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Jun 25 2018

Georgia Has Become an At-Risk Patient With Casey Cagle, Brian Kemp and the GOP leadership

$3 Billion Per Year is lost in Revenue by Refusing to Expand Medicaid

ATLANTA — “Casey Cagle, Brian Kemp, and the GOP leadership’s refusal to expand Medicaid has resulted in a loss of more than $3 billion a year in federal funds, making Georgia an ‘at-risk’ patient”, said Democratic Party of Georgia’s Chairman, Dubose Porter.  Porter’s statement follows confirmation from both Cagle and Kemp that regardless of the benefits of expanding Medicaid, both would prefer the same short-term “market-based” solutions. [1]

“Despite the irreversible harm that their stances would inflict on all Georgians, Casey Cagle and Brian Kemp have made it clear that they do not plan on lifting a finger to improve healthcare measures here in Georgia, further putting the lives of Georgians at risk,” said Democratic Party of Georgia Chairman, DuBose Porter. “It is time to elect leaders up and down the ballot who will commit to building a healthier, more prosperous Georgia.”

Right now, 240,000 Georgians make too little to buy health insurance on the marketplace and don’t currently qualify for Medicaid. [2] Additionally, six rural hospitals have closed since 2013 and more than half of the remaining rural hospitals remain financially vulnerable to closure. [3] Thirty-two other states across the U.S. have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, Georgia not being one of them. [4] Due to GOP leadership in Georgia and their inability to take advantage of the opportunity to expand Medicaid, Georgia ranks near the bottom-tier of states on many healthcare measures. [5]

By every moral, economic and health measurement available, one thing has become clear— Kemp and Cagle are both willing to put partisan politics above the needs and lives of Georgians.

# # #

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[1] (GBPI)

[2] (GBPI)

[3] (GBPI)

[4] http://www.georgiahealthnews.com/2018/01/expanding-coverage-part-leaders-legislative-agenda/

[5] http://www.georgiahealthnews.com/2018/01/expanding-coverage-part-leaders-legislative-agenda/

Written by PNM Admin · Categorized: Press Releases · Tagged: ACA, Brian Kemp, Casey Cagle, Democratic Party of Georgia, DuBose Porter, Georgia health care, gop

May 31 2018

On 93rd Anniversary of the Founding of Delta Airlines, Georgia Democrats Call on Cagle, Kemp to Put Working Families Over Politics

RELEASE for Wednesday, May 30 2018.

Contact:    
Eric Gray
Communications Director
Democratic Party of Georgia
(678) 278-2016 ext. 302

Cagle, Kemp Consistently Choose Special Interests Over Georgia Businesses

GEORGIA — On the 93th Anniversary of the founding of Delta Airlines, Georgia Democratic Party Chair DuBose Porter, Lieutenant Governor Candidate Sarah Riggs Amico, Congressman Hank Johnson, State Senator Valencia Seay, State Representative Derrick Jackson, State Representative Debra Bazemore, and Georgia AFL-CIO President Charlie Flemming stood together to call on the Republican Gubernatorial candidates to immediately cease extremist rhetoric that threatens to push employers away from the state and work with Delta Airlines and other Georgia employers to ensure that Georgia remains “the best state in America to do business.”

Earlier this year, both Cagle and Kemp bent over backwards to appease the NRA by threatening Delta Airlines, Georgia’s largest employer, for ending a discount program for NRA members directly following the horrific Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting.

Casey Cagle tweeted “I will kill any tax legislation that benefits Delta unless the company changes its position”.

Brian Kemp followed up by saying “It’s time for the Georgia Senate to kill the tax break for Delta and replace it with a sales tax holiday that benefits the same 2nd Amendment supporters that Delta – and other corporate cowards – are publicly shaming.”

With campaign ads pointing shotguns at teenagers and both candidates willing to put special interests over Georgia business, it is abundantly clear that there is only one candidate in this race that will keep Georgia open for all businesses.

“Once we have elected the next governor, Stacey Abrams, you will also have a partner under that gold dome. My point here is very simple: where we are open for business, when we continue to say we’re the number one state to do business, the last five years, other Fortune 500 companies need to know that we are open for business. And Delta can be a true testament to that,” said State Representative Derrick Jackson. “It is the reason that they’ve been here as long as they have. Let’s turn Georgia blue, and show them why we are the number one state to do business.”

“You’re going to hear a lot of talk from Mr. Cagle and Mr. Kemp with regards to being the number one state for business, but as the president of the AFL-CIO, I am excited that the candidates that we are supporting believe that there should be two Georgias: one, a state that can always be number one, but also a state where workers can thrive,” said Georgia AFL-CIO President Charlie Flemming. “Leader Abrams has said that your beginning should not dictate where you end up. That every Georgian should have the opportunity to prosper and raise their families and have good education, all of the things that we like as workers.”

“Over 33,000 families depend upon Delta Airlines, not only for a paycheck, but for the benefits and career path that put their family on path to the American Dream. And the Democratic Party of Georgia understands that the preservation of that access to the American Dream is essential, not only to our employers but to the people of Georgia as well and unlike our Republican counterparts, who played politics with Delta’s tax credits in the State Senate this year with a tussle with the NRA, the Democratic Party of Georgia and the candidates that you see represented here today know that we will always put the people of Georgia first before any special interest,” said Georgia Lieutenant Governor Nominee Sarah Riggs Amico.

