March 6, 2022 / Newsletter 266 |
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RUN FOR OFFICE!
You can help Dems up & down ballot by being a candidate.
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When: Monday, March 14, 2022,
6:00 pm (meeting called to order at 6:30)
Where: Gainesville Civic Center
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Go Tell It In The Mountains! · Democratic Party of Georgia
Democrats Care about preserving and protecting our North Georgia environment!! YOU are INVITED to attend a Day of Engagement! JOIN US April 9 at a Regional Environmental Summit and afterwards hear from our local and state Democrat candidates. .
Read more
www.mobilize.us
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Do you recognize these women? Here's a hint: They are all smart, strong, and dedicated to giving to our community.
Here's another hint: They all took the brave step of running for office in Hall County on the Democratic ticket.
From left to right--or top to bottom if you're viewing on your phone--they are Angela Middleton, Leigh Miller, and Pat Calmes.
Each one serves on our Committee. And each one stepped up to run.
In 2020, Leigh Miller ran for Georgia House District 30. In this article, she explains what made her run.
Pat Calmes ran for Georgia House District 29 in 2020. She told the Gainesville Times about the issues that drove her to run.
And here's a story of how small steps can lead to big results. When Leigh Miller ran in 2020, one of her major issues was reducing the cost of insulin and other prescription drugs. Because this is an issue that people across the county care about, Leigh helped make it "okay" to vote Democratic in Hall County. Because Hall County Democrats voted in larger numbers than in the recent past, Georgia helped elect Joe Biden and Kamela Harris and sent Jon Ossoff and Reverend Raphael Warnock to the US Senate. And in February, Senator Warnock and Senator Michael Bennett of Colorado introduced the Affordable Insulin Now Act, which would limit out-of-pocket costs for the life-saving medication at $35 per month. Leigh's concerns about the cost of insulin are being addressed because Democrats in Georgia came out to vote. And many Georgia Democrats came out to vote for local Democrats. This is how candidates like Angela, Leigh. and Pat can make a difference even if they don't win.
Be like Angela, Leigh, and Pat. Step out of your comfort zone and run for something. This week is your last chance!
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Upcoming key election dates:
For May 24 primary election:
First day to qualify to run for office: 9 AM March 7
Last day to qualify to run for office: NOON March 11
First day to request absentee ballot for May primary: March 7 (mailing out begins April 5)
Last day to register to vote in May primary: April 25
For Flowery Branch City Council Post 2 special election:
Election: March 15
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Request your absentee ballot on March 7
Any registered Georgia voter can request an absentee ballot online, by mail, by phone or in person.
To request an absentee ballot, you must complete an absentee ballot application and return it to the Hall County elections office by mail, fax, email (as an attachment), or in person.
You must include a valid GA Driver's License or State ID number on your application! If you don't have a GA Driver's License or State ID, you must provide a copy of 2 types of acceptable ID, one with a photo and one with your home address, as listed at the bottom of the application form.
Get an absentee ballot application:
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Sign in on the My Voter Page to find an Absentee Ballot Request Information box with a link to the absentee ballot application.
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Call the Hall County Elections Office. Phone: 770-531-6945
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Visit the Hall County Elections Office at 2875 Browns Bridge Road, Lower Level, Gainesville, GA 30504 Directions
Complete the form and return it to the Hall County Elections office by mail, by email (as an attachment), or in person. Remember to include your ID number or copies of your ID documents.
Mailing Address
Hall County Registrar
P.O. Drawer 1435
Gainesville, GA 30503
Email elections@hallcounty.org
Fax: 770-531-3931
In person: 2875 Browns Bridge Road, Lower Level, Gainesville, GA 30504 Directions
Your absentee ballot will be mailed to you. We'll include details on how to complete and return your absentee ballot in a future newsletter.
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Apply to Be a Poll Worker |
Hall - WorkElections
Apply online by clicking the Read More link below. Poll workers should plan to vote before Election Day unless they are assigned to their own polling place. Citizens who ...
Read more
workelections.com
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Run for Hall County School Board |
Are you a resident of Hall County who cares about education? Then run for the Hall County School Board! Three seats are up for election this year:
Board of Education Post 1
Board of Education Post 2
Board of Education at Large
To run for the Post 1 or Post 2 seats, you must live in the associated district. To run for the at-large seat, you cam live anywhere in Hall County except inside the city limits of Gainesville (which has its own school board).
