Will Georgia Overturn our Election?

Fever Dreams

Lately, I’ve been waking up wondering if what is happening around us is really real. A virus that sneaks around spreading itself without symptoms, mixed with conspiracy theories of massive election manipulation make me keep hoping that one day, I will wake up and everything will be normal again. This all just feels like we are living in some strange fever dream.

But the agonizing reality we cannot avoid is that virus deniers continue to knowingly spread a killer virus, and angry citizens are making death threats against public servants who are doing their duty by our constitution.

A Tale of Two Senate Committee Meetings

Last Thursday two Senate Committee Meetings met. Both meetings dealt with election integrity, but the meetings were as different as night and day.

Government Oversight Committee: Speakers invited to the Senate Committee on Government Oversight included Georgia Secretary of State’s staff as well as staff from various County Election Offices. Election Office staff were unable to attend because they were still busy completing President Trump’s requested recount of votes. The format of the meeting allowed legislators to ask questions of staff.

The presentation by the Secretary of State staff was an impressive description of several of their more than 250 investigations of election irregularity complaints. For example, many of these reports were made by voters who showed up to vote in-person and were surprised to be told they had already received an absentee ballot. Upon investigation, most of these voters had forgotten that they had “checked the box” to automatically receive a ballot for the next election. These checks in our system are there to prevent people from voting multiple times. These reported “irregularities” actually helped to prove that the system worked to deter and avoid voter fraud.

Judiciary Committee: Speakers invited to the Senate Judiciary Committee included members of Trump’s legal team, led by Rudy Giuliani, and several witnesses who weren’t from Georgia and appeared via “Zoom.” The two main points Giuliani made during the six hour meeting were that Georgia’s November election was fraught with extensive fraud and that the election didn’t follow Georgia election law.

Legislators were incorrectly told that according to federal law, which they claim supersedes state law, legislators can call their own special session to choose electors. They believe that they can bypass Georgia’s constitutional requirements that a special session must be called by the Governor or 60% of the legislature. Furthermore, Giuliani stated that a simple mistake such as a voter being allowed to cast a vote in a county that has not been that voter’s primary residence for at least 30 days is an example of the legislature’s election law not being followed — and that alone is enough to disenfranchise millions of Georgia’s voters by choosing a different slate of electors.

Giuliani’s team presented numbers that were impossible to believe, for example claiming tens of thousands of ballots were cast by underage voters. But the Acting Chair of the Judiciary Committee didn’t have any staff members there from the Secretary of State’s office to address these claims, or answer the questions of legislators.

Several legislators in attendance, many of whom were not actually members of the Judiciary Committee, made closing remarks that voiced support for calling an immediate special session. Sen. Elena Parent (D) pointed out how witness affidavits described seeing things that looked suspicious, but many of these concerns have been easily addressed by experts who know the entire election process. Sen. Parent concluded we lack the actual evidence for taking further action.

Sen. Bill Heath (R), Chair of the Senate Committee on Government Oversight, warned his colleagues to be careful about taking legislative action they might later regret, pointing out that perhaps some of the witnesses were not telling the entire truth.

Sen. William Ligon (R), on the other hand, who chaired Thursday’s Judiciary Committee meeting (but who is not the appointed chair), is now circulating a petition requesting that a special session of the legislature be called by Tuesday, Dec. 8th.

We are in a very serious situation. All legislators are getting bombarded with very angry emails and calls and are under tremendous pressure. Administrative assistants are being cursed. But saying something happened doesn’t mean it’s true. I’m left to wonder if they aren’t the ones in the grip of a fever dream. Giuliani, at least, was coming down with COVID-19 when he visited our Capitol without a mask last week.

Now, it is more important than ever that we are watchful, aware, and informed. We must be vocal and active in our support for our elected officials who have been threatened, and we must work hard to remove the chokehold on our democracy. We must speak up against this attempted coup because it is corrosive to our democracy.

Make your plan to vote in the run-off, and don’t just assume that other people around you are planning to vote because they voted before. There are lots of distractions right now, so spread the word to everyone you know to vote as soon as possible. Our country needs every one of us.

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Election results and Runoff Information

It’s Time to Make the Catch

The day the election was called for Biden, my daughter texted me an audio recording of cheers spontaneously erupting from the balconies of midtown apartments. A wave of joy moved through the city, followed by a collective sigh of relief. People described how four years of stress suddenly left their bodies. For many, it meant the nightmare was over.

But for those of us who pay closer attention, we know it’s not over. Not only will he not concede, but the damage of division has left deep scars. We must count all the votes again, and possibly again after that. The eyes of the nation are upon us, as the balance of the U.S. Senate depends on us to get our people out to the polls, again.

Life has been too full lately. Too dramatic. Too angering. Too joyous. Too confusing. Too sad. Too lonely. Too much.

This weekend I grabbed a set of binoculars and watched a great blue heron. If you want to see a heron do something, you must wait quietly, because they can stand still for a very long time. I admired how its neck both coils up, and stretches out tall and straight. How its feathers drape around its body like a designer feather boa. How its strong, slightly webbed toes claw into the earth to steady its body.

I saw the heron catch a fish and eat it. Then it flew off in its linear formation, with its neck tucked up and its legs straight behind.

Be still for a moment and catch a second breath.

And then let the work begin, again!

Here’s Where it All Stands

State Senate 40: Did I mention that I was reelected to serve as the Senator of the 40th distinct, with 60.5% of the vote? Thank you for all your help in this success! I am honored to serve another term.

