Author Archives: Tammy Joyner

Georgians interminably entangled in the parole system may finally have a chance at getting on with their lives through an early end to probation under a bill headed to Gov. Brian Kemp’s desk. Senate Bill 105 creates a uniform path to getting more Georgians serving supervised felony probation quickly through the system and out of the […]

Legal challenges against Georgia’s new law governing voting procedures are ramping up in earnest. Six multicultural civil rights groups filed a lawsuit against the state Sunday night to block enforcement of SB 202, an omnibus bill signed last week by Gov. Brain Kemp that some argue suppress voting rights in the state. The plaintiffs, which include the […]

Georgia’s battle to overhaul its elections process is headed to court. Hours after Gov. Brian Kemp signed a sweeping, controversial elections bill into law Thursday, voting rights groups filed a lawsuit in federal court in Atlanta. The 35-page complaint says minority voters will be harmed by the new legislation, which, plaintiffs say, illegally suppresses voters’ rights and […]

A comedian and a pair of nonagenarians are bringing a little levity to Georgia’s battle over voting rights. In two separate videos, the three Georgia women urge Georgia legislators to vote down Senate Bill 202, a new omnibus bill introduced last week to replace an earlier one. The new bill seeks to ban people from giving food and […]

The Ragin’ Cajun is back. We last checked in with national political strategist James Carville in January when he did a post-mortem of the 2020 presidential election and January’s twin senate runoff races which hoisted Georgia into the national political spotlight. In typical Carvillian fashion, the Georgia-born, Louisiana-raised lawyer gave his assessment of Georgia Republicans’ […]

In a highly-unprecedented move, a coalition of civil rights and grassroots groups ramped up pressure on Georgia’s top corporations to get them to oppose voter suppression bills in the Georgia legislature. The group led by Black Voters Matter called on the leaders of AFLAC, Coca-Cola Co., Delta Air Lines, The Home Depot, Southern Co., and […]

In a highly-unprecedented move, a coalition of civil rights and grassroots groups ramped up pressure on Georgia’s top corporations to get them to oppose voter suppression bills in the Georgia legislature. The group led by Black Voters Matter called on the leaders of AFLAC, Coca-Cola Co., Delta Air Lines, The Home Depot, Southern Co., and […]

As Georgia grapples with its controversial election reform, a massive federal voting rights bill has cleared a key hurdle and, If passed, would usher in the most comprehensive changes in the U.S. electoral system in more than a half-century. The nearly 800-page H.R. 1 For the People Act of 2021 passed the U.S. House of […]

By Tammy Joyner Georgia has been recognized by a federal election commission for its use of enhanced security measures and innovations during last year’s presidential election. The U.S. Election Assistance Commission cited the Georgia Secretary of State office’s use of line-monitoring technology to track wait times at polling places during early-voting and to address technical […]

By Tammy Joyner Former President Donald Trump faces his second impeachment trial today with yet another investigation hanging over his head. Georgia’s Secretary of State announced Monday it was investigating Trump’s Jan. 6 call pressuring election officials to overturn the state’s 2020 presidential election results. Officials launched the investigation after George Washington University law professor […]

America’s main path to Democracy is under siege. More than 100 voter-suppression bills have been introduced in 28 states – including Georgia – in the wake of record voter turnout in the 2020 presidential election, according to the Voting Roundup 2021 study by Brennan Center for Justice. The 106 bills noted in the Brennan study […]

By Tammy Joyner Atlanta media — notably TV stations — is estimated to have brought in more than $350 million from campaign spending during the presidential election and this year’s senate runoff races, making it one of the most profitable election cycles in recent memory. Definitive numbers on how much candidates and outside groups spent on campaign ads […]

Georgia lawmakers are calling for a national push to set term limits on Congress. Two resolutions – Senate Joint Resolution 28 and House Joint Resolution 39 – were introduced Tuesday calling for a national convention to propose term limits on House and Senate members.  SR28 is sponsored by Sen. Bill Cowsert and HR39 is sponsored […]

By Tammy Joyner State Republican lawmakers have introduced a group of election-related bills that, if passed, could make it more difficult for some to vote in Georgia. The eight senate bills seek to end automatic voter registration and ballot drop boxes, require photo IDs to get an absentee ballot application and an excuse to vote […]