State may sue Justice Department

State officials are contemplating their next move in election law, after the U.S Supreme court ruling this week left section 5 of the voting rights act in place. That’s the section requiring Georgia and 15 other states to get pre-clearance for any voting law changes.

Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel had hoped the high court would strike down section 5 of the voting rights act.

That would have meant the state could enact a new law requiring proof of citizenship when registering to vote. Now Handel has to send what’s know as SB86 for approval to the Justice Department.

That same Justice Department told Georgia in May that a procedure the state used last fall to scan registered voters for citizenship requirements did not pass muster.

Handel is now considering whether to sue the Justice Department says Deputy secretary of state Rob Simms.

“We’re juggling a few balls right now.” Simms says, “and one thing is abundantly clear. It’s Secretary of Handel’s opinion that these verification programs are necessary and vital.”

Simms says Handel has been meeting with the Attorney Generals office and will make a decision soon on whether to file a lawsuit.

Reactions to Voting Rights Act Ruling

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue says he's disappointed by a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that keeps alive the Voting Rights Act. Perdue, a Republican, filed a brief to join a Texas case that challenged a section of the statute as an outdated provision that was crucial to protect voting rights during the civil rights era but is now unnecessary. The section requires all or parts of 16 states to get Justice Department approval before making changes in the way elections are conducted. It was designed in the 1960s to prevent racial discrimination at polling places. Perdue says he looks forward to the day when the provision is declared unconstitutional or "applied to all 50 states rather than singling out a few."

(Associated Press)

Justice Department Says Georgia Citizen Voter Check Illegal

The U.S. Justice Department says Georgia can no longer screen it's data base to see if newly registered voters are indeed citizens.

The department sent a letter to state officials charging that the system used by the Secretary of State's office discriminates against minorities. Hispanics and African Americans, the letter says, are more likely than whites applicants to be flagged for additional scrutiny.

Secretary of State Karen Handel, who is running for the republican nomination for Governor, condemned the decision. She says she will find a way to make sure all registered voter in Georgia are citizens. Not doing so, she says would open the floodgate for non -citizens to vote

Scam Hits Corporations

There is a scam circulating in Georgia. Secretary of State Karen Handel warns corporations her office received numerous complaints about solicitations sent from a firm called “Compliance Services.” The firm offers to complete corporate meeting minutes on behalf of Georgia corporations for a fee. It implies that it's required to hand in meeting minutes. Georgia corporations are not required by law to file corporate minutes with the Secretary of State. Additionally, Compliance Services is not registered with the Secretary of State’s Corporations Division to do business in Georgia.

Sec'y of State Handel in Gubernatorial Run

Secretary of State Karen Handel says she’s running for governor.

The race to replace Governor Sonny Perdue in 2010 is shaping up to be a crowded Republican field. Lt. Governor Casey Cagle and State Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine have already announced their bids and built up their campaign funds.

The only Democrat in the race so far is David Poythress, a former commander of the National Guard. House Minority leader Dubose Porter says he’ll announce his intentions after the legislative session.

(Associated Press)

Fulton county owes FedEx for ballot deliveries.

Fulton county owes Federal Express more than 300 thousand dollars for sending absentee ballots by overnight delivery. They needed to arrive in time for voters to cast ballots in the Nov. 4 election.
Secretary of State Karen Handel had ordered the county elections office to rush delivery when she saw a backlog of applications days before the election.
The Atlanta Journal-Consitution reports that the county hired Federal Express, which delivered about 4,000 ballots.
County elections officials say the county s trying to find out if the ballots were counted. The county also is trying to negotiate the delivery cost.
In a letter sent Oct. 31 Karen Handel accused Fulton County voter registration officials of failing to process absentee ballot requests and send out ballots in a timely manner.

(Associated Press)

Handel to report Fulton County election officials

Fulton County elections officials are in hot water with state officials over uncounted ballots. Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel says she will report county officials to the state election board. The reason—sending workers home while thousands of ballots remained un-counted earlier this week. Handel says the tally of more than 30,000 absentee ballots could have been finished had workers not left early Wednesday morning following a long election day Tuesday. Fulton County officials say workers needed the rest. Fulton has key ballots important to the determination of the U.S. Senate race not yet tallied.

