Confederate General J.E.B. Stuart was mortally wounded on May 11, 1864 at the Battle of Yellow Tavern, near Richmond.
On May 11, 2011, Newt Gingrich announced via Twitter that he would run for President. Two days later, I caught up with Newt at Fincher’s Barbecue in Macon for a brief interview the day he was scheduled to speak to the Georgia Republican Party State Convention.
Happy Birthday to Minnesota, which became a state on May 11, 1858. Y’all talk funny.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Today is the voter registration deadline for the June 9 elections, according to AccessWDUN.
Georgians have until the end of the day Monday to register to vote in the June 9 elections.
Among races on the ballot that day will be primary elections for president, U.S. Senate, U.S. House and the state House and Senate. Some local races are also on the ballot.
Citizens can register online, including anyone who has moved, is new to the state or has recently turned 18. Non-citizens, people convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude or people found mentally incompetent by a judge can’t register.
People can check their registration status, request an absentee ballot or find polling places at www.mvp.sos.ga.gov.
For more information on voter registration, including online registration, click here to visit the Secretary of State’s website.
Yet another federal lawsuit is asking to require that absentee ballots postmarked by election day should count toward the elections, according to the AJC.
The lawsuit challenges a Georgia law that requires absentee ballots to arrive in county election offices by 7 p.m. on election day. Ballots that show up late are discarded, as in 2018 when about 3,800 ballots weren’t counted because they were received after election day, according to state election data.
Filed by the New Georgia Project, a voter registration group, the lawsuit came Friday as the number of Georgia voters who have requested absentee ballots for the June 9 primary rose to a new high of nearly 1.3 million.
I find it hard to argue against that, given that mail appears to be moving glacially these days.
Precinct closure is becoming a problem ahead of the June elections, according to the AJC.
Some churches, senior centers and fire stations are shutting their doors because of the coronavirus pandemic, leaving Georgia voters with fewer places to cast their ballots in the June 9 primary.
Polling places have closed across Georgia, but especially in Fulton County, where more than 30 locations told election officials they’re unwilling to host voters on election day.
The loss of precincts leaves fewer options for voters, increasing the danger of groups gathering to vote in fewer places.
Voting locations in churches are the most vulnerable.
Churches normally serve as 35% of the state’s precincts, but many of them have closed to both parishioners and the public to help prevent the spread of the coroanvirus, according to a statewide analysis of polling places by the Georgia News Lab, an investigative reporting partnership among Georgia universities and GPB News. An additional 27% of precincts are located in schools or municipal buildings, which are more likely to remain open for voting.
Governor Brian Kemp issued Executive Order 05.08.20.01, suspending the requirement that renewals for Georgia carry permits be made within 30 days of the expiration. Here’s the money quote:
ORDERED: That the requirement under Code Seciton 16-11-129 that renewals of weapons carry licenses and renewal licenses must be applied for within thirty (30) days after the expiration of such licenses, is hereby suspended for weapons carry licenses and renewal licenses which expire between February 13, 2020 and June 12, 2020
IT IS FURTHER ORDERED: That applications for renewals of such weapons carry licenses and renewal licenses shall be considered to be for a renewal license if the holder of such weapons carry license or renewal license applies within 120 days after the expiration date on the face of license, and that if the Public Health State of Emergency is Extended, then this provision shall apply to any weapons carry license or renewal license that expires during the Public Health State of Emergency
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has asked for a federal investigation of local officials in the Ahmaud Arbery case, according to the Augusta Chronicle.
Georgia’s attorney general on Sunday asked the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the handling of the killing of Ahmaud Arbery, a black man who authorities say died at the hands of two white men as he ran through a neighborhood.
“We are committed to a complete and transparent review of how the Ahmaud Arbery case was handled from the outset,” Attorney General Chris Carr said in a statement. “The family, the community and the state of Georgia deserve answers, and we will work with others in law enforcement at the state and federal level to find those answers.”
Cobb County District Attorney Joyette Holmes will lead the prosecution of the alleged killers of Ahmaud Arbery, according to the AJC.
Holmes will become the third prosecutor assigned by the state to the Arbery case. Tom Durden, DA of the Atlantic circuit, will step aside. Last week Durden announced he would ask a grand jury to consider criminal charges against Greg and Travis McMichael. The duo cornered Arbery, with the help of third man, as the 25-year-old jogger ran through their subdivision just south of Brunswick.
Brunswick DA Jackie Johnson recused herself, having once been Greg McMichael’s boss. The 64-year-old was charged with felony murder and aggravated assault after he was arrested along with his on last Thursday night.
The case was then assigned to George Barnhill, who is now a subject, along with Johnson, of a federal probe into their investigation of the Feb. 23 fatal shooting.