Biden Votes: After all the votes were cast and counted, Biden won Georgia by about 14,000 votes. This is actually a larger margin than he has in Arizona, which ended up being around 10,000 votes.

The Recount: The hand recount is now underway across Georgia. I’ve been watching a live webcam of the vote counters in DeKalb county, and it looks like a very neat and orderly operation. Every vote and all of the counting is checked by a second person. Plenty of monitors are watching to make sure there are no shenanigans. We are all proud of Sabrina Rahim, Senate 40 resident and poll worker, who was hired as a vote counter and is giving us reports each day. Here’s what she had to say after Day One: “I have a lot of confidence in the process. We had observers and monitors, many from the Carter Center. No one worked alone. No one could have cheated even if they wanted to. It was quite remarkable how streamlined the entire system was.” Let’s hope Sabrina’s observations are true all over the state.

I know the idea of a hand count makes us all nervous due to potential human error or dishonest actions, and since the hand count is the final certified count. But please remember that the new voting system is also being evaluated with this hand count, and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger does not want his expensive new machines to fail. The hand count also serves as an audit of the QR code that was scanned to count your vote.

I consider Trump’s criticism of our recount an assault on all our voices and a threat to our democracy. He has called the recount, which he requested and is not paying for, a scam, because we are not matching signatures. Trump doesn’t seem to understand that our votes are secret. I also find Governor Kemp’s silence on this matter very distressing.

Run-offs and Absentee Ballots: Three state-wide races were pushed into runoffs — Warnock, Ossoff, and Daniel Blackman, who is running for the Public Service Commission. Early voting begins for these races on December 14th, culminating on Election Day January 5th. Request your absentee ballot NOW for this election, and get others to do the same. This is a race that will be decided by turnout. Don’t assume people will vote — tell them the importance of bringing balance to the U.S. Senate by electing two Democrats here in Georgia, explain how to get a ballot, and encourage them to use a dropbox.

The Georgia Legislature: Sadly, we did not get the gains we wanted in the Georgia Senate or House. We gained three seats in the House, but lost the Minority Leader’s district, Rep. Bob Trammell. Republicans targeted his district with over a million dollars of negative campaigning. We will miss Rep. Trammell. In the Senate we gained one seat. Later next year, when the legislature convenes in a Special Session for redistricting, we will need grassroots volunteers to scream loudly with an anti-gerrymandering message.

What you can do: For four years now many of us in DeKalb have been helping to build up the DeKalb Democratic Party, and we are ready for this moment, so please volunteer and donate to the DeKalb Dems if you can. There is a “Take Back the Senate ALL CALL” Tuesday night, Nov. 17th from 7 – 7:30pm. There are 500,000 registered voters in DeKalb, and the county votes 82% Democratic. DeKalb alone has the power to swing the U.S. Senate back into balance!

Remember to tell your friends to request their absentee ballot NOW at https://ballotrequest.sos.ga.gov/ 

I will be co-hosting a fundraiser for Daniel Blackman for Public Service Commission on Friday, Nov. 20th at 5pm. Here’s his website – you should check him out. If you’d like to register for the event, please do so here, and donate at https://actblue.com/donate/daniel-for-georgia-1.

Warnock and Ossoff are also accepting contributions. Ossoff, due to the national spotlight of the 6th District Congressional race in 2017, has a funding base, but Warnock is not as well known in politics, so he could probably use more local help.

Remember that blue heron I mentioned?  He quietly waited for just the right moment to catch his dinner. Thousands of people across Georgia have been working quietly behind the scenes for years, just to prepare for this moment. We are ready to make the catch! Please do what you can to help us.

Photos by John Boydston. Follow him on Instagram – @johnboydstonphoto

Photos by John Boydston. Follow him on Instagram – @johnboydstonphoto

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If we win, what next?

If you are like me, you are feeling extremely anxious right now. Will voters be safe Tuesday? Are we going to win? When will we know? If we do win, how are Trump and his followers going to react?

As we fasten our seat belts for this wild ride, remember that we are all in this together. Take a moment to ponder with me your answer to one very important question —

What if we win? What if we take the Presidency, the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House?

We must not think our work is finished. We must prepare to work even harder to bring about the change our country so desperately needs.

We’ve built an incredible network of grassroots advocates over the last four years, but we need to keep our eye on the prize.

We didn’t build our network to defeat Trump, and we didn’t build it to elect Democrats.

We built it to ensure everyone has healthcare and quality public education, from cradle to career.

We built it to enact environmental policies that reverse global warming and save our earth from harm.

We built it to pass gun safety laws, to close the income equality gap, and to bring about racial justice.

Don’t expect policy changes to happen quickly just because we elected candidates with “D”s after their names. We, the People – the ones who put our leaders in power – must lead our communities to progress.

And if we are loud enough, the leaders we elected will follow us.

We must push our leaders to act decisively and boldly. We have so much damage to our nation, our processes, and our people to repair.

First, we must communicate with our elected officials that now is not the time for status-quo. The Republican party has taken a chainsaw to our government, and we cannot allow them any further opportunities to destroy our democracy. We will not turn a blind eye nor compromise on issues critical to our survival.

Second, we must insist that our elected officials respond first to us, rather than the powerful corporate lobbyists who hang out in the halls of our Capitol.