“People across the nation see the shenanigans that are being played by Republicans who aspire to the highest offices in GA. I think that Georgians know we can do a lot better than that. We can do a lot better than that with people like Stacey Abrams and Sarah Riggs Amico. The question is, do we want to have a Georgia of shotgun pullers or a Georgia of job makers and job creators?”  said Georgia Congressman Hank Johnson.


“We should never put a special interest before family, especially when Delta has been here for 93 years,” said State Senator Valencia Seay.

“I want to congratulate Delta. Ninety-three years in the community…  My daughter works for Delta, and she has two children, my grandchildren. So if Cagle and Kemp want to play politics and take away from Delta, it is going affect so many families, so many lives…” Georgia State Representative Debra Bazemore.

“Other Fortune 500 companies need to know that we are open for business. And Delta can be a true testament to that,” said State Representative Derrick Jackson. “It is the reason that they’ve been here as long as they have. Let’s turn Georgia blue, and show them why we are the number one state to do business.”

Gubernatorial Nominee Stacey Abrams has committed to building an economy in Georgia where every Georgian has the freedom and opportunity to thrive. Under Abrams leadership, Georgia will be a place where business can thrive in all 159 counties. To view Abrams’ plans to build a diverse and effective economy and help small businesses thrive, click here and here.

To view video from today’s event, click here.

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Written by PNM Admin · Categorized: Georgia Democrats, Press Releases · Tagged: Delta Airlines, Delta Anniversary, Democratic Party of Georgia, DuBose Porter, Georgia Democrats

Jan 08 2018

Alabama is a Democratic Election Roadmap for Georgia and South

By Chair DuBose Porter via The Hill

ATLANTA — Doug Jones’s win in Alabama was no miracle, no aberration in the political ecosystem, and no supernatural rarity limited to chance. The victory was deserved and it demands a fundamental rethinking of political operations in the deep South and elsewhere around the country. It sounds an alarm for Democratic investors that the time to dig in for 2018 is now, not in September.

Data sources and intelligence from the ground make it plain that the rise of black voter turnout was not a reaction against Roy Moore. Rather, success reflected the direct result of real investment that truly valued African American voters and a candidate who stood for policy important to the community. Conveniently for Democrats across the nation, these are the same policies the Democratic Party is becoming less and less afraid of championing, as a Republican White House and a conservative Congress try harder and harder to silence us.

Jones understands the source of change. In his victory speech on election night, he thanked the African American voters of Alabama. But to transform this win into a strategy for future celebrations, Democrats must take bold action and cut against our tendency to play it safe. Instead, our party must turn what has become an archaic formula for winning elections upside down, and we must do it now.

Allow me to lay out the case for Georgia in numbers to demonstrate why this is both time sensitive and imperative. Where Alabama’s white electorate is 70 percent, Georgia’s is only 55 percent, and Georgia Democrats can count on a reliable 23 percent of that white vote, even in tough years. While Alabama’s African American electorate is roughly a quarter of the population, Georgia’s is more than 40 percent and a coalition of African American, Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander voters comprise 45 percent of our electorate, and is rising.

Recall that Georgia outperformed Ohio in 2016. With just $100,000 in field investment from the Clinton campaign, Georgia was just shy of matching the vote deficit of neighboring battleground state North Carolina, where more than $30 million in investment poured in. Perhaps most plainly put, Donald Trump won Alabama with 62.1 percent of the vote. In Georgia, he won with just 51.3 percent. Where Alabama Democrats had to start to secure their victory, Georgia begins well more than 10 points bluer and nearly 20 percent more of our population are voters of color.

Georgia will be a minority majority state in just a few years, but we would be foolish to wait until then to chase our impending success. The tipping point for Democrats is not when our state becomes majority minority. The tipping point is critical mass, assuming the tools and resources are in place to create the infrastructure to turn out this coalition of voters of color, young people, and progressive white voters. The tipping point is here. And if you look at Arizona, Florida and other Sunbelt states, you’ll see a similar door of opportunity opening. As populations shift in our direction, our political strategies must catch up and race ahead.

What Georgia and other similarly situated state parties require now is early investment so that on the ground political operatives can build real political strength and infrastructure within the communities of our robust coalition. State parties, and our democracy in general, can’t wait until after our primary elections to get started. Late money to put ads up on TV advocating for one particular candidate to persuade dwindling Independent voters is no longer a viable primary option, and we must realize this before it’s too late.

It is equally shortsighted to think that only bad Republican candidates are driving Democratic success or that such success is a fluke. Replicating the win in Alabama is not impossible because the success of the Jones campaign was not an autonomous miracle. Let’s remember, Gov. John Bel Edwards in Louisiana, Gov. Roy Cooper in North Carolina, Gov. Ralph Northam and Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax in Virginia were not some deviant quirks of Southern politics. They are solid victories changing progressive policies in the South. Jones joined the trend. He didn’t start it.

The win in Alabama laid out the steps for success and all we need to do is follow them. We cannot take for granted our base, nor can we ignore the thousands of low propensity voters of color in the South simply because they haven’t self-activated into super voters. We must invest in early communication, build trust and strengthen our politics as a party in a way that respects and values every Democratic voter. It is our job as the Democratic Party to go to our voters in new and innovative ways, and this work needs to begin now.

