Save the Dates! Your 2020 Election Cheat Sheet

Save the Dates! Your 2020 Election Cheat Sheet

When is the Presidential Primary? When is the registration date cutoff? You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers. Bottom line: expect to head to the polls a lot in 2020.

Presidential Primary Date: June 9, 2020.
General Primary Date: June 9, 2020
**Voter Registration Cutoff: May 11**
This is when you’ll go to vote for who you want to represent the Democrats for federal and state offices (ie: who you want to challenge Senator David Perdue, who you want to represent you in Georgia’s state house and senate, etc)

General Primary Runoff: August 11, 2020
**Voter Registration Cutoff (federal offices only): June 22**
If someone doesn’t get 50% + 1 of the popular vote in the June 9 primary, the election will go to a runoff of the top two candidates.

 General Election: November 3, 2020
**Voter Registration Cutoff: October 5**
This is it. The Big Day. Get out and vote like your rights depend on it (they do).

General Election Runoff for State and Local Offices: December 1, 2020
**Voter Registration Cutoff: October 5**
If someone doesn’t get 50% + 1 of the popular vote in the November 3 election, the election will go to a runoff of the top two candidates.

General Election Runoff for Federal Offices: January 5, 2021
**Voter Registration Cutoff: December 7, 2020**
Basically, this is going to be the runoff for Isakson’s seat. Since his election is a special jungle election, there may be more than two candidates running for one party. And if someone doesn’t get 50% + 1 of the popular vote on November 3, this will be the date of the runoff.

 

What about early voting? That will be decided about 2 months before each election. Stay tuned!

We’re going to be busy in 2020, knocking doors and explaining all these elections to people. Can you spare $5 a month for a recurring donation so we can print canvassing handouts and run Facebook ads?

Source: Georgia secretary of state

Congrats to Our New State Committee Members

Congrats to Our New State Committee Members

Last night at our monthly action meeting, our post seat holders elected our state committee members to represent us at the state party level for the next four years.state committee reps

Meet your state committee representatives:

Fulton County State Committee
Commission District 1 Commission District 2 Commission District 3
Sean Calahan Zane Malas Marc Schlather
Lauren Higdon Marley Brown Brandon Goldberg
Phil Lunney Hope Mays Ted Frankel
Terri Crawford Bob Gibeling
Commission District 4 Commission District 5 Commission District 6
Erica Pines LeWanna Tucker Rodney Littles
Jen Rafanan Gloria Jenkins Aaron Johnson
Al Turnell Helen Willis Damita Chatman
Patricia Lovett Jaceey Sebastian

We want to thank everyone who ran to be on the state committee, and we encourage everyone to stay involved! Come to our events, become a post seat holder (if you haven’t already!) and pay your $25 dues!

State Committee Member Elections Coming on February 21

It’s time to elect our state committee representatives! Members of the state committee represent the interests of the Fulton County Democratic Party Committee to the Democratic Party of Georgia. State committee members are like the Post Seat Holders (voting members) of the state party. This is a great opportunity to influence the state and national party from the local level! Committee members serve four-year terms and have several responsibilities:

  • Attend the state committee meetings, where DPG business is addressed and voted on. They occur at least once annually.
  • Vote on the DPG executive committee and Congressional District Chairs (state party leadership)
  • Be an active members of our voter and public outreach activities–get more people as involved as you are!

To be a member of the state committee, you must be a resident and registered voter in Fulton County. There are 22 seats available across the entire county, and those positions will be voted on by post seat holders (listed here).  Each Fulton County Commission District may have at maximum four (4) state committee members elected from it. Candidates may also give a short speech of approximately one minute before the entire county committee.

If you would like to run for one of the state committee seats you must show up on February 21 at the FCDP regular business meeting at 7:00 pm in the IBEW Auditorium at 501 Pulliam Street, SW, Atlanta 30312.

Please also fill out this google form here in order to make registration and check-in more expedient: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfODOYkCpCl4zUc4UCVJ7TxW48oJwBvtfbGg1E8bcPQSAm3FQ/viewform
Beyond this, all required forms will be present at the meeting.

 If you have any questions, please contact the Membership Chair, Sean Calahan at Membership@fultondems.org.

We look forward to seeing you all in February!

Fulton County Early Voting Sites For the Runoff

Fulton County will have one week of early voting for the runoff for Secretary of State and Public Service Commissioner. Election Day will be December 4.
Click here for the official list from Fulton County Board of Elections.