Handel responds to Powell ruling

Secretary of State Karen Handel says she’s concerned about future impact of a Thursday ruling by the Georgia Supreme Court. In a decision concerning Democrat Jim Powell and whether he should be removed from the ballot in his District-4 candidacy for a Public Service Commission seat, the state’s top court says his name should stay. The court says Handel "committed an error of law" when she disqualified Powell based on his application for a homestead exemption at a residence outside the district he’s seeking. The court said Handel could have taken into account other rules determining residency. Handel, a Republican, in her statement Thursday said the ruling paves the way for an avalanche of residency claims in future candidate qualifying periods. Handel says her office would not have a clear standard to evaluate candidates’ status.

Supreme Court: Powell is on PSC ballot

The Georgia Supreme Court unanimously ruled today that Democrat Jim Powell is eligible to run for the Public Service Commission seat in District 4.

Secretary of State Karen Handel challenged Powell's eligibility a month after he filed his intent to to run for the post earlier

[Read More...]

this year. Handel claimed that Powell was ineligible to run for the seat in District 4 because he claimed a homestead exemption on his Cobb County property, which is located in District 5.

However, aside from the homestead exemption, the state residency law lists 14 other rules for determining a candidate's residence. The Supreme Court ruled that “the Secretary’s decision did not take into account any of the applicable rules other than the homestead exemption rule.”

“It is the role of the judicial branch to interpret the statutes enacted by the legislative branch and enforced by the executive branch,” writes Justice Robert Benham in the 8-page opinion.

The court held that it was the interpretation of the law, not the facts of the case,that was in dispute.

No changes to early voting schedule

As early--and now advance voting--continues throughout the state, Georgians have experienced long lines to cast ballots in several counties. The crush at polling locations has prompted the state Democratic Party to call on Republican Secretary of State Karen Handel to extend polling hours, and keep polls open through the weekend. Handel says that cannot happen as state law does not provide for weekend voting, or provide for voting the day before Election Day. Handel says county officials will be busy through the weekend preparing for Tuesday’s expected flood of voters.

Handel: no mechanism for Saturday voting

Sign at the Fulton County Government Center, explaining early voting procedures, Tuesday, Oct. 28, 2008. (Dave Bender)

Secretary of State Karen Handel -- a Republican who oversees Georgia elections -- says state law doesn't provide for weekend voting and prohibits voting on the Monday before Election Day.

Democratic Party Chair Jane Kidd on Tuesday called on Handel to request that the Department of Justice allow polls to remain open longer during the week, over the weekend, and on Monday, November 3:

“We have known that both the Democratic and Republican parties, their candidates, and even your office itself are encouraging voters to avail themselves of advance and early voting. And, we have known since advance voting began that large numbers of voters are doing just that. I am just mystified that your elections division is seemingly so unprepared for the wave of voters we all knew was coming."

Handel responded saying that county officials will be working through the weekend to prepare for the crush of voters.

Lines at the ballot box were down to under four hours in most places by Tuesday.

(AP)

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State attorney general seeks approval for voter checks in Georgia

The state attorney general's office is asking the U.S. Department of Justice for approval of its citizenship verification process for newly registered voters.

The state uses databases with social security numbers and driver's licenses.

But the Department of Justice last week warned Georgia that its checks may not be enforceable because it had not sought a clearance for it by the federal government.

The clearance process is designed to ensure the checks are not discriminatory.

A spokesman for the attorney general's office says the clearance was not initially sought because federal law requires the checks.

The Department of Justice has 60 days to review the case. That deadline comes more than a month after Election Day, although Georgia has requested an expedited review.

The federal government is questioning the checks after it determined that Georgia had requested two million in the last year. That number would represent more than a third of registered voters in the state.

But Secretary of State Karen Handel has said that number is misleading, and that it stems from multiple checks that resulted from a computer backlog with the federal government's social security identification system.