DuBose Porter is chairman of the Democratic Party of Georgia.

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Alabama is a Democratic election roadmap for Georgia and South

Written by PNM Admin · Categorized: DPG in the News, Georgia Democrats, National Democrats, Party News, Press Releases · Tagged: Alabama Senate Race, Democratic Party of Georgia, Doug Jones, DuBose Porter, Georgia Democrats, Georgia Politics

Jan 31 2017

DPG Statement on Trump’s SCOTUS Nominee

Release:  Tuesday, January 31, 2017           

Atlanta, GA – Democratic Party of Georgia Chair DuBose Porter issued the following statement on Donald Trump’s nomination of Neil Gorsuch to serve on the Supreme Court.

“Hardworking Americans should be frightened by Trump’s nomination of Neil Gorsuch to serve on the Supreme Court. He has a well-documented history of favoring CEOs and corporations over the very people who drive our country’s economy. Georgia Democrats are more determined than ever to protect the rights of workers and organized labor unions.

“Trump has boldly stated that his pick would overturn Roe v. Wade. And true to form, Trump’s choice-Gorsuch—seems a likely candidate to do just that given his record of fighting for employers wanting to avoid the ACA requirements securing women access to contraception through their insurance.”

“Congressional Republicans stonewalled President Obama’s nominee for hundreds of days, leaving a vacancy on our nation’s highest court for absolutely no reason. The GOP’s naked obstructionism prevented our country from having a fully-functioning Supreme Court. Georgians are watching Senators Isakson and Perdue to see just how swiftly they roll over in submission to push Donald Trump’s pick through the confirmation process, proving they could have done their job during the Obama administration and just flat out chose not to.”

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Written by PNM Admin · Categorized: Georgia Democrats, Party News, Press Releases · Tagged: Democratic Party of Georgia, Donald Trump, DuBose Porter, Georgia Democrats, Neil Gorsuch, Supreme Court

Aug 18 2016

On the Ground: Jocelyn

FullSizeRender

“I support Hillary because she’s spent her entire career fighting for women and children’s rights.”

– Jocelyn Marcus, Volunteer at New Day GA Athens Field Office

Join Jocelyn and thousands of volunteers across the state by signing up here.

Written by PNM Admin · Categorized: Georgia Democrats, On The Ground · Tagged: Democratic Party of Georgia, Georgia Democrats, New Day GA

Aug 05 2016

Battleground Georgia: Latest Polling Proves GA is in Play

“Numbers don’t lie—Georgia is a battleground state. We’re not taking a single vote for granted, and we’re leaving no stone unturned to use this momentum to mobilize voters on an unprecedented scale. All I can say is that I wouldn’t want to be a Republican on November 8th.” –DuBose Porter, Chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia

Nate Silver’s FiveThirtyEight –

Nate

AJC 8/5/16 – AJC poll: Hillary Clinton has slim lead over Donald Trump in Georgia

Democrat Hillary Clinton has built a slim lead over Donald Trump in Georgia after one of the worst weeks of the Republican’s campaign, and the Libertarian presidential ticket cracked double-digits, according to a new Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll.

The poll released Friday shows Clinton at 44 percent and Trump at 40 percent in a head-to-head matchup, within the poll’s margin of error. It is the latest showing a close race between the two candidates in Georgia, a state that has voted for the GOP nominee since 1996.

Politico 8/5/2016 – Poll: Clinton leads Trump in Georgia

Hillary Clinton holds a four-point lead over Donald Trump in Georgia, a state that has not voted for a Democratic presidential nominee in nearly a quarter century, according to the results of an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll out Friday.

Politico 8/4/2016 – Reid: Clinton could win Georgia and Arizona

“If you look at Georgia — Georgia, last re-elect for President Obama, he never stepped foot in Georgia, but yet he lost by about three percent. Georgia’s Hillary Clinton’s, and I’m glad she’s going to be campaigning there,” the Nevada senator told reporters here…

WSBTV 8/1/2016 – Clinton, Trump deadlocked in latest Georgia poll

The exclusive Channel 2 Action News poll conducted by Landmark/Rosetta Stone polled nearly 800 likely Georgia voters. The poll, conducted over the weekend, found Trump and Clinton deadlocked with 45 percent of the vote. 

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Written by PNM Admin · Categorized: Georgia Democrats, Party News, Press Releases · Tagged: Battleground State, Democratic Party of Georgia, Georgia Democrats, Hillary Clinton

Aug 04 2016

Georgians’ Right to Vote Under Attack… AGAIN

“This brazen attack on our fundamental right to vote is yet another example of the Republican Party bending the rule of law to fit their partisan agenda. Using our voice at the ballot box is one of the most important things we do as citizens. If the GOP wishes to win elections, then they should win on the issues, not restrict access to the polls. Georgia Democrats are more committed than ever to not only fight these brazen attacks on our liberties, but expand access and ensure that every eligible voter in this state plays a key role in our democracy.” –Pinney Allen, Chair of the DPG Voter Protection Committee

 

 

From the NYT:

When the deputy sheriff’s patrol cruiser pulled up beside him as he walked down Broad Street at sunset last August, Martee Flournoy, a 32-year-old black man, was both confused and rattled. He had reason: In this corner of rural Georgia, African-Americans are arrested at a rate far higher than that of whites.