Many pundits are estimating that we’ll only have a narrow window of two years to get our most important work done. History has shown that two years into a new administration, the House can shift back. The first year, we must restore trust, get the virus under control, and a vaccine rolled out. And to demonstrate the government can work for the People, we also must enact progressive economic policies to deal with the economic impact of the virus, like enacting a minimum living wage, no-interest small business loans for entrepreneurs, especially entrepreneurs of color who have been hit hard by the pandemic. We need bailouts for daycares, and subsidies for childcare for working parents and all caretakers, to allow everyone to get back to business. We need paid leave so workers can stay home when they are sick, or need to care for sick family members. And we need healthcare for everyone.

If We the People remain focused and active in civic life, we can help make sure our politicians do the work we need them to do now, and this will in turn help them get reelected. It will help us heal the rifts in our communities. 

We know that some Trump supporters, who have believed every lie they have been told, will continue to feel fear, hatred, and anger if we win.

We cannot and will not tolerate hateful actions, threats, and violence.

We must also ignore the far right’s attempts to bait us. This may mean we walk past former friends, family members, and colleagues with whom we disagree vehemently, or who we feel have hurt us through their support for Trump.

We will have a job to do: we must work even harder than we did to win these elections. We must double down to promote and protect human rights, justice, and equality for everyone in our communities.

We will make sure our voices are louder than conspiracy theories, hate, and corporate interests. We will make sure our democracy stays a democracy that reflects the will of the People.

So first, make sure you and all your friends vote so that we have a chance at winning. Then, think about what you will do next to help us move forward if we win.
Photograph credit, Tina Gutierrez, my friend from college. Check out her social justice photography, as well as her amazing underwater photography.

https://www.tinagutierrezartsphotography.com
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The Medicaid Expansion That Wasn’t

Kemp Doesn’t Care

Last week, Governor Kemp stood before the steps in Georgia’s capitol, with Trump’s CMS appointee Seema Verma by his side, to announce the federal government’s approval of his Medicaid Waiver Plan.

The Governor’s slickly worded presentation almost had me believing that he could cure Georgia of its 1.4 million uninsured. He spun a pretty good tale of how “millions and millions” of additional Georgians would benefit from lower health insurance premiums as a result of his plan. But the small print revealed he was selling us snake oil instead.

Gov. Kemp’s waiver only addresses a small fraction of Georgia’s uninsured – at a platinum price.

What Does Governor Kemp’s Plan Waive?

Elimination of the HealthCare.gov Enrollment Portal: First, the Governor’s waiver will ban Georgians from using the HealthCare.gov website to shop for ACA health coverage plans. Instead of one-stop shopping on the federal portal, Georgians will be required to visit the websites of numerous private brokers to compare various ACA plans. This means these brokers may offer additional non-ACA compliant plans to unsuspecting purchasers. Kemp called HealthCare.gov “simply awful,” but failed to point out that the Trump administration has been sabotaging the website ever since he took office in 2016 — by cutting marketing & education funds and removing helpful links.

Reinsurance: Second, the Governor’s waiver includes “reinsurance” for private plans on the ACA marketplace. In other words, the government will pay the big, expensive claims so private companies don’t have to. This corporate subsidy is meant to lower ACA plan premiums for consumers who purchase plans on the healthcare marketplace. This could work, but allowing brokers to simultaneously steer healthier people into cheaper plans with less coverage would negate any benefit reinsurance has to offer. And as we have seen time-and-time again, government paid corporate subsidies are rarely passed along to consumers, but instead tend to turn into profit that lines the pockets of CEOs.

Medicaid Expansion: The Affordable Care Act allows states to expand Medicaid, and Kemp’s waiver expands Medicaid to 100% of the Federal Poverty Level, instead of the 138% called for in the ACA. Although it is commonly believed that anyone can get Medicaid if they are poor enough, this has never been the case in Georgia. Currently, to qualify for Medicaid, you must be disabled, a parent receiving cash aid, or a low-income pregnant woman, child, or elderly person.

According to the Governor, his waiver makes Medicaid accessible to about 50,000 additional low-income people, but with substantial strings attached — these Georgians can only keep their Medicaid IF they document 80 hours of qualified work activity per month. Kemp not only leaves out 350,000 uninsured people who could qualify under full Medicaid expansion, but ensures that people who are too sick to work, home caring for sick family members, or who lose their jobs, also lose their healthcare.

Kemp’s Medicaid Expansion – Too Little, Too Late

A 2019 Atlanta Journal Constitution poll found that 71% percent of Georgians support Medicaid expansion. Yet, last week Governor Kemp belittled Medicaid expansion, calling Democrats’ support for this idea a “bumper sticker plan for healthcare reform.”

Then, he claimed the Democrats’ plan costs too much. He admits his waiver plan will cost $218 million, yet the legislature had a fiscal note prepared last year that said full Medicaid expansion would cost only about $200 million – $18 million less than Kemp’s plan.

Full Medicaid expansion is matched with federal dollars at a higher rate than partial Medicaid expansion — dollars that can help our rural hospitals, add jobs, and expand our healthcare workforce. More healthcare workers and solvent community hospitals are desperately needed to help fight COVID-19.

Kemp also doesn’t want us to remember that our federal tax dollars have already paid for Medicaid expansion. And right now, all that pre-paid taxpayer money is finding its way to 39 other states who HAVE expanded Medicaid, including some under Republican leadership.

Let that sink in. Kemp is so averse to helping Georgians in need that he’d rather throw your tax dollars at other states.

What Should We Do?