Serving on the school board requires a small time commitment for attending monthly meetings and keeping abreast of school issues and initiatives. It provides huge rewards through its impact on the education of all K-12 students in the county.
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Drive Voters to the Polls
Hall County Dems have the opportunity to work with RideShare2Vote, a national organization that helps coordinate getting voters to the polls.
if you're interested in volunteering to drive people to the polls during the primaries or the general election, email Jennifer LaRose at jblarose13@gmail.com to learn more.
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Writing Wednesdays with Fair Count & VoteRiders · Fair Count
Nearly 155,000 registered Georgia voters do not have ID on file with the State. Under the State's new voting law, they will face additional barriers to casting their ballots. Join Fair Count and VoteRiders for a virtual letter writing party! You...
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www.mobilize.us
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Weekly Thoughts from the Chair:
What will it take?
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Next week, qualifying for office in the State of Georgia commences. I will be qualifying on Monday. Qualifying is from 9-5 Monday-Thursday and 9-Noon on Friday. That’s it. Last chance.
Russia's war on Ukraine enters its second week. Perhaps economic pressure in the form of sanctions is working. Perhaps not. Russia enacted new laws against telling the truth – and journalists fled or closed shop. Russian citizens are facing severe hardships. Putin is not. Russian citizens continue to protest the war – and are beaten, imprisoned or worse. Can’t happen here?
Putin will murder and destroy anyone that stands in his way, personally, politically or militarily. Stop pretending that Putin won’t use nuclear weapons. If cornered, he will. What, exactly will we do the next time he seizes territory? Sometimes you have to accept what you can’t change. I get that. Yes, in certain circumstances, compromise is essential. On the other hand, fundamental principles cannot be compromised. Appeasement does not stop those with evil intent. Remember Adolph Hitler? What do you have if you sacrifice good to evil? Do you then have half good or half evil? What is such a thing? If you make a "compromise" of nutritious food and deadly poison, what happens if you eat the result?
Roger Stone, defeated former president Trump, and their conspirators are in a panic. It seems that their criminal acts of trying to overthrow our election are becoming inescapably clear. We can only wonder why State and Federal prosecutors are dithering. Perhaps they are waiting for a sign. Here’s a thought for prosecutors: Get off your ass, do your duty, and prosecute these criminals.
We have seditious criminals running free around here, and there is a war criminal in control of Russia. Ordinary Ukrainians are taking up small arms in a desperate effort to stop the advance of tanks. Putin is reducing Ukrainian cities to rubble. What is wrong with this picture?
There are lessons to be learned on March 6, 2022. First, defending your freedom actually can come down to taking up and using an AK-47 rifle. Second, compromise with criminals is an affront to justice and makes the world less safe. Third, if you don’t want crazy and/or authoritarians in office and in control of our country, someone has to run against them. If not you, then who?
Very few Democrats are scheduled to qualify next week. There is a saying: We get the government we deserve. Is that true for Hall County?
Mike
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Holding on to Democracy in Georgia |
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Why run for the Georgia legislature in Hall County? Bottom line: If a local Democrat isn't on the ballot, fewer people who would vote for a Democrat at the top of the ticket will vote Conversely, having a local Democrat on the ballot INCREASES VOTES FOR DEMOCRATS.
With all the obstacles that the Republicans are erecting to voting, getting out every last vote is the ONLY path to electing Stacey Abrams as governor and re-electing Warnock to the Senate. If you want Stacey in the Governor's mansion in 2023, run for office in 2022!
Georgia redistricting court case: Even though the judge ruled that they probably violate the Voting Rights Act, he let the GOP gerrymandered redistricing maps stand for the 2022 elections. His reason? Because county elections officials have to assign Georgia's more than 7.5 million voters into their new districts for federal, state and local races and mail out new precinct cards notifying them of changes, getting new maps would prevent them from finishing that job on time for the May 24 primary.
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'Frustrating, deterring and upsetting': Georgia voting...
ATLANTA - Varana King said she was excited to vote early with her husband, Gregory, in the presidential election last fall. But when they arrived at the South Cobb Regional Library in Mableton, Georgia, at 9 a.m., she said, there were at least...
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www.nbcnews.com
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Battleground: Ballot Box | Why Georgia elections boards...
County elections boards are one of the most important parts of the voting process in Georgia that you probably haven't heard much about - except for ways things could go wrong. Since 2020 they've been in the spotlight more and more, with...
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www.gpb.org
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Judge rules Georgia's new redistricting maps will be...