But the deputy had not come to arrest Mr. Flournoy. Rather, he had come to challenge Mr. Flournoy’s right to vote.

The majority-white Hancock County Board of Elections and Registration was systematically questioning the registrations of more than 180 black Sparta citizens — a fifth of the city’s registered voters — by dispatching deputies with summonses commanding them to appear in person to prove their residence or lose their voting rights. “When I read that letter, I was kind of nervous,” Mr. Flournoy said in an interview. “I didn’t know what to do.”

The board’s aim, a lawsuit later claimed, was to give an edge to white candidates in Sparta’s municipal elections — and that November, a white mayoral candidate won a narrow victory.

“A lot of those people that was challenged probably didn’t vote, even though they weren’t proven to be wrong,” said Marion Warren, a Sparta elections official who documented the purges and raised an alarm with voting-rights advocates. “People just do not understand why a sheriff is coming to their house to bring them a subpoena, especially if they haven’t committed any crime.”

The county attorney, Barry A. Fleming, a Republican state representative, said in an interview that the elections board was only trying to restore order to an electoral process tainted earlier by corruption and incompetence. The lawsuit is overblown, he suggested, because only a fraction of the targeted voters were ultimately scratched from the rolls.

“The allegations that people were denied the right to vote are the opposite of the truth,” he said. “This is probably more about politics and power than race.”

But the purge of Sparta voters is precisely the sort of electoral maneuver that once would have needed Justice Department approval before it could be put in effect. In Georgia and all or part of 14 other states, the 1965 Voting Rights Act required jurisdictions with histories of voter discrimination to receive so-called preclearance before changing the way voter registration and elections were conducted.

Three years ago, the Supreme Court declared the preclearance mandate unconstitutional, saying the blatant discrimination it was meant to prevent was largely a thing of the past.

But since the Supreme Court’s 5-to-4 ruling in the voting-rights case, Shelby County v. Holder, critics argue, the blatant efforts to keep minorities from voting have been supplanted by a blizzard of more subtle changes. Most conspicuous have been state efforts like voter ID laws or cutbacks in early voting periods, which critics say disproportionately affect minorities and the poor. Less apparent, but often just as contentious, have been numerous voting changes enacted in counties and towns across the South and elsewhere around the country.

They appear as Republican legislatures and election officials in the South and elsewhere have imposed statewide restrictions on voting that could depress turnout by minorities and other Democrat-leaning groups in a crucial presidential election year. Georgia and North Carolina, two states whose campaigns against so-called voter fraud have been cast by critics as aimed at black voters, could both be contested states in autumn’s presidential election.

Kristen Clarke, the president of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a leading voting-rights advocacy group, said that before the Supreme Court’s Shelby County ruling, discriminatory laws and procedures had been blocked by the preclearance provisions.

Now, she said, “We’re seeing widespread proliferation of these laws. And we are left only with the ability to mount slow, costly case-by-case challenges” to their legality.

Conservative critics of the Voting Rights Act say that is as it should be — that the federal government has no business usurping the role of elections monitor that citizen advocates have long and effectively played in other states. “Now every jurisdiction in the country must be treated equally in our courts when election issues are at stake,” said Edward Blum, the director of the Project on Fair Representation, a nonprofit legal program.

The local voting changes have often gone unnoticed and unchallenged. A June survey by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund found that governments in six former preclearance states have closed registration or polling places, making it harder for minorities to vote. Local jurisdictions in six more redrew districts or changed election rules in ways that diluted minorities’ votes.

Alabama moved last year to close 31 driver’s license offices, almost all in rural areas with large African-American populations, as a cost-saving measure. After lawsuit threats and complaints that the closings would severely curtail local voter registration, the state chose to open the offices at least one day a month. Gov. Robert J. Bentley, a Republican, has strongly denied that the closings were racially motivated.

In Hernando County, Fla.; Cleveland and Watauga Counties in North Carolina; Baldwin County, Ala.; and elsewhere, elections officials eliminated or moved polling places in largely minority districts; a state court overturned the Watauga County closure.

The Republican majority in North Carolina’s General Assembly redrew the political districts last year in Wake County, whose main city is Raleigh, concentrating black voters in the city center into a single voting district. (A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ruled that map unconstitutional.) In Pasadena, Tex., officials eliminated two District Council seats in largely Hispanic areas in 2014 and replaced them with at-large seats chosen largely by white voters. Hispanic voters have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to undo the change.

In Macon-Bibb County, Ga., in February, the elections board moved a polling place in a predominantly black neighborhood from a gymnasium that was being renovated to the county sheriff’s office. Officials changed the location to a church after a petition drive legally forced a reversal.

While those changes took place in states that once were wholly or partly under Justice Department supervision, other restrictions have been adopted by mostly Republican legislatures and election officials in states never cited for voting discrimination. Wisconsin’s unusually stringent photo ID law is the object of a federal lawsuit. A South Dakota county is in litigation over equal access to its polling places for Native Americans.

The effect on voter turnout is impossible to measure, but Ms. Clarke of the Lawyers’ Committee offers one barometer: So far in the 2016 primary election cycle, an election hotline run by the committee and others has fielded more than 22,000 questions and complaints from voters.

That is more than 10 times the number received by this point in 2012, although those presidential primary contests were considerably less pitched than the current ones.