Over and over again, for the last 30 years, I’ve watched profit come before healthcare. I’m sick and tired of this imbalance, and millions of Georgians are literally sick because of it. Governor Kemp and his fellow Republicans insist on market-driven, profit-based healthcare because they just don’t care who gets trampled in favor of corporate interests.

Our government should work to ensure that basic human needs are met with the same energy that it uses to foster a profit-driven economy.

If Governor Kemp actually listened to all of his constituents, he’d find that not everyone is happy with their private plans. In some cases monthly premiums and deductibles are so high, people can’t afford to visit a doctor. Access to healthcare is often disrupted while insurance companies and doctors argue about contracts. And even though the legislature has talked a good game about surprise billing, they’ve stopped well short of banning the practice.

That’s why my healthcare approach is to provide for a public option, modeled after the popular PeachCare for Kids program. Under this plan, anyone, no matter their level of income or access to an employer sponsored plan, could choose to purchase the PeachCare Public Option. The cost would be not a penny higher than what it costs the government to provide the service. Which incidentally, would be up to 10% lower than the cost of equivalent private plans.

This plan provides a viable alternative for people whose private plans are not working for them. Close to 20 other states are taking a serious look at adopting a public option for healthcare. It’s time Georgia does the same.

While Governor Kemp has been spinning his wheels for 18 months, spending 2.5 million dollars “studying” what to do about the uninsured, millions of people have gone without treatment for health issues that put them at higher risk for being hospitalized or dying from COVID, especially Black people.

And since the Governor’s plan doesn’t go into effect for another 8 months (July 2021), even the small number of Georgians this plan is meant to help will continue to go without care through what is expected to be the worst surge yet of the COVID pandemic.

This is no time for Republicans’ approach to “caring,” it costs us too much. Join me in making sure we send a strong message at the polls that our healthcare belongs to us, not corporate interests. Use the remaining days of this election season to make sure the people around you who value decency and democracy VOTE!

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Our Future Has Yet to be Written

Right Now It’s Bad.

For most of my life, I’ve heard the Republican Party spin doomsday scenarios should Democrats gain political control. They’ve claimed the economy would suffer due to higher taxes and big government. Affordable Care Act death panels would hand out death sentences to those unworthy of healthcare.  Al Qaeda would gain influence under Obama. And yet when Democrats won, none of those things happened.

Today is no different. If Biden wins, they say Communism would take root in our country. If people vote by mail, they say voter fraud would undermine our election.  We’re all sick and tired of hearing this false rhetoric.

The reality is, the Affordable Care Act has saved hundreds of thousands of lives simply by making healthcare available and affordable to more Americans. And Bin Laden was taken down during Obama’s administration. And Democrats pulled us out of the Great Depression and the Great Recession.

It seems that Republicans have found themselves caught in a “Chicken Little” loop – if anyone they disagree with is in power, a mysterious and terrible “threat” to their idea of America is at risk.

But the irony is that while Republicans wallow in the doom of what “could be,” a different dystopia is already here: our for-profit healthcare system of “haves” and “have nots” is already choosing who lives and dies. Our citizens are being kidnapped or killed by law enforcement officers and plain clothed para-military. Our economy is in the tank because of the uncontained spread of COVID-19. And right here in Georgia we elected a woman to Congress who is willing to show off military-grade guns in preparation for acting out against other politicians who simply disagree with her ideas.

These atrocities against our Constitution, our human rights, our human decency, and our democracy have happened because of Republican fear mongering.

But the future has yet to be written. 

In Georgia, Republican budgets have cut ten billion dollars from our public schools over the last decade while offering tax credits for private and religious schools. Our Governor is proposing to dismantle access to the national Affordable Care Act website, replacing it with for-profit brokers selling plans directly, including junk plans that rip-off hard working Georgians, leaving them with huge gaps in care in the middle of a pandemic.

By submitting your ballot, you can do something about it.

We can rebuild Georgia’s economy by ensuring that people are safe when they venture out to do business. We can make sure our unemployed have the money they need to live, and the training they need to re-enter the workforce.

We can make sure every Georgian has healthcare.

We can protect our school children from gun violence with gun safety reform.

We can treat undocumented immigrants with dignity, and protect their human rights.

We can end police and criminal justice system brutality against Black citizens through greater social services funding and stronger measures to hold law enforcement accountable for abuse of their power and malpractice.

Any one of these is reason enough to build a better now… and the future will take care of itself.

Give what you can. Make a plan to vote. Volunteer your time, if you are able. We have until November 3rd to save our country.

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Some Voices More Welcome than Others?

I firmly believe that we must have a diversity of voices to ensure a thriving democracy. It follows that to protect our country from tyranny, we must make voting easily accessible to everyone.

Two years ago on election night, my campaign volunteers retrieved vote counts directly from all 48 precincts throughout the district. When totaled, my opponent had slightly more votes, but we knew we still needed to add in the early votes. We did the math, and it was clear I had won. My opponent called to concede, and he pointed out that my winning totals came from early voters—insinuating that if “those people” had not voted, he would have won.

The Republican approach to voting has not changed: their constant voter suppression tactics show they don’t want you to vote unless you are voting for them. And adding to the confusion of the pandemic, Republicans are trying to sow distrust in voting-by-mail.

If Trump wins the election day vote, many democracy experts are concerned that he will try to call the election based exclusively on election day numbers. Those who voted by mail or who voted early risk being marginalized and disenfranchised. If this happens, we must call it what it is, a coup: “a sudden, violent, and illegal seizure of power from a government.”

