Yesterday, while Georgians celebrated the inauguration of President Biden, VP Harris, and Senators Ossoff and Warnock, the GOP-led state legislature quietly announced its committee assignments for 2021 - and those assignments are unacceptable. Let’s break it down: THREAD #gapol
Chair of the Special “Election Integrity” Committee: Rep. Barry Fleming, who helped intimidate Black voters in Sparta and sent police officers to challenge their right to vote. Read about his appalling history of voter intimidation. #gapol nytimes.com/2016/08/01/us/…
On the Redistricting Committee: 5 GOP members who narrowly won reelection in competitive districts who now want to pick their voters to make their districts less competitive. Georgians should be on guard to prevent unfair maps made to benefit politicians, not voters. #gapol
Chair of the Civil Justice Committee: Rep Trey Kelley, arrested last month in connection with a deadly hit-and-run. Despite direct knowledge of the accident, Kelly didn't call 911, leaving the victim on the side of the road for hours into the night. #gapolnorthwestgeorgianews.com/polk_standard_…
Now more than ever, it is clear we must hold our legislators accountable. Together with voters, allies, and volunteers, we must demand they pursue policies that will help our communities, not just their careers. #gapol
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We are joining 16 other voting rights and civil rights orgs in calling for the resignation of Gwinnett County elections chair Alice O'Lenick after she threatened state lawmakers and demanded they make voting more difficult in Georgia to help Republicans win. #AliceMustGo#gapol
O'Lenick isn't even trying to hide her bias against Democratic voters and voters of color in Gwinnett County. She has made clear that her only motivation is pure partisanship, engaging openly in rhetoric that is more suited for a political party hack than an elections official.
County election board members and chairs should celebrate high voter turnout, regardless of outcome, not advocate laws that will benefit one party over the other. It also should be noted that O'Lenick has a history of racist statements on social media. ajc.com/news/local/gwi…
Georgia ranks in the top 10 for states whose economy was hit hardest by COVID. Accommodation, food services, transportation, and the arts sectors have each reported a double-digit decline in economic output. One in four small businesses open in 2019 are now closed.
Last year, 3.9 million Georgians experienced loss of a job or reduced hours and more than 1/3 of unemployed Georgians were out of work for at least 27 weeks. 160,000 were at risk of eviction. Georgia apartment owners lost about $300M due to unpaid rent.
In December — at a time when families were trying to celebrate the holidays — more than 33,000 jobless claims were processed, exacerbating an already difficult year, and marking the highest number of claims since October.
Voting is the cornerstone of our democracy. As GA legislative session convenes, we oppose any efforts to create additional barriers to voting. We oppose all attempts to eliminate no-excuse absentee voting and we oppose any measures to add voter ID laws for mail-in ballots. (1/4)
Vote by mail works. Republicans are offering solutions in search of a problem. Voters of color, young voters/students, low income voters, seniors, & disabled voters will be especially hurt by any new, unnecessary photo ID requirements. (2/4)
When Republicans push baseless claims of voter fraud, push for bills and advocate for policies that make it harder to register to vote, to cast a ballot, and to have that ballot counted, they do even more damage to our already threatened democracy. (3/4)
We should not allow free and fair elections in Georgia to be undermined by baseless and unproven claims of fraud. 1/14 #gapol
Those who have echoed election fraud conspiracies without evidence under the guise of “election integrity” for years have laid the groundwork for this culture of fear and intimidation. 2/14
The Republican Party must shut down their disinformation narratives and conspiracy theories that are endangering the lives of Georgians. 3/14
THREAD: With the @GOP and @realdonaldtrump voter suppression machine in force spreading disinformation on voting in 2020, it is critical we debunk and correct the record without bolstering their platform of lies. Here is some guidance on responding to online disinformation. 1/
Do Not Retweet or Quote Tweet Trump: Doing so will amplify disinformation even if you are attempting to debunk it. Research shows this can be highly ineffective if initial disinformation is also featured prominently. 2/
Do Not Repeat Baseless Vote-By-Mail Information: Voting by mail is safe and secure. We should be expanding access to the ballot, not making it harder for people to vote during a pandemic. 3/
This weekend, Trump launched a $457,000 advertising blitz in 5 markets throughout Georgia. His failed leadership on COVID/economy and the toxic GOP brand in a changed Georgia has put him on the ropes here.
Republicans are scared of the strong Democratic efforts being waged at all levels in Georgia. Don't take our word for it -- @BrianKempGA, Speaker David Ralston, and @sendavidperdue have stated that GA is in play. DC Republicans express "increasing worry."