Tag: Georgia

Commentary: A Program Just for Immigrants Could Bankrupt Your Hometown

Daily Caller News Foundation
classroom work

Somewhere in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, a small steel-town school district of about 1,400 kids, a school board member is looking at a budget line that didn’t exist a decade ago. In 2014, the district had approximately seven English Learner or “EL” students. In 2024, that number crossed 200.

Charleroi is a small story with a national plot. Over the past decade, the number of students who require extra support with English or multilingual education has exploded nationwide. From Georgia to Ohio and from Texas to Colorado, we are seeing the same thing: as the share of students needing English language services has gone up, the share of the budget going to core classroom instruction has gone down.

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Trump’s Endorsement Juggernaut Marches on, Crushing Once-Popular Republicans Who Crossed Him

Just the News
Donald Trump

Normally U.S. presidents approaching the midway point of their second term are beginning to experience the effects of declining political capital as lame ducks. But not Donald Trump, who continues to wield the power of election endorsements with unparalleled success.

America’s 47th president kept his impressive 2026 primary winning streak rolling Tuesday night, with more than three dozen Republicans winning outright or advancing to a runoff in states like Georgia, Alabama, Pennsylvania and Kentucky.

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U.S. Supreme Court Denies Virginia’s Redistricting Appeal

Just the News
SCOTUS

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday rejected Virginia’s appeal regarding its redistricting map, which voters narrowly approved in a referendum last month.

Virginia Democrats filed an emergency appeal Monday after the Virginia Supreme Court struck down the state’s redistricting referendum last week, ruling that the legislative process in which the referendum was created was unconstitutional.

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Leading GOP Candidate in Georgia Governor’s Race Sues Trump-Backed Opponent for Defamation

Daily Caller News Foundation
Jackson and Jones

Billionaire health care executive Rick Jackson on Monday filed a defamation lawsuit against Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, his Republican primary opponent in the state’s 2026 gubernatorial race.

The lawsuit alleges that Jones, who has President Donald Trump’s endorsement in the race, made three separate “defamatory” statements about Jackson on social media this past week. The complaint was filed in the Superior Court of Fulton County this morning, according to Jackson’s campaign.

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The Fani Files: Georgia Prosecutor Plotted Trump Case Closely with Biden DOJ, J6 Democrats: Memos

Just the News
Fani Willis

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis coordinated extensively with the Biden Justice Department and White House as well as Democrats on the House Jan. 6 investigative committee as she built a failed criminal case against President Donald Trump and his allies related to their challenge to Georgia’s 2020 election results, according to a trove of internal communications obtained by Just the News.

The memos show that President Joe Biden’s top White House lawyer personally opened the door for Willis’ prosecutors to interview Trump administration officials by waiving claims of executive privilege, that federal prosecutors waived certain rights to allow the interviews to proceed before a state grand jury and that Willis’s team spoke glowingly of the congressional efforts to expose Trump’s involvement in the disputed election.

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Georgia Set to Reform Voting System to Prioritize Paper Ballots, Hand Counting Ahead of Midterms

Just the News
Election workers

Georgia is on the verge of reforming its voting system to prioritize paper ballots and hand-count verification for touch-screen early votes following new recommendations from a commission formed to assess the state’s voting procedures in the wake of the 2020 election disputes. 

The recommendations, if finalized by the Georgia General Assembly through legislation, will likely be implemented before the 2026 midterm elections later this year. 

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Prosecutor Who Took over Georgia Election Interference Case Drops Charges Against Trump, Others

Just the News

The Georgia prosecutor who took over the alleged 2020 election interference case after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was disqualified said Wednesday he’s dropping the criminal charges against President Donald Trump and his co-defendants.

The prosecutor who is ending the case is Pete Skandalakis, according to NBC News.

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State Lawmakers Expect Big Wins on Referendums on Citizen-Only Voting

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People Voting

State lawmakers expressed confidence that ballot initiatives to ensure that only citizens vote will win “overwhelming” support—including in two battleground states.

North Carolina and Wisconsin—where polls are tight in the presidential race and have been close in recent statewide contests—will be voting on the matter. Other states with citizen-only voting referendums are red states Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, and South Carolina.