It’s not an exaggeration to say that this administration already has employed tyranny to achieve its goals. Civil and human rights have been violated when people use their voices peacefully for change. They have been subjected to excessive force from riot squads. They have been pulled into unmarked vans by federal agents. They have been told that if they believe that Black Lives Matter then they are the enemy – simply for exercising their constitutional right to free speech and peaceable assembly.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Trump later calls all early voters and mail-in voters a threat to America.

We must use our vote even if we are worried about the sanctity of our election and its processes. We must make our voices heard so overwhelmingly that they cannot be ignored.

We cannot allow this administration and local Republican leaders to pervert the peaceful exercise of our constitutional rights into “threats” or “anti-American” actions.

Here is what you can do today to help make sure your voice and your vote counts:

Know Someone Who’s Not Registered? Maybe a grandchild, or someone’s girl/boyfriend? Get them registered to vote before October 5th so they can vote in November. I recommend registering on-line at https://registertovote.sos.ga.gov/. It takes 3 to 4 weeks to process and the deadline is October 5, so do it today!

Absentee Ballot Tips: Ballots are beginning to arrive. Now what? Here are some tips from DeKalb Board of Elections Member, Susan Motter. Please share these tips with others. Many people are voting by absentee ballot for the first time.

  1. Read the instructions before completing your ballot!!! And read them again.
  2. Use a black or blue pen.  Do NOT use a Sharpie as it will BLEED through the ballot which is a two-sided ballot.
  3. Completely fill the ovals.  Do not use Xs or check marks.
  4. Tear off the stub at the top of the ballot. This applies to ballots mailed between now and October 16 as these ballots are coming from the SOS vendor in AZ. If you do not tear off the stub, elections staff will spend hours tearing them off as the scanners are unable to scan the length of the ballots with the stubs on.
  5. Insert your ballot in the smaller white envelope and seal it.
  6. Don’t forget to sign the back of the larger return envelope (yellow). Also now is NOT the time to try some crazy new signature or be lazy when signing. Treat your signature with the same solemnity you likely had when you registered to vote.
  7. Return your ballot as soon as possible by dropping it in a secure drop box!

 

Constitutional Amendments, Referendums, and Special Elections 

You’re ready to vote, but what about those amendments and referendums? And what about that Special Election with 21 candidates?

Special election to replace Sen. Isakson: The list of 21 candidates includes Republicans and Democrats. The best chance for a Democrat to make the run-off is to coalesce around a single choice, which is Raphael Warnock. The names are in alphabetical order and he appears near the bottom of this rather long list.

Constitutional Amendment 1: Dedication of Fees.
Through the years, the Georgia General Assembly has passed legislation requiring certain fees to go into specific trust funds. Examples include the Tire Disposal Fee, which is supposed to be used to clean up landfills and dumps; and surcharges on traffic fines, which are supposed to be used for drivers’ education. However, during times of economic hardship, these funds are often diverted into other causes that are considered more urgent. So in essence, the legislature has not kept its word. Amendment One fixes this problem. It proposes a constitutional amendment that would allow legislators to dedicate fee revenue for specific purposes for up to 10 years, at which time it can be renewed. But if there is a financial crisis, the legislature could suspend the fee allocation and free up the revenue to go into the general fund to cover things like education and healthcare. Vote YES.

Constitutional Amendment 2: Waives State & Local Sovereign Immunity.
Government is generally protected by the doctrine of sovereign immunity, which says a citizen cannot sue the government. Amendment Two allows Georgia residents to sue state and local governments to stop unconstitutional laws or laws that violate state law. This constitutional amendment, if passed, reverses a 2017 Supreme Court ruling that required Georgians to seek permission from the government to sue the government. Vote YES

Statewide Referendum: Property Tax Exemption.
Exempts property tax on single family homes built by charities such as Habitat for Humanity. Vote YES

DeKalb Ethics: The DeKalb Ethics Board has been dormant since the Georgia Supreme Court ruled its appointment process unconstitutional. The first attempt to fix this through a referendum would have weakened ethics enforcement and voters accordingly voted it down. During the 2020 session, legislators went back to work and passed a bill that maintains the force of the original Ethics Board. I recommend voting YES.

Gwinnett Referenda: Schools and Transit. Gwinnett county residents will decide whether to extend a one-cent sales tax for schools (E-SPLOST) and a 30-year one-cent tax for transit (T-SPLOST), including extending the MARTA rail line from Doraville to Jimmy Carter Blvd. Vote YES.

City Referenda: Brookhaven residents will decide whether or not to remove term limits for the office of Mayor, and Atlanta residents will vote on extending the $30,000 homestead exemption to homes built on nonprofit land trusts (only a handful of properties are built using this arrangement).

If you appreciate these emails and haven’t donated to my re-election campaign yet, please consider doing so now. Today is an important disclosure deadline and Election Day is around the corner.  I must be able to fend off any attempts by Republicans to reclaim this district. Any amount helps!

From Hazel Segall in Dunwoody: “We all decided that Absentee voting was easy, convenient, secure, COVID-19 safe, and we could wear our campaign swag.”

Senate 40 volunteers appearing from left to right: Debi Shendelman, Alice Wertheim, Hazel Segall, Muriel Knope and Angela Minyard.

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2020’s Last Stand

“Do not get lost in a sea of despair.  Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime.”
–John Lewis, 1940 – 2020

2020’s Last Stand

When the pandemic started last March, we dealt with uncertainty by dividing time into manageable “chunks.” We put off making decisions, hoping a little extra time would bring the magic answers we sought. Somehow, over time, we’ve let go of certainty and settled into a new normal.