Georgia has seen a litany of changes in — and challenges to — voting procedures since the Shelby County decision. A federal lawsuit accuses that state of illegally purging its voter rolls; in a recent two-year period, the 372,000 voters scrubbed from the rolls exceeded the number of new voters who were added. The chief elections official, Secretary of State Brian P. Kemp, has called the suit frivolous.

Mr. Kemp, a Republican who has crusaded against what he called the threat of voter fraud, has investigated voter-registration drives by Asian-American and predominantly black groups. A 2014 criminal inquiry into a group that had registered 85,000 new voters, many of them minorities, found problems with only 25 of the registrants, and no charges were filed.

Several counties have been sued over redistricting plans that dilute minority voting influence.

But perhaps none of the battles is more striking than the one in Hancock County, about 100 miles southeast of Atlanta, where three in four of the roughly 10,000 residents are black. The racial divide here is deep and prolonged; the white mayor of the county seat, Sparta, made headlines in 1970 after responding to black citizens’ school-desegregation protests by equipping the town’s six-member police force with submachine guns.

By the 1990s, the Justice Department had invoked its preclearance authority to block measures that it said would weaken minority representation on the Sparta City Council, but political control of the county was frequently split. By last year, black politicians ran Sparta, a white majority controlled the Hancock County commission, and a furious contest was underway between black and white slates to control the next Sparta administration.

The five-member Hancock County Board of Elections and Registration was controlled by three white members — the chairwoman, appointed by a local judge, and two members appointed by the Hancock County Republican Committee — one of whom, curiously, is a Democrat. According to documents filed in a federal lawsuit in nearby Macon, the board began taking steps last August that seemed destined to tilt the playing field to the white slate’s advantage.

The board first proposed to close all but one of the county’s 10 polling places, a move the N.A.A.C.P. and other minority advocates argued would disenfranchise rural blacks who could not travel long distances to vote. Board members eventually chose to eliminate just one predominantly black precinct. But around the same time, they began to winnow the county’s roll of registered voters, ordering an aide to compare the registrants’ stated addresses with those on their driver’s licenses to spot voters who had moved after registering to vote.

By October, a month before the city election, the board and a private citizen who appears to have worked with its white members had challenged the legality of 187 registered voters in Sparta. The board removed 53 of them, virtually all African-Americans — roughly one of every 20 voters. As a “courtesy,” court papers state, county sheriff’s deputies served summonses on the targeted voters, commanding them to defend themselves at election board meetings.

Some did, and were restored to the rolls. Others reacted differently to a police officer’s knock on their door.

“A lot of voters are actually calling to say they no longer wish to be on the list, so now we have people coming off the list who no longer want to vote,” Tiffany Medlock, the elections supervisor for the Hancock County elections board, told a Macon television reporter in late September. “It’ll probably affect the City of Sparta’s election in a major way.”

Mr. Warren, an African-American who is Sparta’s elections registrar, bought a hand-held video camera and began videotaping the county elections board’s meetings. His evidence helped lead the Georgia N.A.A.C.P., the Lawyers’ Committee and other advocacy groups to sue the county elections board, demanding that voters struck from the rolls be restored unless the county could prove they were ineligible.

A federal judge agreed. So far, 27 of Sparta’s 53 disenfranchised voters have been reinstated; the rest have yet to be located. Hancock County officials insist they did nothing wrong. In depositions this summer, the three white elections board members said their purge of Sparta’s voter rolls not only was correct, but that they would do it again.

But Julie Houk, an attorney handling the case for the Lawyers’ Committee, said the plaintiffs were determined to ensure that they do not. She said they plan to seek an injunction against future purges — and their lawsuit demands that the Justice Department reimpose preclearance reviews in the county until bias-free elections are a reality.

 

 

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Written by PNM Admin · Categorized: Georgia Democrats, Georgia Republicans, Georgia Voter Protection Hotline, Party News, Press Releases · Tagged: Democratic Party of Georgia, GAGOP, Georgia Democrats, Georgia Republicans, Voter Suppression, Voting Rights

Aug 04 2016

On the Ground: Embri

Alec Field Moment

“Embri B. went to high school in Stockbridge, and has come home after working on President Obama’s 2008 and 2012 campaigns. She currently organizes neighborhood community groups, and works with them to draft legislation to be introduced at all levels of government in Georgia. Embri volunteers with New Day GA to identify Georgia Democrats, get them to the polls, and ensure that we go blue this year!” – Alec Barnes, DPG New Day GA Field Organizer

Join Embri and thousands of volunteers across the state by signing up here.

Written by PNM Admin · Categorized: Georgia Democrats, On The Ground · Tagged: Democratic Party of Georgia, Georgia Democrats, New Day GA

Aug 03 2016

DPG Seeking Fall Interns

The Democratic Party of Georgia is seeking interns who are passionate about politics and want to gain experience in an intensive campaign setting. The DPG’s interns will contribute to a diverse, hard-working team committed to turning Georgia blue in 2016 and beyond.

Job functions will include research, writing, direct outreach to voters and donors, coordinating logistics for events, administrative support, and so much more. All interns will perform a variety of tasks, but the experience will be tailored to each intern’s skills and interests (finance, development, fieldwork, etc).

To apply, email your resume to [email protected] with the subject line “DPG Internship.”