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Commentary: The Hidden Vote

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Illegal Immigrants

Former President Donald Trump is slightly ahead in the polls and, as in 2016 and 2020, he is drawing massive crowds at his rallies. Some knowledgeable observers have even speculated that Trump could be on the verge of a landslide electoral college victory.

But, while our attention is being drawn to the polls, the campaigning, and the strategies of the presidential candidates, what about the taxpayer-funded electoral apparatus that has been created over the past four years by the Biden-Harris regime?

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Hackers’ Confab Shows Vulnerabilities in Election Machines Amid Testing Concerns Ahead of November

Just the News

Hackers at a conference last weekend found numerous vulnerabilities in election machines while the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) confirmed that current voting systems to be used in the November election have not been tested by third parties for vulnerabilities.

While many vulnerabilities were found in election machines at the conference, Georgia is set to use outdated election machines for the November presidential election, and the EAC doesn’t have a standard testing process in place to search out vulnerabilities in election equipment.

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Commentary: ‘Zuck Bucks’ Need to Be Stopped Cold

Daily Caller News Foundation

It is less than 90 days to Election Day, and right on queue the group behind the “Zuck Bucks” campaign of 2020 is back with a new scheme. This time, the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) is doling out millions in grant dollars to rural election administrators in 19 states.

Election officers beware. The group is trying to turn the government offices that run elections into bastions of partisan progressive activism. Election officials striving for nonpartisanship should steer clear.

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Former Trump DOJ Official Jeffrey Clark Appeals D.C. Disciplinary Panel’s Recommendation to Suspend His Law License for Two Years

Rachel Alexander
Jeffery Clark

Donald Trump’s former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark is appealing the recommendation of a disciplinary panel to suspend his law license for two years over his role assisting Trump in dealing with 2020 election irregularities. A three-member committee of the District of Columbia Board on Professional Responsibility found on August 1 that he breached broad and vague attorneys ethics rules by drafting a letter that was never sent to Georgia officials advising them of their options for handling the 2020 election problems. 

In response, Clark filed a Petition for Review with the District of Columbia Court of Appeals on August 7, requesting consideration of his interlocutory appeals. Interlocutory appeals are appeals conducted while other proceedings are still ongoing. 

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Georgia Planning $1 Million in Grants for Military Mental Health Services

The Center Square
Military support group

Georgia officials are awarding $1 million in grants to increase mental health access for military members, veterans and their families.

Last year, state lawmakers passed House Bill 414 to create the Veterans Mental Health Services Program under the Georgia Department of Veterans Service. Republican Gov. Brian Kemp signed the measure into law on April 25, 2023.

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America First Legal Files Amicus Curiae Brief Opposing Recommendation to Discipline Jeffrey Clark Based on New SCOTUS Immunity Ruling

Rachel Alexander

America First Legal (AFL) filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of Donald Trump’s former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark this month, objecting to a recommendation from the three-person panel of the D.C. Board of Professional Responsibility to discipline him over his concerns about illegalities in the 2020 election. The brief points to the Supreme Court’s new ruling in Trump v. United States, which held that presidents have broad immunity for their official acts. The D.C. Bar filed charges against Clark for drafting a letter that was never sent to Georgia officials advising them of their options in dealing with the irregularities.

Authored by Gene Hamilton, AFL’s executive director and chief counsel, the brief summarized, “This proceeding should be discontinued because of its threat to our constitutional system’s separation of powers. … This proceeding appears to target Mr. Clark inappropriately for his political beliefs, partisan affiliation, and connection to former President Donald Trump. Such abuse of Bar oversight chills zealous advocacy in politically sensitive matters and should never be permitted.” 

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Georgia Again Reports Lower Tax Collections

The Center Square

Georgia continues to report tax collections lower than a year ago, with May’s collections down by more than 1 percent as the state heads toward the end of the fiscal year, new numbers reveal.

Georgia officials said the state’s net tax collections in May surpassed $2.4 billion. However, that is a decrease of 1.1 percent or $26.3 million compared to last May, when net tax collections approached $2.5 billion.

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Analysis: 89 Percent of Independents Say Trump Conviction Makes Them Either More Likely to Support Trump or No Difference

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Donald Trump

15 percent of independents said that the New York City of conviction would make them more likely to support former President Donald Trump in 2024 election against incumbent President Joe Biden, with only 11 percent saying it would make them less likely, an NPR-Marist poll taken May 21 to May 23 shows. 74 percent said it would make no difference.