Six months have now passed. Spring heated up into summer, and now the crisp feeling of fall is beginning to creep into the air. And believe it or not, six weeks from now, all votes will have been cast, and the direction of our country will be decided for the next four years, and more.

If you’re like me, the closer election day gets, the more my anxiety level soars.

Just as everyone has made a “Plan to Vote,” we also need to make a “Plan to Cope.” The need to take care of your own mental health is very real. Here are some things I find calming.

Visit Nat Silver’s 538 Website: I don’t really trust polls, but Nate Silver came closest to predicting Trump’s win in 2016, so I tend to trust him. The website is updated daily. The predictions look hopeful.

Be good to yourself: And know you are not alone.

Get Outside and Exercise: When the pandemic started last spring, I found a daily walk refreshing. Then it got too hot, but now cooler fall temperatures are rolling in. This fall, I plan to participate in the “Face Mask Run” 5/10K. Not only does it feel good to get outside and walk, you get some really cool swag featuring the “Hope is not Cancelled” logo.

Read a Good Book or Binge on Netflix: I also enjoy escaping real life by reading fiction, and I recommend “The Henna Artist,” written by Alka Joshi, the sister of a friend and campaign supporter of mine.

Turn Off the News: If the news knocks your spirits down, turn it off. This applies to Facebook as well.

Do Something: If you need to volunteer from home I recommend the Georgia Postcard Project. Launched by Senate 40 resident Tricia Gephardt, her goal is to help turn Georgia blue by sending out 250,000 postcards with personal notes written to voters. Last I heard, they have written 200,000!

Pandemic Campaigning

I’ll be honest, campaigning during a pandemic feels like marching in a rain soaked parade. I’ve never liked making videos, and I miss in-person events. But as I’ve always said, it’s time for each of us to get out of our comfort zone, and do whatever it takes to save our country.

Despite the obstacles, we are still getting our message out to tens of thousands of Senate 40 residents.

Our first mail piece reminded voters to not wait until November 3 to vote, and to use a ballot dropbox if voting by mail. The mail postcard was a success, thanks to many of you who helped fund it. One voter contacted a campaign volunteer to say, “I was really dreading trying to figure out how to get an absentee ballot and then figure out what to do with it after voting. The postcard from Sally Harrell with the website made it easy to go to the link, put in the request, and the postcard also informed me about ballot dropboxes. Knowledge is power! Thought you’d want to know since you work with and support her campaign. She’s got our vote.”

In addition to yard signs, handwritten postcards, and campaign literature distribution in apartment complexes, we have several more informative mail pieces going out to voters. We still need help raising the dollars needed for postage, so if you can make a donation, please scroll down to the bottom of this email.

After the Vote, It’s Back to Work We Go!

2021 will be a challenging year for the Georgia legislature and I am prepared to deliver the leadership necessary.

Following the November election, the Governor has said he might immediately call a Special Session. The legislature has no procedure for remote voting, so all sessions will be held In-Person.

We must closely monitor state revenues and write a budget that stimulates the economy so families and businesses can thrive again. It is possible that our regular 40-day session will be spread throughout the calendar year so we can base our budget on actual revenue numbers rather than estimates.

We must continue to work with the Georgia Department of Public Health to control the spread of the virus so schools, long term care facilities, and businesses can thrive. Hopefully this will include rolling out a safe and effective vaccine.

And finally, assuming U.S. Census numbers are ready, we will meet in another Special Session to redraw political districts, from Local School Boards to County Commissions, to Congress. How we approach this will determine the political environment for the next decade.

If there’s one thing people have learned in the last few years, it’s who we elect matters, personally. In the last six months, elected officials have determined if your kids can go to school, whether your unemployment check arrives, how we vote, and how safe it is to go out in public.

When I put my name on the ballot, I made a commitment to the people of Georgia to serve, through good times as well as hard times. We’re in the hard times now, and I remain committed to you, your Senator for the 40th district.

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Do not wait until the last day to vote!

As the most important election of our lifetime approaches, it is critical to get this message out: “Do not wait until the last day to vote!” Request an absentee ballot now, or make a plan to vote early in-person.

I want to get this word out to 20,000 Democrats in Senate 40, but the $10,000 needed for postage and printing costs is not yet in our budget. So far, we’ve raised around $6,000 earmarked for this mailing. For every dollar you contribute, we can reach two more voters. How many voters can you help us reach with this important message?  Use this link to support this mailing: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/sd40-vote-early .

Secretary of State Releases New Absentee Ballot Request Website

If you have not yet requested your ballot for the November election, the Secretary of State’s new website, https://ballotrequest.sos.ga.gov/,  makes it easier. Just grab your driver’s license or State ID number and complete the entire process on-line. No printing, stamps, or emailing. 

If you have already requested your ballot for the November election, you do not need to request it again. If you do not have a driver’s license or state issued ID, you can request your ballot using the PDF on the My Voter Page at https://www.mvp.sos.ga.gov/. 

In Georgia, you must request an absentee (mail-in) ballot for every single election, unless you are over 65 or disabled, and you have checked the box to get ballots mailed to you for the entire election cycle. If you have not done this, or don’t qualify, you must submit a new request each time.

If you have any questions, call the Georgia Democratic Party Voter Protection Hotline at 888-730-5816. 