Written by PNM Admin · Categorized: Georgia Democrats, Party News · Tagged: Democratic Party of Georgia, Georgia Democrats, Internships

Jan 13 2016

DPG Statement on Gov. Deal’s State of the State Address

Release:  Wednesday, January 13, 2016                                                                                         

 

Democratic Party of Georgia Statement on Governor Deal’s State of the State Address

 

 

Atlanta, GA – Today, Democratic Party of Georgia Chair DuBose Porter issued the following statement on Governor Nathan Deal’s State of the State address.

 

“Governor Deal’s take on the State of our State is misleading. His administration has turned down a myriad of opportunities to share in our nation’s prosperity—from Medicaid expansion to investments in transportation and infrastructure. The Republican leadership’s stonewalling of smart policy has crushed the backbone of Georgia’s economy—the middle class.

 

“If Deal truly wants what is best for our state, and ensure that the State of our State is strong, he’ll work with Democrats to address the serious problems that plague the wellbeing of Georgia families. Together, we can work to increase stagnant wages and close the pay gap between women and men. We can work together to provide affordable healthcare to hundreds of thousands of the uninsured. We can reach across party lines to build an economy that’s meant to last and leaves no one behind.

 

“Perhaps most importantly, we can fully fund public education, making a smart investment in our children—our future—and provide our educators with the tools and support they deserve.

 

“It is past time for Georgia to live up to its promise. We can do better, and we can shape a better future. But there must be a willingness from the Deal administration to work with Democrats and forge a better tomorrow from the center out.”

 

Written by PNM Admin · Categorized: Georgia Democrats, Georgia Republicans, Press Releases · Tagged: Democratic Party of Georgia, DuBose Porter, Georgia Democrats, Georgia State of the State, Nathan Deal, State of the State

Jan 12 2016

DPG Statement on President Obama’s Final State of the Union Address

Release:  Tuesday, January 12, 2016                                                                                              

 

Democratic Party of Georgia Statement on President Barack Obama’s Final State of the Union Address

 

 

Atlanta, GA – Today, Democratic Party of Georgia Chair DuBose Porter issued the following statement on President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address.

 

“Tonight, we heard that the State of our Union is strong, due in large part to the leadership of President Barack Obama. Since the President took office in 2009, our country has seen 70 consecutive months of job growth—an extraordinary accomplishment for an administration that inherited a financial crisis of apocalyptic proportions.

 

“The Obama Administration has given our country record economic growth, the lowest uninsured rate in history, taken commonsense action on immigration that keeps families together—the accomplishments are countless.

 

“As the President said, there’s still much to be done. Our country must commit to building an economy that truly works for everyone, guided by our values of hope and opportunity for the middle class and those aspiring to join it. We need to do more as a community to ensure that every single American has a fair shot—a guiding principle that the President and our Party fight for every single day. A principle that the Georgia Republican Party has neglected and rejected.

 

“Georgia Democrats continue to support the ambitious and forward-thinking agenda President Obama laid out tonight. Looking ahead, our nation cannot afford what the GOP is offering—the same failed policies that got us in a mess in the first place. Georgia Democrats are more committed than ever to sending another Democrat to the White House to build on this administration’s extraordinary progress and continue to pursue the immeasurable promise of our shared future.

 

“This is President Barack Obama’s last State of the Union address and we are grateful for his service and his leadership. He has lit a path forward, and together we will elect a Democratic President later this year who will honor his legacy while building one of her or his own.”

Written by PNM Admin · Categorized: Georgia Democrats, National Democrats, Press Releases · Tagged: Democratic Party of Georgia, DuBose Porter, Georgia Democrats, President Obama, SOTU, State of the Union

Dec 15 2015

Chairman DuBose Porter: The Right to Be Represented

Last week, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in Evenwel v. Abbott. Democratic Party of Georgia Chair DuBose Porter gave his take on the case that threatens the democratic principle of “one person, one vote.”

 

DuBose Porter: The right to be represented

Savannah Morning News // DuBose Porter

 

Fifty years ago, Georgia’s own John Lewis stood on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., with young activists demanding a voice at the ballot box. Congress passed and President Johnson signed into law the Voting Rights Act of 1965 —a landmark piece of legislation that extended the franchise to countless Americans whose participation in our democracy was denied. While we have made much progress since 1965, recently we’ve witnessed a coordinated attack from the right to limit who has access to our democracy.

Republicans around the nation are gunning for more restrictions on voters — because when large groups of targeted populations are disenfranchised, they have a better chance of winning. This ‘change the rules of the game to ensure a win’ effort is demonstrated through restrictive voter ID laws, curtailing early voting, and other egregious attempts to limit access to the necessary documents needed to register to vote.

But now we face another fundamental challenge to our democracy. On Dec. 8, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Evenwel v. Abbott. On its face, it’s just a redistricting case. But a closer look reveals just how insidious this right-wing attack on democracy truly is.

The plaintiff, Sue Evenwel, is an executive member of the Texas Republican Party. If she wins in court and has her way, states would be forced to leave out entire swaths of their populations when drawing legislative districts simply because they are not voters. Children, legal permanent residents, and others currently unable to vote would not be counted and would be invisible for purposes of representation. In other words, districts would be drawn on the number of eligible voters — not on the actual population of an area.

Instead of representing all of the people, our elected officials would effectively ignore millions of people living under their jurisdiction simply because they can’t vote. These are children who go to our schools. They’re hardworking women and men who pay the taxes that pave our roads and build our infrastructure. They’re the DREAMers who will one day become homeowners, business owners, and employers.

