Georgia Election Update

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

Tifton, Georgia

478-227-7126 ~ www.tiftongrapevine.com

BIDEN'S LEAD GROWS IN GA; GOP CALLS FOR IMMEDIATE RECOUNT

MINOR ISSUES IN TIFT COUNTY, OFFICIAL SAYS

By FRANK SAYLES JR.

Tifton Grapevine

As Georgia neared the end of ballot counting Tuesday, Democrat Joe Biden's lead over President Donald Trump grew to more than 12,650 votes by the end of the day, according to the Ga. Secretary of State's Office.

Trump’s campaign and the state Republican Party is requesting an immediate recount of the state's ballots before results are finalized.

They alleged voting irregularities but provided no specific details. On Monday, U.S. Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, both R-Ga., criticized the Georgia election and called on Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, to resign.

"The mismanagement and lack of transparency from the secretary of state is unacceptable," the senators said in a written statement. "The secretary of state has failed to deliver honest and transparent elections."

They did not offer specifics. The Tifton Grapevine contacted Perdue's and Loeffler's offices for comment and clarification, but neither one responded Tuesday.

Both Perdue and Loeffler received less than 50 percent of the vote in their respective races and are both facing a runoff against Democratic challengers on Jan. 5.

Raffensperger countered that the state's election ran smoothly, and he has not seen any widespread irregularities.

“Was there illegal voting? I am sure there was, and my office is investigating all of it. Does it rise to the numbers or margin necessary to change the outcome to where President Trump is given Georgia’s electoral votes? That is unlikely," he said.

ONLY MINOR ISSUES IN TIFT COUNTY, ELECTION OFFICIAL SAYS

In Tift County, which President Trump carried with more than 66 percent of the vote, some local voters cited issues. Several said they received numerous unsolicited absentee ballots in the mail, and one woman told the Tifton Grapevine that when her mother went to vote, she was told that her vote was already recorded in Fulton County.

About that last claim, the Tift County election supervisor said, “No, that didn’t happen."

Leila E. Dollison told the Tifton Grapevine that “no one voted for her in another county.” Dollison said that that instance when voting data incorrectly showed that someone had already voted when they hadn’t was “just an internal thing, and we fixed it."

About voters receiving numerous absentee ballots, Dollison said those unsolicited ballot applications came from the Democratic and Republican parties and from organizations, such as political action committees.

“We didn’t send them. We only send out ballots to people that request them,” Dollison said.

She noted that political organizations – her office had identified five groups – had sent out numerous applications for ballots to voters, and those were legitimate and had to be reviewed. Dollison said many voters referred to the applications as "ballots." Her office found instances where some Tift countians sent in numerous absentee ballot applications, but only the first was counted.

Some residents, who had already voted absentee, had said they thought they were re-sent ballots because of an issue with their initial one, Dollison was told. “Some sent them in again. We had to go through the system and handle them. These are the kinds of things that we ran into."

Within the Tift County Elections Office, “We’ve got some things that we need to take care of with data entry; we’re doing that – such things as we may have put in a wrong registration number,” Dollison said.

TIFTON TO OBSERVE VETERANS DAY

Wednesday, Nov. 11, is Veterans Day, and Tifton is planning its annual observance.

The Veterans Day Tribute is scheduled at 11 a.m. in Veterans Park in Downtown Tifton. In the event of rain, which is forecast, the tribute will be moved to the municipal courtroom inside the Tifton Police Department building on U.S. Highway 82.

Congressman Austin Scott, R-Tifton, is scheduled to be the primary speaker.

Scott is encouraging veterans to consider participating in the Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project. The initiative aims to collect and preserve first-hand accounts of U.S. veterans from World War I to the Iraq War.

There are several ways to participate, including providing recorded oral histories, written histories, correspondence, photographs, and more. One can visit www.loc.gov/vets to learn more about the Veterans History Project and how to submit materials.

The Library of Congress also encourages 10th-grade students and above to participate by conducting interviews and collecting other materials. Students and educators can learn more by clicking here!