In addition, the poll had 10 percent of Republicans saying the conviction would make them less likely to vote for Trump if convicted and 7 percent of Democrats saying more likely to vote for Trump, a +3 percent advantage for Biden.

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Republican Governors Sign Letter Opposing WHO Treaty

The Center Square
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster (composite image)

The Republican governors of two dozen states, including Georgia and South Carolina, penned a letter to President Joe Biden opposing the World Health Organization’s proposed “Pandemic Agreement,” which they said could “undermine national sovereignty” and states’ rights.

The state executives argue the treaty “would seek to elevate the WHO from an advisory body to a global authority in public health.” They contend the proposed accord could also allow the WHO to establish “a global surveillance infrastructure” and force participants to censor free speech.

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Georgia Voters Tell MSNBC Trump’s Legal Issues Make Them ‘Support Him More’

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Donald Trump

Republican voters in Georgia told MSNBC in a segment aired on Wednesday that former president Donald Trump’s legal battles have made them more passionate about voting for him.

A recent poll shows Trump beating Biden by 9 percent in Georgia even as he faces an election interference case in the state among other legal issues, such as an ongoing trial in New York. The voters told MSNBC the cases have increased their support for Trump as it seems like persecution to them, with the former president appearing to be a fighter.

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Georgia Again Sees Decreased Tax Collections

The Center Square
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp

Georgia tax officials collected more than $3.9 billion in April, a decrease of 5.4 percent or $225.7 million from last year.

So far this fiscal year, net tax revenue of more than $27.4 billion is down about 1.2 percent or $341.3 million from last year. While fiscal 2024 collections have decreased from fiscal 2023 and fiscal 2022 numbers, they remain higher than they were at the same time in fiscal 2019, fiscal 2020 and fiscal 2021, according to unaudited numbers released at the time.

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Trump Clobbers Biden in Crucial Swing States, Gains Ground with Black, Hispanic Voters: POLL

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Donald Trump

Former President Donald Trump is leading President Joe Biden in five crucial battleground states for head-to-head matchups ahead of a November rematch, and has gained ground among black and Hispanic voters, a Monday poll found.

Trump is ahead of Biden by 13 points among likely voters in Nevada, as well as by nine points in Georgia, six points in Arizona, three points in Pennsylvania and one point in Wisconsin, according to the latest New York Times/Siena College survey. Biden is only leading in one state, Michigan, with a 47 percent to 45 percent margin.

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Review: Georgia Hospitals Rank 23rd Nationally

The Center Square

Georgia’s hospitals ranked 23rd nationally, according to a new review.

According to the spring 2024 Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades, which graded 80 Georgia hospitals, 21 received an “A,” 22 achieved a “B,” 31 attained a “C,” and 6 earned a “D.” The grades are based on preventable medical errors, accidents, injuries and infections that together kill more than 500 people a day in the United States.

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Taxpayers in Georgia Are at Risk of Being Latest Victims of Electric Vehicle Gambles

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Rivian showroom in Atlanta

Taxpayers could be on the hook if electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Rivian fails to resume progress on its multi-billion dollar Georgia plant.

Rivian announced on March 7 that it would be pausing construction on its $5 billion manufacturing plant that is supposed to be built just east of Atlanta, Georgia, worrying lawmakers and taxpayers in the state that the plant may never be built. However, local authorities had given the company up to $1.5 billion in subsidies and tax incentives with the expectation that Rivian would bring in jobs and tax revenue.

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Fani Willis Challenges Open Records Lawsuit Seeking White House Communications

Just the News
Fani Willis

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ office claimed in court papers that it is “an entity not capable of being sued” and has moved to dismiss an open records lawsuit from Just the News to obtain communications between her office and the Biden White House.

The district attorney’s office cites unsettled immunities under Georgia law and claims the records requested are “statutorily exempt from disclosure under the Open Records Act,” according to the court filing earlier this month.

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Black Men’s Support for Trump Doubles in Swing States: Poll

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MAGA Hat

Former President Donald Trump’s support among black men has increased in battleground states ahead of the 2024 election by more than double his support among the same group in 2020’s election, according to a poll published on Thursday by The Wall Street Journal.

Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, has long sought to gain support among black voters, traditionally a Democratic-supporting demographic, by touting his record on the economy and criminal justice reform while in office, among other matters. A recent poll estimated that 30 percent of black men in seven battleground states — Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — “definitely or probably” plan to vote for Trump in November’s election, an increase of 18 percent from his nationwide performance among that demographic in 2020, where he earned 12 percent of their votes, the Journal reported.

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States File Suit to Block Biden’s Student Debt Forgiveness Plan

The Center Square
President Joe Biden

A coalition of states has filed a legal challenge to President Joe Biden’s latest executive effort to forgive a portion of Americans’ student loan debt.

The lawsuit comes after Biden on Monday announced the plan, which the states in question say is an overreach of executive authority. The White House claims that Biden has so far canceled at least some of the debt for 4 million Americans, totalling $146 billion so far.

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Trump Leads Biden in Six of Seven Critical Swing States: WSJ Poll

Just the News
Donald Trump and Joe Biden in front of The White House (composite image)

Former President Donald Trump has staked out a significant lead against President Joe Biden in several of the most pivotal states that could decide the 2020 election, a recent survey has revealed.

The Wall Street Journal survey questioned voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, and found Trump leading his likely opponent in all of them except Wisconsin, where the pair tied.

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ACLU Threatens Lawsuit if Governor Kemp Signs New Georgia Election Bill

Tom Pappert
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp

Georgia’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) declared on Friday it will sue the state if Governor Brian Kemp signs a bill, already approved by lawmakers, to strengthen election integrity in the state.

The legislation, SB 189, removes the Secretary of State from the Georgia Board of Elections, creates new conflict of interest provisions for election officials and private individuals involved with the election process, revises the process for challenging presidential electors and creates new chain of custody requirements for mail-in ballots.

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States Focus on Squatting as TikToker Encourages Illegal Immigrants to ‘Invade’ Homes

Just the News
Illegal immigrant being arrested

State and local officials are working to prevent property owners from having their residences taken over by squatters as a social media influencer from Venezuela encouraged illegal immigrants to “invade” homes in the U.S.

The issue of squatting has arisen in both Florida and Georgia, states fighting against squatting, while a New York City resident was arrested for trying to prevent a squatter from reentering her home. Squatting has become a concern with the influx of illegal immigrants as a Venezuelan national encouraged others to squat in Americans’ homes.

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Three Sue National Park Service for Refusing to Accept Cash for Park Entrance Fees

The Center Square
Wildrose Peat at Death Valley National Park

Three people have filed a lawsuit against the National Park Service for refusing to take cash for park entrance fees alleging its NPS Cashless program violates federal law. 

The complaint, filed in federal court earlier this month, seeks to have a judge declare NPS Cashless unlawful. The suit alleges that three visitors were denied entrance to national parks in Arizona, New York and Georgia. The complaint further alleges that the “National Park Service no longer accepts American money at approximately twenty-nine national parks, national historic sites, national monuments, and national historic parks around the country.”

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Politicians of All Stripes Focus on Post-Election Audits Before 2024 General Election Even Happens

Just the News
Poll workers counting ballots

Various state legislators are focusing on post-election audits ahead of the November 2024 general election, with Republicans looking to implement or improve audits in some states, while Democrats in one state are trying to prevent an audit of the presidential election.

Post-election audits have been on the books of some states for years, most famously, the “hanging chad recount” fought over in 2000 between George W. Bush and Al Gore, which was decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. The issue of post-election audits and the ensuing litigation has received renewed attention since the 2020 presidential election, after numerous irregularities were discovered. The Arizona Senate post-election audit was one of the more famous following the 2020 race. Dispositive evidence that irregularities “moved the needle” one way or another is still a point of contention.

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Dual Polls Find Trump Leading Biden in Two Key Southern Battleground States

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Donald Trump and Joe Biden in front of The White House (composite image)

Former President Donald Trump is leading President Joe Biden in the battleground states of Georgia and North Carolina for a head-to-head general election rematch, according to dual Wednesday polls.

Trump is favored 51 percent to 47 percent against Biden among registered voters in Georgia, as well as 51 percent to 48 percent in North Carolina, the Marist surveys found. Both polls also found Trump making inroads among independents, black voters and those aged 18-to-29 compared to 2020 exit polling.