Last June [Joyette Holmes] became Cobb’s first female and African-American district attorney after Gov. Brian Kemp appointed her to replace Vic Reynolds, who took over as GBI director.
Holmes will face voters for the first time this fall, running as a Republican. Before becoming a judge, Holmes served as a prosecutor under Reynolds and Cobb County Solicitor General Barry Morgan. She’s also operated her own law firm.
In-person Early Voting for Gwinnett County residents begins May 18 for the June 9, 2020 election, according to the Gwinnett Daily Post.
There will be 18 days of early voting in Gwinnett County ahead of the June 9 primary election.
Under the scheduled approved this past Tuesday, early voting will begin May 18 at the county’s elections office located at 455 Grayson Highway, Suite 200, in Lawrenceville, and the Gwinnett County Fairgrounds located at 2405 Sugarloaf Parway in Lawrenceville.
Both polling locations will be open almost every day until June 5. The only day the polling sites will be closed is May 25, which is Memorial Day.
The elections office will open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. The fairground polling site will be open from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays. Both locations will be open from noon until 7 p.m. on Sundays as well.
Four satellite voting locations will open for seven days, starting May 30….
State Rep. Bill Werkheiser (R-Glennville) plans to introduce legislation to name a state park in Reidsville after the late Senator Jack Hill, according to the Savannah Morning News.
“Senator Hill has been a close friend, mentor and an incredible statesman not only to this area, but the entire state,” said Werkheiser, chairman of the House Industry and Labor Committee. “His wisdom and leadership will be greatly missed. The naming of this park will be a reminder for generations of his contributions to this great state.”
House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, Majority Leader Jon Burns, R- Newington and House Appropriations Committee Chairman Terry England, R-Auburn, all voiced their profound respect for Hill and his legacy and their support for the name change.
“Sen. Hill and his wife, Ruth Ann, loved to walk and spend time in this beautiful park in Reidsville,” Burns said. “Jack knew this piece of heaven on earth was one of God’s garden spots. He would be very pleased and honored by adding his name to the park.”
Mark Williams, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, also supports the name change.
“Chairman Hill was a selfless champion for the state of Georgia and its timeless natural and historical resources for nearly three decades,” Williams said. “It is hard to find a greater legacy of someone who prioritized the past, current and future successes of the Department of Natural Resources. We are proud to cement the legacy of the good chairman from Reidsville by naming his hometown state park in his honor.”
The Board of Regents has approved a schedule of pay cuts and furlough for staff, according to the Statesboro Herald.
A regents’ vote Thursday morning “provides authority” for the system-wide budget cutting plan, according to the headline of the University System’s news release.
“Any action related to staffing reductions and furloughs will be based on the final budget appropriation to be approved in June,” the announcement stated. “The Board’s approval allows institutions and the system office to respond to the state’s request for a plan to reduce spending by 14% starting July 1.”
After first referring to what the regents’ vote “allows,” and then to provided “guidance,” Thursday’s University System of Georgia announcement indicates things that the universities and colleges will be required to do, particularly in regard to furlough days.
“The Board’s guidance, to be reflected in each campus plan, requires faculty and staff at all 26 USG colleges and universities as well as the (system staff) to take a minimum number of days of unpaid time off depending on their salary range, with the exception of those with the lowest base salaries,” the release stated.
Whitfield County Public Schools are planning for the 2020-21 school year amid great uncertainty, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen News.
All high school students have personal technological devices for online learning, which began in mid-March due to the new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, [Assistant Superintendent Karey Williams] said. In addition, the year’s final batch of choice board packets have been sent out to families. Choice boards contain various assignments curated by teachers. This academic year ended Friday for seniors and will end Friday, May 15, for all other students.
Whitfield County Schools has already begun forming various plans for the start of the 2020-21 academic term, Williams said. No one knows yet whether staff and students will be able to make a full return to buildings, or if distance learning will be necessary, or if it will be a blend of the two.
The Rome Board of Education is expected to vote on a measure to move forward under the current budget uncertainty, according to the Rome News Tribune.
The Rome City School board will meet Tuesday afternoon to likely vote on a resolution to operate under the Fiscal Year 2020 budget as well as likely discussing contingency plans going into the next year.
The board is expected to vote on a continuing resolution to operate under this year’s budget until a new budget is passed later in the summer, said Superintendent Lou Byars.
The difficulty of this time is they don’t know what their budget will be. Gov. Brian Kemp has directed all state agencies, including the schools, to prepare for 14% of their budget to be cut.
Chatham County District Three candidates replied to questions from the Savannah Morning News in lieu of face-to-face meetings.
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