassroots organization: door knocking, phone banking and even offering rides to the polls. And it worked.
White won by a 2-point margin, beating Shaikh by just under 400 votes.

Expecting low turnout from Democrats, Gwinnett County Republicans had a rare opportunity to win the seat back but fell short by 374 votes. But Republican state Rep. Scott Hilton, who lives in the 7th district, does not see this as a loss.

“I view last night as a win for Republicans,” he said Wednesday. “We outperformed in a Kamala (Harris) +14 seat against a serious investment from the Democrat side in trying to hang on to that seat.”

Hilton thinks they may have another chance of flipping the seat come November.