To ignore them when creating legislative districts is to disenfranchise the very people we’ve fought so hard to include in our democracy over the past five decades. Young people, African Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans all disproportionately suffer if Sue Evenwel gets her way.

In Georgia, an estimated 2,490,299 young people under 18 could be disenfranchised if Sue Evenwel has her way — including 49 percent who are young women; 833,690 of African Americans; and 314,438 of Hispanics.

Republican lawmakers in Georgia have already mounted a concerted effort to restrict access to the ballots. This offensive move began few a years ago with new Georgia voter ID laws — some of the strictest in the nation. And it continues with Republicans pushing to hack away at early voting days and a Secretary of State who regularly purges our voter rolls.

And just last year, after several counties decided to expand early voting opportunities to a few Sundays in October, Republicans vowed to “eliminate this election law loophole.”

Ballot access is not a loophole, it’s a guaranteed right. As Americans, we are directed to protect this sacred right and no effort to restrict or intimidate its exercise should be tolerated.

This is a cause that all fair-minded Americans can rally behind. After all, the defendant in the case is Texas’ own Republican Governor, Greg Abbot who is advocating for districting by population.

In 2015, we must remain as vigilant as ever in the face of such egregious attacks on our democracy. We’ve come too far to silently sit back and let those with an extreme agenda erase our progress. Anything less would dishonor the legacy of heroes like John Lewis and the countless others that gave their all — in some cases their lives — to ensure that every American has a voice.

DuBose Porter of Dublin is chairman of the Democratic Party of Georgia.

Written by PNM Admin · Categorized: DPG in the News, Georgia Democrats · Tagged: Democratic Party of Georgia, DuBose Porter, Evenwel v. Abbott, Georgia Democrats, Voting Rights

Feb 20 2015

DPG Chair Issues Statement on SB 129

Release:  Friday, February 20, 2015          

                                                                                     

Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Issues Statement on SB 129

 

 

Atlanta, GA – Today, Democratic Party of Georgia Chair DuBose Porter issued the following statement in response to the Senate Judiciary Committee tabling SB 129, one of two alleged religious freedom bills.

 

“The Constitution—a 200 year old document that has withstood the test of time—is clear and provides the strongest protections guaranteeing all Americans religious freedom.

 

“It’s interesting that all these ‘strict constructionists’ and ‘small government’ Republicans love to create unfounded controversy to put more legislation on the books. These legislators have 40 days where they can come together and do things that have a positive impact on the lives of Georgians. And most folks I talk to are more concerned with different moral tenets that are shared by the major religions—being good stewards of the planet, feeding the hungry, and providing health care for the sick.

 

“Hopefully, this move by the Senate Judiciary Committee is the death knell for legislation that is essentially a license to discriminate. Georgia Democrats are fine by adhering to the Great Commandment—love thy neighbor.”

 

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Written by PNM Admin · Categorized: Georgia Democrats, Press Releases · Tagged: Democratic Party of Georgia, DuBose Porter, Georgia Democrats, RFRA

Jul 22 2014

Democratic Party of GA Chairman DuBose Porter on Tonight’s Primary Runoff Results

Democratic Party of Georgia Chairman DuBose Porter on Tonight’s Primary Runoff Results

 

Atlanta, GA – Democratic Party of Georgia Chair DuBose Porter issued the following statement on Tuesday’s primary runoff results in the Georgia GOP Senate race.

“There is a clear contrast in this race between Michelle Nunn, a leader who has spent the last 25 years leading volunteer organizations and lifting communities up, and David Perdue, someone who has spent his career enriching himself while often times tearing companies and communities apart,” said Democratic Party of Georgia Chair DuBose Porter. “Georgians want leaders who will fix the mess in Washington, not someone who puts personal profit ahead of regular people.”

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Written by PNM Admin · Categorized: Georgia Democrats, Georgia Republicans, Press Releases · Tagged: David Perdue, Democratic Party of Georgia, dpg, Ga GOP, Georgia Democrats, Georgia Republicans

Jul 22 2014

Democratic Party of Georgia to Hold State Convention Saturday, Aug. 9 in Dublin, GA

Democratic Party of Georgia to Hold State Convention Saturday, Aug. 9 in Dublin, GA

Michelle Nunn, Sen. Jason Carter, Connie Stokes and other statewide candidates to be featured.

 

Atlanta, GA – The Democratic Party of Georgia will hold its quadrennial State Convention on Saturday, August, 9 in Dublin, Georgia at the DuBose Porter Regional Business and Industry Center. Senator Steve Henson and Representative Stacey Abrams will be co-chairing the event.

 

“We’re bringing our convention to Georgia’s heartland.” said Democratic Party of Georgia Chair DuBose Porter. “The selection of Laurens County to host this event should assure everyone that we will be working in all 159 counties. We have been and will be campaigning in the middle of Georgia and every corner of this state—North, South, East, and West.”

 

The purpose of the State Convention is to inspire and promote unity among Georgia Democrats in order to support and elect our nominees up and down the ballot to government offices at every level.

 

“As Chair, the most exciting part of the convention will be presenting our slate of statewide candidates. For months, our candidates have been making the case for Georgia Democrats,” concluded Chairman Porter. “The State Convention will give us an opportunity to speak with a unified voice—Republicans have ruined Georgia. They have wrecked education, job training, transportation, health care, and our environment. We have a better plan for our state’s future.”