Hours: Monday, November 26 – Friday, November 30, 8:30 am – 7:00 pm

Click here for an interactive map of all locations.

Locations

North Fulton
Alpharetta Branch Library, 10 Park Plaza, Alpharetta GA 30009
Robert F. Fulton Ocee Library, 5090 Abbotts Bridge Road, Johns Creek GA 30005
Milton Library, 855 Mayfield Road, Milton GA 30009
East Roswell Branch Library, 2301 Holcomb Bridge Road, Roswell GA 30076
North Fulton Service Center (Room 232), 7741 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs GA 30350

Mid-Fulton
Buckhead Library, 269 Buckhead Ave NE, Atlanta GA 30305
Fulton County Government Center, 130 Peachtree Street, SW, Atlanta GA 30303
Chastain Park Recreation Center, 140 W.Wieuca Road NW, Atlanta GA 30342
Ponce De Leon Library, 980 Ponce De Leon Ave, NE, Atlanta GA 30306

South Fulton
C.T. Martin Natatorium Recreation Center, 3201 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., Atlanta GA 30311
Southwest Arts Center, 915 New Hope Road., SW, Atlanta GA 30331
Wolf Creek Library, 3100 Enon Road, Atlanta GA 30331
College Park Library, 3647 Main Street, College Park GA 30337
South Fulton Service Center, 5600 Stonewall Tell Road, College Park GA 30349
Welcome All Recreation Center, 4255 Will Lee Road, College Park GA 30349

 

 

If you have any questions or run into any issues while voting, call the Democratic Party of Georgia’s voter protection hotline at 888-730-5816.

Recommendations for Proposed Constitutional Amendments and Referenda

Recommendations for Proposed Constitutional Amendments and Referenda

When you look at your ballot for the November 6th election, you’ll see five constitutional amendment options, two statewide referenda, a Fulton county referendum, and possibly a city referendum or two. Below, you can find plain-language explanations, plus recommended voting suggestions. This information is meant to be used as an informational guide; we encourage all voters to make informed decisions and vote how they individually choose.

Click here for a printable pdf of in-depth recommendations and explanations from Stacey Abrams and the Democratic Party of Georgia.

See below for a shorter version that includes Fulton County initiatives.

 

Amendment 1: Create Georgia Outdoor Stewardship to Protect Water, Wildlife, and Parks

How it will look on your ballot: Without increasing the current state sales tax rate, shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to create the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund to conserve lands that protect drinking water sources and the water quality of rivers, lakes, and streams; to protect and conserve forests, fish, wildlife habitats, and state and local parks; and to provide opportunities for our children and families to play and enjoy the outdoors, by dedicating, subject to full public disclosure, up to 80 percent of the existing sales tax collected by sporting goods stores to such purposes without increasing the current state sales tax rate?
Recommendation from Stacey Abrams and the Democratic Party of Georgia: Vote Yes.
Additional note from the Fulton County Dems: This amendment allows the General Assembly the ability to allocate funds, but it does not REQUIRE them to.

 

Amendment 2: Creates a State-wide Business Court

How it will look on your ballot: Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to create a state-wide business court, authorize superior court business court divisions, and allow for the appointment process for state-wide business court judges in order to lower costs, improve the efficiency of all courts, and promote predictability of judicial outcomes in certain complex business disputes for the benefit of all citizens of this state?
Recommendation from Stacey Abrams and the Democratic Party of Georgia: Vote Yes.
Additional note from the Fulton County Dems: Many including Abrams consider this to be a good Amendment to speed up business decisions and relieve the present system. The opposition sees at least 2 reasons against:
The first is that the judges are appointed (makes sense for a ‘specialized’ court for expertise). This is the first instance of appointed rather than elected judges.
The second is the concern that it would be used to further the interests of business, especially against workers and unions.

 

Amendment 3:  Encourages Conservation and Sustainability for Georgia Working Forests

How it will look on your ballot: Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to revise provisions related to the subclassification for tax purposes of and the prescribed methodology for establishing the value of forest land conservation use property and related assistance grants, to provide that assistance grants related to forest land conservation use property may be increased by general law for a five-year period and that up to 5 percent of assistance grants may be deducted and retained by the state revenue commissioner to provide for certain state administrative costs, and to provide for the subclassification of qualified timberland property for ad valorem taxation purposes?

Recommendation from Stacey Abrams and the Democratic Party of Georgia: Vote Yes.
Additional note from the Fulton County Dems: Georgia’s forestry economy depends on the ability to sustain the ‘growing season’ for these ‘farmers’.