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Georgia Tax Collections Decrease 4 Percent amid Calls for Income Tax Cut Acceleration

Tom Pappert
Gov Brian Kemp

Tax collections in Georgia decreased by about 4 percent in February. The change was driven by sharp decreases in the state’s income tax revenues following Republican-led tax cuts, though Georgia simultaneously saw increased revenue from sales taxes and taxes on corporations.

A press release from the office of Governor Brian Kemp notes the state’s tax revenues fell 4.3 percent in February while the year’s tax collections are down 3.1 percent to date.

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Georgia State Senators Propose New Legislation to Address Illegal Immigration

Debra McClure
Georgia Illegal Immigration Bill

State Senator Jason Anavitarte (R–Dallas), chairman of the Senate Majority Caucus, and State Senator Brian Strickland (R–McDonough), chairman of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, proposed two new legislative initiatives that seek to change criminal procedures for individuals who illegally immigrate to Georgia. The new legislation aims to set strict bail hearing conditions and modify parole rules for illegal immigrants.

The first proposal would amend the Georgia Constitution to allow the Georgia General Assembly to ban parole or set specific parole limitations for illegal immigrants. The second piece of legislation is a bill that would define bail hearing conditions for illegal immigrants and for those considered to be removable or dismissible aliens charged with a felony punishable by up to a year or more in prison.

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Georgia Sues Biden Administration over Objections to Gov. Kemp’s ‘Pathways to Coverage’ Medicaid Expansion

Tom Pappert

The State of Georgia and Georgia Department of Community Health (GDCH) launched a lawsuit on Friday against the Biden administration over its objections to Governor Brian Kemp’s limited Medicaid expansion, the Georgia Pathways to Coverage.

Georgia, the lawsuit explains, entered into a five-year agreement with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to implement Pathways, but in January 2021, CMS told Georgia it “preliminarily determined” the program was “unlawful and should be suspended.”

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Trump’s Former DOJ Official Jeffrey Clark Gets Closer to Disciplinary Bar Trial After Status Hearing Reveals Double Standards

Rachel Alexander

A pre-hearing conference was held last month in the bar disciplinary proceedings against Jeffrey Clark, a former DOJ official under President Donald Trump.

He is being disciplined over a memo he drafted that was never sent to Georgia officials advising them of their options for addressing the illegalities in the 2020 election.

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Trump Leads Biden by 8 Points in First Georgia Poll Released Since Fani Willis Allegations

Tom Pappert
Trump Biden

Former President Donald Trump has a commanding lead over President Joe Biden in Georgia, according to the results of the first poll of Peach State voters since it was alleged that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is romantically entangled with Nathan Wade, who she appointed to prosecute her case against Trump.

The Tuesday Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll was conducted between January 3 and January 11, while the legal filing containing allegations Trump and Wade are in a romantic relationship became public on January 8. Pollsters contacted 1,007 registered voters in Georgia to gather their data, which they reported had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.

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D.C. Bar Disciplinary Panel Holds Contentious Pretrial Hearing Before Disbarment Trial of Trump’s Former DOJ Attorney Jeff Clark

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Jeff Clark

A District of Columbia Bar disciplinary panel held a pretrial hearing last month to prepare for the upcoming disbarment trial against President Donald Trump’s former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark. Clark (pictured above) is also being prosecuted in Georgia and is an unindicted co-conspirator in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s federal prosecution, due to a letter Clark drafted to Georgia election officials after the 2020 election advising them of options the Georgia Legislature could take to address the concerns about election illegalities. The letter was never sent nor circulated.

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Eight New Bills Become Georgia Law, State Income Tax Rates Fall in 2024

Tom Pappert

Eight new bills became law in Georgia on Monday, with the most significant allowing Georgians with health insurance coverage to see medical specialists even if they’re referred by a physician not covered by the insurance network. Last year, Georgia lawmakers also passed significant legislation that provided income tax refunds to every Georgia taxpayer, created a commission to oversee elected attorneys, and created three new district judgeships, one of which will be filled by a state legislator.

Georgia’s CATCH Act, SB 20, requires insurance providers with network plans to maintain a sufficient number of doctors, physicians, pharmacies, clinical laboratories, and other medical treatment facilities, and empowers the Georgia Insurance Commissioner to determine the adequacy of such plans. The law also prohibits health insurance companies from denying preauthorization for healthcare services if a referral came from a physician outside of the patient’s network, such as an emergency room doctor.

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