 

A day full of events are scheduled, including speeches from Democratic statewide candidates, a BBQ lunch with live entertainment, votes on important resolutions, conducting the official business of the Democratic Party of Georgia, and general fellowship with unified and motivated Georgia Democrats.

 

 

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Written by PNM Admin · Categorized: Georgia Democrats, Press Releases · Tagged: Democratic Party of Georgia, Georgia Democrats, State Convention

Jun 25 2014

Release: DPG Chair Releases Statement on Anniversary of Shelby v. Holder Decision

Release:  Wednesday, June 25, 2014                                                                                               

 

Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Releases Statement on Anniversary of Shelby v. Holder Decision

 

 

Atlanta, GA – Democratic Party of Georgia Chair DuBose Porter released the following statement in recognition of the one year anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Shelby v. Holder. The decision struck down a central portion of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

 

“Discrimination at the ballot box is very real and Congress must act immediately to fully restore the Voting Rights Act.

 

“By design, Election Day is a chance to be reminded that all men and women are created equal—it does not matter if you are rich or poor, black or white or brown, gay or straight, Ivy League-educated or an eighth grade dropout.

 

“The face of our state is rapidly changing and Republicans can see the writing on the wall. That’s why the GOP has sought to disenfranchise the elderly and people of color any given opportunity. And as they begin to lose more and more elections, they will continue to change the rules of the game.

 

“Voting is the building block of representative government—which has made America great for generations. And the concerted efforts by Republicans over the last several years to restrict access to the ballot is targeted at likely Democratic voters—seniors, those in rural areas, and people of color. And regardless of what Nathan Deal or Republican officials say, Georgia has a long history of disenfranchising these specific voting blocs.

 

“A vote for Democrats is a vote for better schools. A vote for Democrats is a vote for clean air and water. A vote for Democrats is a vote for expanded access to quality health care for all. These are the issues that Democrats stand for, voters know this, and the Republican Party cannot stand it. The best way for them to censor Democratic values is to prevent those who uphold those values from voting in the first place.

 

“The Democratic Party of Georgia will continue to work with our leaders and elected officials at the state and national level to enhance the franchise for access to the polls.”

 

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Written by PNM Admin · Categorized: Georgia Democrats, Press Releases · Tagged: Democratic Party of Georgia, DuBose Porter, Georgia Democrats, Voting Rights Act, VRAA

May 17 2014

Georgia Democratic Leaders Mark 60th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education Decision

Release:  Saturday, May 7, 2014     

                                                                                     

Georgia Democratic Leaders Celebrate 60th Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education Decision

 

Atlanta, GA – Today, leaders of the Democratic Party of Georgia released the following statements in honor of the 60th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education Supreme Court decision, which prohibited racial segregation in our nation’s schools.

 

“Today, we are reminded that America is a nation discontent with the notion of oppression,” said Chairman DuBose Porter. “Often, the journey to equality is excruciatingly slow and seemingly unending. And our work in the fight for equality and tolerance is certainly unfinished. But this decision—which abandoned hatred and discrimination in favor of justice—demonstrates our nation’s desire to become a more perfect union.”

 

“It has been 60 years since the Brown v. Board of Education decision. The decisions pave the way for voting rights, and through the courage of many, a generation of children became the leaders of our pursuit of justice,” said Democratic House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams. “Though we are far from a full integrated educational system, this anniversary remains a lodestar for those committed to advocate for and fight against prejudice and injustice wherever we find it.”

 

Senate Minority Leader Steve Henson marked the anniversary with a call to action, adding “On this historic date, we are reminded that it is required of us to ensure that every American should have a chance for a quality education. We must not allow inequality to creep into our public system or to let any child be left behind.”

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Written by PNM Admin · Categorized: Georgia Democrats, Press Releases · Tagged: Brown v. Board of Education, Democratic Party of Georgia, DuBose Porter, Georgia Democrats, Georgia House Democrats, Georgia Senate Democrats, Rep. Stacey Abrams, Sen. Steve Henson

May 07 2014

Highlights from Jefferson-Jackson 2014

Sen. Jason Carter at the 2014 Jefferson-Jackson Dinner from Georgia Democrat on Vimeo.

James Carville Speaks at Jefferson-Jackson 2014 from Georgia Democrat on Vimeo.

Herman Russell Receives the 2014 John Lewis Lifetime Achievement Award from Georgia Democrat on Vimeo.

Connie Stokes Leads Pledge of Allegiance at Jefferson-Jackson 2014 from Georgia Democrat on Vimeo.

Leader Stacey Abrams Honoring Georgia House Dems at Jefferson-Jackson 2014 from Georgia Democrat on Vimeo.

Leader Steve Henson Honoring GA Senate Dems at Jefferson-Jackson 2014 from Georgia Democrat on Vimeo.

Dr. Raphael Warnock Delivers Invocation at Jefferson-Jackson 2014 from Georgia Democrat on Vimeo.

DPG Officers Recognize DPG Officials and Candidates from Georgia Democrat on Vimeo.

Written by PNM Admin · Categorized: Georgia Democrats · Tagged: Democratic Party of Georgia, Georgia Democrats, James Carville, Jason Carter, Jefferson Jackson

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