News Articles

 ATLANTA --- The U.S. Department of Justice is questioning 2 million requests it says were made by Georgia officials since last fall to check the Social Security numbers of newly registered voters, far more than any other state.

In a letter sent to Georgia Attorney General Thurbert Baker, Justice Department officials said those checks appear to represent a substantial change in state law.

Voting rights groups on Thursday sued Secretary of State Karen Handel on behalf of a Cherokee County man who they said has been the victim of a methodical effort to deny him the right to vote.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, seeks to halt the state's attempts to verify the identities and citizenship of registered voters so close to the Nov. 4 election. Attorneys for the plaintiff, Jose Morales, also want the suit to become a class action.

The suit comes the day after the U.S. Department of Justice said the state's actions to verify identity and citizenship appear to violate the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The law requires states with a history of discriminatory voting practices to get approval from the federal government before making certain changes to voting and election policy.

By KEVIN DUFFY

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Residents of high-foreclosure neighborhoods are suffering additional pain from property taxes that are too high, according to a new report from a housing advocacy group.

Incumbent Chambliss, Democrat Martin, Libertarian Buckley scrap at rowdy forum

PERRY - There were only three issues in the first debate of Georgia's U.S. Senate candidates - the economy, the economy, the economy.

Incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss of Moultrie, Atlanta Democrat Jim Martin, and Libertarian Allen Buckley of Smyrna brawled Thursday night in front of a raucous crowd of 300 people in the Reaves Arena of the Georgia State Fair.

Democratic candidate Jim Martin is almost even with incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss in a new poll due out today.

Results of the latest Strategic Vision survey show Chambliss had 47 percent and Martin had 44 percent, with Libertarian Allen Buckley at 4 percent.

The margin of error for the poll was 3 percent.

The survey represents a decline of 15 percentage points for Chambliss relative to Martin since a Strategic Vision survey released Sept. 12.

The sampling of 800 likely voters also tracks with other recent polls that show a tightening race.

Candidates for the U.S. Senate and the 8th Congressional District, which includes Macon, Warner Robins and much of Middle Georgia, will debate tonight at the Georgia National Fair in Perry.

All three candidates for the Senate, and both candidates in the 8th District race, said they plan to attend. The Senate debate starts at 7 p.m. at the Reaves Arena at the fair and should last about an hour. After an intermission, the 8th District debate will begin and last about a half-hour. Both debates will be shown Saturday on WMAZ.

By ANDY MILLER

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

A new report ranks Georgia near the bottom on two key measures of children's health that focus on family education and income.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008, 05:48 PM

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Politicians argue that complaints filed with the State Ethics Commission are often designed to embarrass candidates during the height of a campaign.

And sometimes that's true.

On the other hand, very rarely does an office-holder track down the person who filed the complaint, and show up on his front door. But apparently this is what state Rep. Jill Chambers (R-Atlanta) did.

Would end automatic pay hikes for retirees

Georgia teacher organizations are lining up to fight a proposal by Gov. Sonny Perdue that would end automatic cost-of-living raises for retirees covered by the state Teachers Retirement System.

About 80,000 retired teachers, professors and other school employees draw retirement pay from the system, and more than 250,000 people still in the workforce have teachers retirement accounts, according to the Professional Association of Georgia Educators.

Cobb County has canceled hearings scheduled for Monday for voters who were notified that their citizenship was in doubt.

The decision by the county comes a day after the Department of Justice told Georgia officials that the state's efforts to verify the identity and citizenship of registered voters must be approved by the federal government in advance.