On #NationalVoterRegistrationDay, Georgians targeted directly by Gov. Brian Kemp for working to turn out voters are calling out his history of voter suppression.
Commissioner Olivia Coley-Pearson and Mayor Nancy Dennard were arrested and investigated, and acquitted.
THREAD.👇
Olivia Coley Pearson, the first Black woman elected to the Douglas City Commission, faced 3 investigations by the State Election Board (chaired by Kemp) for helping a first-time voter understand how to use a voting machine. She was acquitted of all charges.
After 2 trials, Commissioner Coley-Pearson's name was finally cleared.
To recap — Commissioner Coley-Pearson was criminally charged for helping a first time voter in Coffee County.
Coffee County is the very same county that a fake Trump elector helped Trump campaign operatives access voting machines the same day a voting system there was breached.
Former Quitman Mayor Dr. Nancy Dennard was part of a group of Black women known as the Quitman 10+2 who then-Secretary of State Kemp launched an investigation against after they organized to flip the majority-white school board.
Kemp sent armed investigators door-to-door in Black neighborhoods to arrest and charge the women, despite having no evidence of voter fraud. After 4 years of facing charges over small “breaches of absentee ballot procedure,” all charges were dropped.
Brian Kemp has consistently taken action that detrimentally impacted the ability of voters of color to cast a ballot.
Georgians, listen to Commissioner Olivia Coley-Pearson and former Mayor Nancy Dennard — check your voter registration status before the October 11 deadline and make a plan to vote early: GeorgiaDemocrat.org/vote
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NEW: Today, the Republican Party is pushing a judge to jail Fulton County commissioners.
Why? They refuse to vote to appoint two far-right election denial activists to the Fulton County Election Board who have a history of undermining elections.
Here's what they had to say. ⬇️
Fulton County Commissioner @TheDanaBarrett:
When I ran for a seat on the county commission I never thought I’d be facing jail time for doing my job – but here we are. Elections are under attack all across this country.
@TheDanaBarrett .@TheDanaBarrett: One of the main reasons I ran…was because I am committed to defend the integrity of our elections in Fulton County -- the largest urban county in a swing state and a critical county in the fight for the future of our democracy.
Trump just announced a new executive order – he wants to use federal power to control elections.
This is a dangerous power grab and part of Republicans’ plan to rig 2026. ⬇️
Here’s what Trump says about the coming executive order:
–Eliminates mail voting
–Bans drop boxes
–Restricts absentee voting
–Strips states of authority to run elections
This puts elections under federal control – opposing the Constitution, which says states run elections.
Putin said you can’t have an honest election with mail voting – Trump said on August 15 when discussing their meeting. (video @atrupar)
Then, Trump announced an executive order to eliminate mail voting.
Reminder: Trump voted by mail as recently as 2020.
But that’s not what the Supreme Court seems to think.
Their next ruling could empower states to block millions of Americans from voting. ⬇️
For generations, courts have been a place Americans can go to block discriminatory voting laws and maps.
But, as @AllegraLawHardy + @JoyceWhiteVance write, the Supreme Court has dismantled the Voting Rights Act – and now may make it harder to even access the courts at all.
The Supreme Court could soon gut the Voting Rights Act (VRA) in a way we’ve never seen before.
A federal appeals court says only the Department of Justice can enforce the VRA’s key protections.
SCOTUS will hear the case. If they agree, most cases disappear where DOJ won’t act.