A federal judge has ruled that Georgia's new legislative and congressional maps can be used for the 2022 elections but also that they likely contain districts that violate the Voting Rights Act. Judge Steve Jones issued a 238-page order Monday...
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www.gpb.org
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Voting snafus in Texas primary show what may be on the...
HOUSTON - Standing outside a polling location in the historically Black neighborhood of Kashmere Gardens on Election Day, lieutenant governor candidate Carla Brailey predicted that Texas' performance in 2022's first primary would gain national...
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georgiarecorder.com
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Last week's letters to the editor blamed Democrats for ruining our economy and undermining US energy independence. There were no letters to rebut these ridiculous claims by pointing out, for example, the record number of jobs created under President Biden or the projects Georgians will benefit from due to the Democrats' Infrastructure Bill. We need Democrats to speak out!
You can help amplify the message that our area isn’t a monolith of right-wing adherents. If you are interested in writing a letter to The Times, sign up for our Letters to the Editor project. The mission of our Letters to the Editor project:
- counter disinformation with facts
- express opinions that reflect Democratic Party values
- raise the profile of Democratic voices in the Hall County community
The Times limits individuals to having 1 letter published per month. We’re looking for writers to help our members with expressing their views and for individuals willing to have their letters published in The Times. Email hallcountydemocrat@gmail.com to help with our Letters to the Editor project.
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State & Local News (Some links may require a subscription)
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During Columbus visit, Sen. Raphael Warnock highlights...
COLUMBUS, Ga. ( WRBL) - One of Georgia's United States Senators made a stop in Columbus Tuesday morning at one local elementary school to push new legislation. Students and staff at Dorothy Height Elementary School were thrilled to welcome...
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www.wrbl.com
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The GOP Is Finally Realizing It Has A Marjorie Taylor...
Prominent Republicans are starting to come to glory on the fact that they have a serious issue when it comes to Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene and her white nationalist ways. Of course, they didn't come to their revelation after the...
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newsone.com
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Sen. Ossoff and Sen. Warnock introduce new bill to...
It’s a prominent tourist destination with thousands of visitors and locals stepping foot on Tybee Island's beach on any given day. However, flooding and rising sea levels are a problem U. S. Senator Jon Ossoff and his partner Sen. Raphael Warnock ...
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fox28media.com
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Perdue opposes jobs for Georgia?
ATLANTA - David Perdue will come to Morgan County this week to rally opponents of the Rivian plant as part of his campaign for governor. The Perdue campaign is calling it a "Save Georgia, Stop Soros" event. Perdue will speak at Play Fair Park in...
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www.waltontribune.com
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Here are the three Republicans who voted against the...
The House voted on the bill that would make murder by lynching a federal hate crime. It has been a bill proposed for more than a century and has failed every time. "Lawmakers estimated they had tried more than 200 times to pass a measure to...
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www.rawstory.com
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Georgia Senate passes bill requiring in-person exams for ...
A Georgia woman would have to be examined by a physician in person and sign a consent form before she could be prescribed abortion pills under a bill passed Tuesday by the state Senate. Senate Bill 456, which passed 31-22 on a party-line vote, is ...
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www.wabe.org
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PLEASE NOTE: Any articles we post about Georgia Democrats on the primary ballot in 2022 are intended to keep you informed. They are not an endorsement of any candidate. |
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National News (Some links may require a subscription)
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Biden gets a bounce after the State of the Union,...
subscribe to The NPR Politics Podcast podcast After what's been a bleak several months politically for President Biden, a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey finds he is seeing a significant boost in his approval ratings across the board following ...
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www.npr.org
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Bookman: 'We the people' are in dangerous territory -...
The state of our union is precarious. It is precarious not because of some outside threat - outside threats we can still handle. It is precarious because we have forgotten our way, because we find ourselves increasingly seduced by a perverted,...
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georgiarecorder.com
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Analysis | The ludicrous effort to pretend that...
Four hundred and eighty-two days after Donald Trump lost Wisconsin, a Republican who once sat on the state's Supreme Court offered a theory: Perhaps he didn't? Michael Gableman was tapped by the Republican-led state Senate in Wisconsin to...
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www.washingtonpost.com
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Opinion | Putin's war drives Trump's personality cult to ...
Not since the days after Sept. 11, 2001, have Americans been as united on an issue of foreign policy as Russia's invasion of Ukraine. In the new Washington Post-ABC poll, 80 percent of Americans, including more than three quarters of Democrats...
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www.washingtonpost.com
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