 

Why use the new website? Your ballot request will be processed by a dedicated vendor instead of your local election office. This will free up time for election staff to train poll workers.

When will ballots be mailed? The mailing of ballots will start September 15th. Please check My Voter Page to track the mailing and acceptance of your ballot. The sooner you sent your request, the sooner you’ll get your ballot.

Why Vote-by-Drop-Box? If you don’t feel safe voting in person, using a drop box ensures your ballot will arrive on time. And, since in-person voting will be crowded, Voting-by-Drop-Box helps shorten the lines so more people can vote. Drop boxes are monitored by 24-hour camera, bolted down, and emptied daily. No postage is required if you drop your ballot in an official ballot dropbox (not a mailbox). For an up-to-date list of ballot drop boxes please see the “Voter Info” page on my website at https://sallyharrell.org/vote/. 

 

It’s Not Too Late to Complete the Census!

Census workers are now masking up and going door-to-door in hard to count areas. Last I heard, Georgia’s total count was 3% behind the national average. And, the President bumped up the final date for door-to-door canvassing by an entire month. Visit https://2020census.gov/en/how-to-help.html, to help spread the word.

 

Virus Spread — Cautiously Optimistic

For several weeks now, I’ve been watching COVID-19 metrics improve. But with school starting back, I figured things would change. However, I still remain cautiously optimistic. The metro Atlanta area appears to be doing much better than the rest of Georgia. Based on my own observations, I find people in the Atlanta area are much better about wearing masks, so I’ve personally come to the conclusion that masks work. Now is not the time to let up on any precautions you are taking. 

 

Healthcare Workers

One of the key factors of making it through this pandemic is protecting our healthcare workforce. This means PPE, but it also means mental health. Our healthcare workers are experiencing trauma, and we must be ready to take care of them now and in the future. I will be working with the Georgia Hospital Association to enact policies to radically support our healthcare workers.

 

Students, Teachers and Parents

The lives of students, teachers and parents of school-aged children have been turned upside down. Parents are managing virtual, at-home instruction while keeping up with full-time jobs. Teachers are working long, exhausting days. Students miss their friends and their “normal” lives. Please reach out and support these families. And thank them for keeping us safe.

 

Finally, if you are able, please make a donation to help us tell 20,000 Democrats, “Do not wait until the last day to vote!”

https://secure.actblue.com/donate/sd40-vote-early

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Vote by Dropbox – Request your Ballot ASAP!

Vote by Drop Box

You don’t need to use the United States Post Office to cast your vote.

Nor do you need to vote In-Person using one of Georgia’s expensive new touchscreen machines.

As Karen Mixon, 1st Vice Chair of the DeKalb Democrats says, “Drop Boxes are one of the most powerful weapons to fight voter suppression in November. Please go ahead and apply for absentee ballot ASAP.”

I agree with Karen, and so do the voting rights advocates I’ve spoken with recently. Order your paper absentee ballot today and plan to drop it in one of the new drop boxes located around the counties.

Delivering your paper ballot to a drop box not only protects your health and your vote — it frees up space during In-Person Voting (October 12 – November 3). The June 9th primary brought out crowds of unexpected Democratic voters who had to wait in lines for hours. The more people who Vote by Dropbox, the shorter the In-Person lines, resulting in less voter suppression.

Please help spread the word to your friends and neighbors to order a ballot now, and use a drop box. 

More on Paper Ballots and Drop Boxes

Where are Drop Boxes located? The State Elections Board issued rules that require Drop Boxes to be placed on county or municipal property with 24-hour video streaming for security. If you live in a city, it’s likely a drop box will be located at your City Hall. The Georgia Democratic Party maintains a list of Drop Box locations state-wide. Keep in mind that you must use a Drop Box located in the county where you are registered to vote.

How do I request a Paper Absentee Ballot? Right now, the best way to request a ballot is through Georgia’s My Voter Page. Enter your name, county and birthday, then click Submit. Look for the link titled “Absentee Ballot Application.” Print it, fill it out, sign it, then either mail or email it to your County Election Office. Call the Democratic Party of Georgia Voter Protection Hotline at 1-888-730-5816 if you have any questions. If you email the application, be sure to double check the email address before you hit send! These ballot requests are processed and mailed from your County Elections Office, and the mailing of ballots begins in mid-September. You can check back on the My Voter Page to get updates about the processing of your request and your ballot after you return it.

DeKalb county will soon be sending Absentee Ballot Requests to all DeKalb voters, active and inactive! Thank you, DeKalb! We expect this will help increase participation, like it did for the Primary election. To my knowledge, other metro counties are not planning on mailing applications to voters.

Also, in a few weeks, the Georgia Secretary of State’s office will unveil a new Absentee Ballot Request Website. Voters will enter their name, birthdate, and driver’s license or state ID number. Ballots ordered through this website will be processed and mailed by a private vendor in Arizona. Voters without a driver’s license or state ID can still use the forms from the My Voter Page to request a ballot from their County Elections Office.

More on Voting-in-Person

Vote-by-Mail utilization jumped from 5% of the electorate to 50% during the 2020 Primaries. This trend is expected to continue. This will help shorten lines during In-Person Voting, which starts on October 12 — just 58 days from today.

If you vote in person, you will be using new, touchscreen machines. These machines produce a printed ballot. Please carefully check that your selections are correct on this ballot. The printout is not a receipt — it is a ballot that must be scanned to tally your vote. Don’t leave the polling place with the printout, or your vote won’t be counted! Unfortunately, the scanner does not read the printed list of names — it reads a barcode that you cannot check. This is one of the reasons I voted against the purchase of these new machines.