TIFT COUNTY SEES 79 COVID-19 CASES DURING PAST TWO WEEKS, DPH SAYS

The Ga. Department of Public Health (DPH) reported today (Tuesday) that Tift County in the past two weeks has had a total of 79 new COVID-19 cases confirmed, translating to 193 per 100,000 population.

Testing for the virus in the past two weeks in Tift County is at a 7.8 percent positivity rate, the DPH said.

According to Emory University, Tift County on Monday had a daily average of 15 cases per 100,000 population. Tift’s highest daily average cases per 100,000 during the pandemic was recorded at 67.3 on Oct. 5. At that time, the White House Coronavirus Task Force had placed Tifton and Tift County in the Red Zone and listed it as a hot spot in Georgia.

Tift has had a total of 2,030 positive cases and 66 coronavirus-related deaths, one more than a week ago, the DPH reported today. Georgia had a total of 376,054 cases and 8,264 deaths. The state reported a one-day increase of 2,012 cases Tuesday and 43 additional deaths.

FORMER ABAC STATE-CHAMPIONSHIP COACH TOM MOODY DIES AT 82

Thomas K. Moody, 82, of Tifton, a former baseball and golf coach at Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, died Monday. Funeral services will be private.

Moody was ABAC baseball coach for 24 years, winning state titles in 1975 and 1986. He took the reins of the Golden Stallions on the golf course from 1992-95, and ABAC won the state championship each of those years, earning Moody four consecutive State Coach of the Year honors.

ABAC finished eighth in the 1994 national golf tournament. Moody was selected for the ABAC Athletics Hall of Fame in 2016.

He was the ABAC coach when Boo Weekley was a golfer for the Golden Stallions in 1993. After turning pro in 1997, Weekley became a member of the Professional Golfers Association, winning three PGA tournaments and collecting more than $15 million in winnings during his career.

Moody, a Brooks County native, attended ABAC as a student and later attended Georgia Southern College on a baseball scholarship, where he led his team with a .377 batting average during his senior season and helped to catapult them to the national championship game.

Moody later played semi-pro baseball and became a coach and teacher at Valdosta Junior High School. He returned to ABAC in 1967 as head baseball coach.

TIFTON-TIFT COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

RIBBON CUTTING

Stella’s Specialty Boutique

2103 Main Street S., Suite B, Tifton

Nov. 2

KIWANIS CLUB SPONSORS

YOUTH BASKETBALL TEAM

Craig Sowell, director of the Tift County Recreation Department, was guest speaker Thursday at the Kiwanis Club of Tifton meeting.

Club President Jane Justice presented Sowell with a check to sponsor a youth basketball team. Basketball registration is still underway.

The Kiwanis Club meets at noon on the first and third Thursday each month at Hilton Garden Inn.

TIFTON-TIFT COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

RIBBON CUTTING

Boyd Farms Fresh

Greenville, Fla.

Nov. 5

BROCCOLI, SQUASH TO BE GLEANED SATURDAY

The Society of St. Andrew is seeking volunteers to help glean broccoli and squash on Saturday.

The gleaning will be from 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at Lewis Taylor Farms on Ty Ty Omega Road in Tift County.

To sign up as a volunteer, Click Here! For more information, call 229-386-5800 or email ga-glean@endhunger.org

The Society of St. Andrew operates a volunteer-driven gleaning network in Georgia that includes volunteers who save unused, fresh produce and use it to feed hungry people across the state.

TIFTON GRAPEVINE'S CAT OF THE WEEK

This kitten is among several pets available for rescue or adoption at the Tift County Animal Shelter. Visit the Animal Shelter from 1-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays, or call 229-382-PETS (7387).

Pets of the Week are sponsored by:

Branch's Veterinary Clinic

205 Belmont Ave., Tifton, 229-382-6055

FIRE DAMAGES RITZ THEATRE

– NOV. 7, 1930

On Friday, Nov. 7, 1930, fire broke out in the projection room of the Ritz Theatre on Second Street. The blaze caused considerable damage to the machinery, walls, draperies, seats and ceiling of the theatre, and "caused much excitement to the crowd seeing the show," according to news dispatches. There were no injuries.