 

Amendment 4: Marsy’s Law Rights to Victims for ‘allegedly’ been perpetrated

How it will look on your ballot: Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to provide certain rights to victims against whom a crime has allegedly been perpetrated and allow victims to assert such rights?

Recommendation from Stacey Abrams and the Democratic Party of Georgia: Vote Yes.
Additional note from the Fulton County Dems: The criticism for those voting no is that this is already in the laws of Georgia and it infringes on the rights of those accused. The justification is mainly to protect women whose rights are often ignored vs. a ‘known’ abuser who will not be denied.

 

Amendment 5: Authorizes the Fair Allocation of Tax Proceeds To County and City School Systems

How it will look on your ballot: Shall the Constitution of Georgia be amended so as to authorize a referendum for a sales and use tax for education by a county school district or an independent school district or districts within the county having a majority of the students enrolled within the county and to provide that the proceeds are distributed on a per student basis among all the school systems unless an agreement is reached among such school systems for a different distribution?

Recommendation from Stacey Abrams and the Democratic Party of Georgia: Vote Yes.
Additional note from the Fulton County Dems: Allows a larger school to move forward with an E-SPLOST without a smaller system within the same county. It does take some negotiating power away from the smaller systems.

 

Statewide Referendum Questions:

  1. Impose a property tax cap for the City of Atlanta

How it will look on your ballot:Do you approve a new homestead exemption in a municipal corporation that is located in more than one county, that levies a sales tax for the purposes of a metropolitan area system of public transportation, and that has within its boundaries an independent school system, from ad valorem taxes for municipal purposes in the amount of the difference between the current year assessed value of a home and the adjusted base year value, provided that the lowest base year value will be adjusted yearly by 2.6 percent?

Recommendation from Stacey Abrams and the Democratic Party of Georgia: Vote Yes.

  1. Allows for a property tax exemption on homes for the mentally disabled

How it will look on your ballot: Shall the Act be approved which provides an exemption from ad valorem taxes on nonprofit homes for the mentally disabled if they include business corporations in the ownership structure for financing purposes?

Recommendation from Stacey Abrams and the Democratic Party of Georgia: Vote Yes.

Fulton County Referenda

1. Vote to repeal the amendment that prohibits Fulton County from levying any taxes on industrial districts to fund education

How it will look on your ballot: Shall the Act be approved which repeals the amendment to the Constitution of Georgia creating within Fulton County the Fulton County Industrial District and prohibiting the governing authority of Fulton County from levying any tax for educational purposes within the boundaries of an independent school system?

Recommendation from Fulton County Dems: Vote Yes

2. Homestead exemption Ad Valorem Tax

How it will look on your ballot: Shall the Act be approved which provides a homestead exemption from Fulton County ad valorem taxes for county purposes in the amount of $50,000.00 of the assessed value of the homestead for residents of that county who are older than 65 years of age?

Recommendation from Fulton County Dems: None

3. Homestead Exemption Property Tax

How it will look on your ballot: Shall the Act be approved which provides a homestead exemption from Fulton County ad valorem taxes for county purposes in the amount of $50,000.00 of the assessed value of the homestead for residents of that county who are older than 65 years of age?

Recommendation from Fulton County Dems: None

You might also see city questions about taxes or Sunday Alcohol Sales. The Fulton County Dems recommend voting yes on all Sunday Alcohol Sales referenda.

Ready to vote? Click here to find your nearest early voting location and times of operation.

Fulton County Early Voting Sites Announced

Fulton County will have three weeks of early voting for the Midterm elections, including two Saturdays and two Sundays. There will also be a variety of “voting outreach” centers (see bottom of this post) open at senior centers and colleges throughout the county where any Fulton County registered voter can cast a ballot.
Click here for the official list from Fulton County Board of Elections.

Early voting will run from Monday, October 15 till Friday, November 2.

Hours: October 15 – October 27, 8:30 am – 7:00 pm
October 29 – Friday, November 2, 7:00 am. – 7:00 pm.

SATURDAY VOTING: October 20 and October 27, 8:30 am – 7:00 pm
SUNDAY VOTING: October 21 and October 28, noon – 5:00 pm

Click here for an interactive map of all locations.

