Category: Democracy

When it comes to keeping Georgia’s election process honest, Garland Favorito is one of the toughest advocates and critics. Favorito has been rattling the nerves of many Georgia political elites for 15 years while testing the mettle of the state’s election system. The retired information technology professional is co-founder of VoterGA, a nonpartisan election integrity nonprofit with […]

This fall, Georgia lawmakers will take up the crucial task of redrawing political boundaries and maps that will determine how and who you get to vote for in future elections. The decennial duty ultimately decides federal representation for your state as well who sits on your county commission, city council and school board. While state […]

Waiting in long lines for hours to vote could be a thing of the past if just-introduced federal legislation becomes law. On Thursday, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, a state already known for its innovative approach to voting, introduced the People Over Long Lines or POLL Act. The bill requires governments to guarantee every voter has a […]

Expect lawsuits to abound once lawmakers finish redrawing political boundaries sometime this fall. “I think there’s going to be a fair amount of litigation on the back end,” Marina Jenkins, director of litigation and policy at the National Redistricting Foundation, told Atlanta Civic Circle. “The greedier the legislature gets, the more they open themselves to litigation.” The […]

Waiting in long lines for hours to vote could be a thing of the past if just-introduced federal legislation becomes law. On Thursday, Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, a state already known for its innovative approach to voting, introduced the People Over Long Lines or POLL Act. The bill requires governments to guarantee every voter has a […]

Expect lawsuits to abound once lawmakers finish redrawing political boundaries sometime this fall. “I think there’s going to be a fair amount of litigation on the back end,” Marina Jenkins, director of litigation and policy at the National Redistricting Foundation, told Atlanta Civic Circle. “The greedier the legislature gets, the more they open themselves to litigation.” Read […]

With a stroke of his pen, Pres. Biden on Thursday made June 19th – or Juneteenth – the nation’s 12th national holiday. Passage of the Juneteenth Independence Day legislation recognizes June 19, 1865 as the day enslaved Blacks in Galveston,Tex. were told they were released from chattel bondage. That pronouncement 156 years ago came more […]

With the start of summer just days away, Atlanta Civic Circle has compiled an assortment of books for your reading pleasure. Community organizers, educators and politicos alike helped us assemble an interesting selection of books on democracy. Make sure to pack a few as you head off on vacation or bring one out for an afternoon of […]

A nationally-renowned expert on redistricting gave a grim prognosis for the outcome of Georgia’s redistricting later this year. This year is the first time in more than half a century that Georgia and other southern states will be redrawing their political maps without federal oversight. Read the full story on Atlanta Civic Circle.

While Americans watched the nation undergo a massive metamorphosis last year, Clayton County community organizer Alaina Reaves was experiencing a political baptism by fire. At 32, Reaves is the youngest of the eight-member Georgia delegation to the Democratic National Committee, which has a total of about 400 people. She had a clear vantage point of her […]

Halfway through 2021 and you’re still trying to figure out how you can make a difference after a year of divisive national politics and protests and endless global turmoil? Your best bet is to get to know your community and its resources. It’s the surest way to zero in on what will motivate you to […]

A Texas-based business group is suing Major League Baseball saying the organization had no right pulling its All-Star Game and Draft event from Atlanta in protest of Georgia’s new election reform law. The 21-page lawsuit, filed Monday in federal court in New York by the Job Creators Network, calls for the MLB to return the All-Star […]

More than 400 voter-restriction bills were considered in 47 states during the 2021 legislative session, according to a new Democracy Docket report. To date, some 25 Republican-sponsored bills, including one in Georgia, were signed into law. The legislative session is rapidly coming to a close nationwide. Read the full story on Atlanta Civic Circle.

Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said Thursday the steady vitriol on social media didn’t influence her decision not to run for re-election. “It really did not. I, thankfully, have a lot of discipline as it relates to social media,” the mayor said during a conversation she had with former Secretary of State Condolezza Rice. “Even […]

Atlanta labor leaders, community groups and unemployed workers are protesting Gov. Brian Kemp’s recent decision to end supplemental federal unemployment aid. Last Thursday, Kemp said Georgia will no longer participate in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, which provides an additional $300 a week to Georgia’s unemployed. The PUA, which supplements unemployment pay, will end June […]

For the first time in 40 years, Georgia will not get any new congressional seats based on the latest federal census count. As a result, political power could shift in some Georgia counties when Georgia lawmakers begin redistricting later this year. The Urban League is hosting a series of one-hour town hall meetings beginning this week […]

The Jan 6 insurrection in The U.S. Capitol was a decisive stress test for American democracy. What can be done to reimagine and revitalize the tattered concept? What are the most critical elements of a healthy, strong, inclusive democracy in America? Some of the nation’s top political minds will try to answer those questions and […]

Betsy Fish has never been to Georgia, but that didn’t stop the Reno, Nev. high school teacher from launching a fundraiser to help Atlanta-area businesses affected by Major League Baseball’s decision to take its All-Star Game and Draft event elsewhere. The MLB left Georgia in protest over its new election reform law that some say will […]

One in four Georgians under supervised felony probation now qualify for early release from probation under a new reform measure signed into law on Monday. The measure is expected to save Georgia $34 million a year — money that normally would have been spent supervising people who qualify for early termination. Going forward, more people […]