If you prefer to vote in person, please vote during the Early Voting period. Don’t wait until the last day, when lines will be much longer.

Volunteer Opportunities at the Polls

It is expected that millions of people across Georgia will cast their votes in person between Oct 12 and Nov 3 this year. During the June primary, there were lots of technical issues that resulted in delays for voters. We need to recruit thousands of people to work the polls in order to reduce delays and make these new machines work as smoothly as possible.

There are many ways you can help if you are able:

Poll Watchers: Poll Watchers are trained and officially certified volunteers who are assigned to a polling place to watch the entire voting process while documenting and reporting any problems observed.

Poll Workers: Poll Workers are hired, trained and paid by your county of residence. Expect to work long days during Early Voting as well as Election Day. Poll Workers are involved in the inner workings of election administration.

The Georgia Youth Poll Workers Project: Recruit your kids and grandkids to help! Polling places were short-handed during the June Primary because many older poll workers could not work due to the virus. The Georgia Youth Poll Workers Project, led by Georgia State University graduate Evan Malbrough, seeks to recruit 5,000 students to be poll workers in the Atlanta area. Sign up here.

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Stop the Evictions

Labor Commissioner Mark Butler Spurns Legislators

This week, Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) Commissioner Mark Butler cancelled his call with the Senate Democratic Caucus, saying:

“Due to threats to protest at the Commissioner’s personal residence by members of the Democratic Caucus and the recent protests that almost started a riot at a GDOL location, we will be cancelling the meeting scheduled for August 5, 2020 at 2 p.m.”

If you had been at the GDOL location like I was, you might have been surprised to see the approximately 50 people attending the press conference described as “protests that almost started a riot,” and no legislators have threatened Butler’s residence.

Meanwhile, the Commissioner has kept the GDOL offices closed to the public since March, and tens of thousands of unemployment claims have yet to be processed. Right next door, the Department of Drivers Services is fully open and serving the public.

I attended the Democratic Caucus-organized press conference in Gwinnett last Wednesday along with constituent Douglas Weinstein and his college-aged son, Jack. A few weeks ago, Douglas called me because he was locked out of his account due to a simple PIN issue. He called the GDOL repeatedly and couldn’t reach anyone to help. Without his unemployment benefits, he didn’t have the gas money he needed to travel to Tennessee to pick up Jack from school. Instead of getting help from GDOL, he found someone with the technical skills to find his PIN in his computer’s cache so he could access his account.

The press conference I went to last week was like many others being organized by Democrats in Georgia – peaceful and constructive. Attendees share the stress of mounting debt and the fear of pending evictions. Legislators explain how they are working hard to try to fix this mess. And the local press spreads the word.

Yet Commissioner Butler calls these rallies “a threat.”

Commissioner Butler doesn’t understand how important it is to our democracy that Georgia’s citizens are heard. He also misunderstands exactly how he is responsible when he allows thousands of phone calls from Georgia citizens to go unanswered. GDOL being overwhelmed is understandable. Being inaccessible is unconscionable.

But it’s difficult to make Commissioner Butler comprehend these issues when he cancels our conference call.

Later in the week, he released another statement to WSB-TV:

“We here at the Georgia Department of Labor are very disappointed in the actions of certain members of the Georgia State Legislature. … we implemented a process for these elected officials to forward information to our office regarding older claims.”

It isn’t working.

I worked directly with the GDOL to design the process, and I have forwarded more than one hundred claimants’ problems to the GDOL myself.

Unfortunately, despite my efforts, many of the same people are calling me back, telling me no one from GDOL ever contacted them. What other choice do I have to make the GDOL pay attention but to stand with my constituents and amplify their voices through the press?

For example, my office has been communicating with a homeless veteran for about five weeks, and we turned in his name and phone number to the GDOL. He still has no benefits, and he told me he had only $2.78 left.

But Commissioner Butler would rather duck and cover than help people like this veteran who served his country.

I called the GDOL legislative liaison and begged for someone to call this man. She said they would, but the veteran tells me his phone has not rung yet. He’s scared to even take a shower for fear he’ll miss the call.

A kind constituent heard the veteran’s story and sent him enough cash to buy food for several more weeks.

Many of you reached out to me when I shared a similar story about a single mom who only had $10 left. I followed up with her, and her benefits did finally come through, so she’s okay.

The GDOL may have abandoned Georgians in need, but we don’t have to. If you are in a position to offer a random act of kindness, like sharing some money, or delivering some meals, please fill out this form (Click here to sign up) and let us know. We will keep a log of “random act of kindness” volunteers. When my administrative assistant, Keridan Ogletree, talks to people in crisis, she’ll let me know if there’s some way you can help.

Never has it been more clear that our leadership either is incapable or unwilling to fulfill their obligations to our people during this extraordinary crisis. Georgia deserves better.

P.S. Even during these trying times, I still need to fund my re-election campaign. The Governor has threatened to call another Special Session of the legislature. If he does, the law says I can’t fund raise while in session. If you can send a contribution now, it will help hold this seat, and I can keep up the “good and necessary trouble.” My campaign relies heavily on small contributions to diminish the power of special interests. If you haven’t given yet, please consider it now! Online contributions make it easy, and every amount helps. Please give what you are able. I promise I will continue to “disappoint” our Commissioner of Labor!

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