Court ruling: Voter photo ID required at polls

Georgia voters will have to present a valid government-issued photo ID when casting a ballot in November’s general elections. That’s the ruling from a Superior court yesterday rejecting an effort by the Democratic party of Georgia to toss out the law. Secretary of State Karen Handel applauds the ruling. The Democratic party has vowed to appeal.

Voter identification process challenged

Attorneys from a national voting rights coalition are challenging the use of a database by election officials in Georgia to verify the citizenship of voters and first time voter registrants.

The attorneys filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Karen Handel in U.S. District Court in Atlanta today on behalf of Jose Morales, a naturalized U.S. citizen who lives in Cherokee County. They say the database is often inaccurate, flagging naturalized citizens as non-citizens and subsequently jeopardizing their right to vote.

Early voting thus far "a success"

Early voting has been underway for a week, and the Secretary of State calls it a success. Georgians can cast ballots at local election offices or by mail. Over 100,000 people did that last week. Secretary of State Karen Handel is pleased.

"Very robust turnout so far which is exactly what we were hoping for so we could help ease those election day pressures".

Handel's goal is to get 25-percent of all votes cast before election day in November. She expects around 4-million Georgians to vote this year. And while campaigns across the state push to register voters, she says the registration pattern looks normal heading into th presidential election.

The last day to register to vote is October 6th. Early voting ends October 31st.

Constitutional amendment proposals released

The Secretary of State's Office today released summaries of proposed general amendments to the state Constitution, to be voted on in the November 4, 2008 General Election.

The Constitutional amendments in their entirety, along with summaries are available at: http://www.sos.ga.gov/Elections/2008_amendments.htm.

A copy of the amendments are available at the office of the judge of the Probate Court.

Printed copies are also available by calling 404-656-2871, according to a statement by the Secretary of State's Office.

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New law allows casting ballots Monday

Changes in state law allow voters to begin casting ballots Monday. That gives registered voters more than six weeks to use touch-screen machines at their local election offices or use mail-in absentee ballots instead of waiting until a week before the Nov. 4 presidential election.

Voters do not have to give a reason for voting early or casting an absentee ballot. Election officials say they expect 80 percent of voters to vote in November and are asking people to vote early to cut down on Election Day lines.

Although high turnout may present some challenges, secretary of state spokesman Matt Carrothers says the state is "absolutely" prepared for Election day and has recruited 15,000 poll workers.

(The Associated Press)

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Groups critical of Georgia voting practices

A new report says Georgia is among 3 swing states that stand-out for having the most concerns with voting issues ahead of November’s general election.

The study put-out by the non-partisan groups "Common Cause" and the "Century Foundation’"says Georgia’s voter identification laws disenfranchise certain groups.

It also questions whether enough safeguards are in place against deceptive voting practices and whether third-party registration drives are unfairly regulated in some counties.

The state got good marks for poll worker training, and also for its statewide voter database. But Bill Bozarth with Common Cause Georgia says standards around the database are problematic.

"The degree to which that can be used to validate whether people are really eligible to vote is something that lacks any sort of statewide standard," Bozarth says.

But Secretary of state Karen Handel says the report’s concerns are unfounded.
She says the problems were all policy related and noted the Common Cause was one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit questioning Georgia's photo ID law.

Handel says Georgia’s counties are ready to handle what is expected to be historically high voter turnout. She urges people to vote early with a goal of having 25 percent of all votes cast before election day.

State Supreme Court takes up candidacy

Georgia's top court has agreed to decide whether a Public Service Commission candidate's name can appear on November's ballot. It's an appeal by Secretary of State Karen Handel, who argues that Democrat Jim Powell doesn't meet the residency requirement to run in the north Georgia district. Handel disqualified Powell and two other Democrats from running for office days before the July primary. But Powell went on to win the most votes. Democrats have accused Handel, who is a Republican, of playing politics.

Atlanta Falcons have a voting message

Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel has enlisted the Atlanta Falcons to remind voters about the photo ID requirement in the November election. Five Falcons players have recorded public service announcements reminding Georgians that they must bring government-issued photo IDs to cast a ballot in person. November's election is expected to draw a huge turnout and pose the greatest test yet for the state's photo ID law.