Locations

North Fulton
Alpharetta Branch Library, 10 Park Plaza, Alpharetta GA 30009
Johns Creek Environmental Campus, 8100 Holcomb Bridge Road, Alpharetta GA 30022
Robert F. Fulton Ocee Library, 5090 Abbotts Bridge Road, Johns Creek GA 30005
Milton Library, 855 Mayfield Road, Milton GA 30009
East Roswell Branch Library, 2301 Holcomb Bridge Road, Roswell GA 30076
North Fulton Service Center (Room 232), 7741 Roswell Road, Sandy Springs GA 30350

Mid-Fulton
Adams Park Library, 2231 Campbellton Rd SW, Atlanta GA 30311
Buckhead Library, 269 Buckhead Ave NE, Atlanta GA 30305
Fulton County Government Center, 130 Peachtree Street, SW, Atlanta GA 30303
Northwest Branch at Scotts Crossing Library, 2489 Perry Boulevard NW, Atlanta GA 30318
Northside Library, 3295 Northside Parkway, NW, Atlanta GA 30327
Chastain Park Recreation Center, 140 W.Wieuca Road NW, Atlanta GA 30342
Ponce De Leon Library, 980 Ponce De Leon Ave, NE, Atlanta GA 30306

South Fulton
C.T. Martin Natatorium Recreation Center, 3201 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr., Atlanta GA 30311
Southeast Atlanta Library, 1463 Pryor Road, Atlanta GA 30315
Southwest Arts Center, 915 New Hope Road., SW, Atlanta GA 30331
Wolf Creek Library, 3100 Enon Road, Atlanta GA 30331
College Park Library, 3647 Main Street, College Park GA 30337
South Fulton Service Center, 5600 Stonewall Tell Road, College Park GA 30349
Welcome All Recreation Center, 4255 Will Lee Road, College Park GA 30349

In addition to 20 early voting locations, Fulton County will also offer special “voter outreach” locations throughout the early voting period to reach seniors and students in locations that are more convenient to them. These special early voting locations will only be open for two days each, and are only for individuals who are registered in Fulton County.

Senior and Neighborhood Centers

H.J. C. Bowden Senior Multipurpose Facility
2885 Church Street
East Point, GA 30344
Thursday, October 25 and Friday, October 26, 8:30 am – 4:00 pm

Dorothy C. Benson Senior Multi-Purpose Facility
6500 Vernon Woods Dr. NE
Sandy Springs, GA 30328
Saturday, October 20, 8:30 am 4:00 pm, and Sunday, October 21, noon – 5:00 pm

Helene S. Mills Senior Multi-Purpose Facility
515.John Wesley Dobbs, Ave., NE
Atlanta, GA 30312
Saturday, October 27, 8:30 am – 4:00 pm and Sunday, October 28, noon – 5:00 pm

Quality Living Services
Senior Facility
4001 Danforth Road, SW
Atlanta, GA 30331
Saturday, October 20, 8:30 am – 4:00 pm and Sunday, October 21, noon – 5:00 pm

Park Place at Newtown School
Johns Creek Active Senior Center
3125 Old Alabama Road
Johns Creek, GA 30022
Thursday, October 25 and Friday, October 26, 8:30 am – 4:00 pm

Roswell Neighborhood Senior Center
1250 Warsaw Rd
Roswell, GA 30016
Saturday, October 20, 8:30 am – 4:00 pm and Sunday, October 21, noon – 5:00 pm

New Horizon Neighborhood Senior Center
745 Orr Street NW
Atlanta, GA 30314
Thursday, November 1 and Friday, November 2, 8:30 am – 4:00 pm

Harriet G. Darnell Senior Multipurpose Facility
677 Fairburn Road, NW
Atlanta, GA 30331
Tuesday, October, 16 and Wednesday, October 17, 8:30 am – 4:00 pm

State Universities

Georgia Institute of Technology
Ferst Center
349 Ferst Drive,
Atlanta, GA 30332
Thursday, October 18 and Friday, October 19, 8:30 am – 4:00 pm

Georgia State University
Veterans Memorial Hall in Dahlberg Hall
30 Courtland Street
Atlanta, GA 30303
Tuesday, October 23 and Wednesday, October, 24, 8:30 am – 4:00 pm

Atlanta Metropolitan State College
Edwin A. Thompson, Sr. Student Activity Center
Building 800
Conference Room A
1630 Metropolitan Parkway, SW
Atlanta, GA 30310
Thursday, October 25 and Friday, October 26, 2018, 8:30 am – 4:00 pm

If you have any questions or run into any issues while voting, call the Democratic Party of Georgia’s voter protection hotline at 888-730-5816.