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Writer's pictureClassic City News

Every vote counts

By Robert B, Covi

Reports from ethics watchdog groups have called attention to state election officials who have refused to certify elections. Since 2020, we’ve seen a right-wing Republican infiltration of local election offices and even some state elections boards which is the MAGA republican plan to walk off with this year’s election. 

Our state is a notorious case in point.  Georgia rises to the top of the cesspool with its five-member state election board packed with an election denier majority and only one Democratic member.

In August, the Georgia state board enacted a rule requiring local election boards to conduct a “reasonable inquiry” into voting issues before certifying the election.  That vague rule is a green light to stall certification while fishing for any excuse to vote against it.  The new rule makes certification mandatory before the election results are verified by the secretary of state’s office. These actions were described as a “mess” by Georgia GOP Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. 

As if to test the “plan”, eight local election-denying county officials have refused to certify recent local elections.  Their attempt was unsuccessful, but in three counties, including Fulton County, the non-certifiers needed to flip only one vote.  With the new rules passed by the State Election Board, the MAGA members could obstruct the process, cause turmoil among voters and subvert the legitimacy of the election. Certification delayed is certification denied. What a mess indeed! 

An overwhelming Harris/Walz victory at the polls in November would fortify right-minded state attorneys general, secretaries of state, governors, and even courts, to dispense quickly with election denialists’ refusal to certify local results.  Efforts to vote and get out the vote need to be redoubled to potentially build a landslide national vote.

More than ever, every vote counts. 

Robert B. Covi is a resident Bogart


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8 Comments


You're right we need more conservative representation at the city level! I'm with you.

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Our representation should mirror that of the voters. Athens consistently votes 70% democratic. That means 70% of the representatives should reflect it.

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LennyT
Aug 22

Yes, Trump WAS robbed!

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😂😂😂

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Massive changes are needed to restore faith in our election systems.


Mail-in voting is a big problem. Electronic voting machines are a big problem. Both are ripe for being corrupted and used to steal an election.


Paper ballots hand-counted and results delivered on election day are the only way we can restore trust.


I don't know if any of the changes by these local election boards will help with election integrity but maybe they are a step in the right direction.


Until we get hand-counted paper ballots, republicans will doubt results when democrats win and democrats will doubt results when republicans win. A broken system leads to this outcome by design.


We all deserve election results we can have faith…

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Georgia IS a cesspool when it comes to voting integrity, rights and equality. Don’t even get me started on the gerrymandering BS. Especially in the Athens area.

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