Tag Archives: Election

Voted, along with many others on last day of early voting 2016-11-04

I voted early at the Lowndes County Board of Elections. Tuesday November 8th precincts will be open for Election Day 2016.

Lots of voters

The County Commission staff didn’t manage to get its referendum in on time about Continue reading

No Runoff in Hahira: plurality will win

The Hahira rule is plurality, not 50% plus 1.

According to email to Gretchen from John Hallman with the Georgia Secretary of State, containing a forward from Jonathan Sumner, Hahira City Manager, originally copied to all the Hahira candidates, Mayor and Council, and many city employees on 25 October 2013:

Subject: No Runoff after General Election

Mayor, Councilmembers, Candidates,

In response to a question submitted to our City Attorney and myself earlier today by Supervisor of Elections Deb Cox, we have determined that a runoff after the November general election is not allowed under our current or even the old Charter (except in the extreme unlikelihood of a tie). The original 1912 charter stated,

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LibertYOUtbreak @ LO 2012-10-27

Open, non-partisan forum A local group, LibertYOUbreak, met at Valdosta High School Saturday for a series of brief talks of opinion on issues by a variety of local people.

The first talk, Why No on Amendment 1 by J.C. Cunningham for GA House District 175, has already been posted separately. Here’s a video playlist for the rest.

LibertYOUtbreak
Talks, Liberty Outbreak (LO),
Video by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
VHS PAC, Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 27 October 2012.

First they showed an animated movie, The American Dream by the Provacateur Network, which is mostly about money as debt. As I remarked to one of the organizers afterwards, that’s also the theme of Debt: The First 5,000 Years, by David Graeber, one of the founders of Occupy Wall Street (here’s a video interview with him, and a text interview). The cartoon movie, while presenting that theme in some depth, only briefly mentions Wall Street and focuses on the Federal Reserve and an octopus-like long-lived financial villain it calls Red Shield, which is English for Rothschild. I find that last a bit far-fetched, not to say outdated, considering that recent research shows that the real current octopus-like set of interconnected corporations looks more like this. But then plenty of things were said in the recent local political forums that I didn’t agree with, either.

-jsq

Why No on Amendment 1 —J.C. Cunningham for GA House District 175

J.C. Cunningham, running for state representative district 175, reminded us all that the basic purpose of the Georgia state government is to provide public education, according to its constitution, and that local school boards already can and do approve charter schools. He gave five reasons for voting No on Amendment 1:

  1. Because out-of-state corporations are paying for this campaign….
  2. It creates a new Atlanta-based government bureaucracy.
  3. The new commission will be filled by appointments done by politicians, not the citizens.
  4. Georgia already has 200 charter schools, and we’ve already proven the process works.
  5. A Yes vote would… cost us an additional $430 million while most of our schools are not open a full year as it is….

The only reasoning that I can tell you that proponents have been giving us is school choice, and again, they already have school choice; we have school choice. The only new things about Amendment 1 are higher cost and unnecessary state bureaucracy….

Here’s the video, followed by a partial transcript.

Why No on Amendment 1 —J.C. Cunningham for GA House District 175
Talks, Liberty Outbreak (LO),
Video by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE),
VHS PAC, Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 27 October 2012.

Partial transcript:

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Hahira Polling Place

The Hahira Historical Society’s parking lot was full at 6:30, with people parking in front of the building to vote. I found some last-minute campaigners, as well.

Election Polling Place: Hahira Historical Society Full parking lot in Hahira

The two sign wavers were the mother of Sandra K. Guest for State Court Judge and John Page, running for Lowndes County Commission District 5 (west). In the video you can hear Page say he hopes to be in a runoff. The election results so far look like it may indeed be Jody Hall and John Page in a runoff.

Movie: Mother of Sandra Guest for State Court Judge, Hahira, 2012-07-31 (18M) Movie: Working for every vote --John Page for LCC District 5, Hahira, 2012-07-31 (32M)

Pictures and videos by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Hahira, Lowndes County, Georgia, 31 July 2012.

-jsq

Pine Grove Polling Place

The big parking lot was mostly full, and every voting booth was in use when I voted at 6PM at Pine Grove.

Pine Grove

Pine Grove
Pictures by John S. Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE), Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 31 July 2012.

No Campaigning:

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How do we vote on T-SPLOST? — Gretchen Quarterman @ SGRC 2011-09-19

T-SPLOST regions are an intermediate level of government in which all the people in the region vote together, not by counties.

Gretchen Quarterman asked:

When the 18 counties vote, is it county by county, say Atkinson votes yes, and Lowndes votes no, and if there were 9 counties that voted yes and 9 counties that voted no, or is it the total of all the voters together, and then we say there were 400,000 voters and it’s a simple majority.

Corey Hull answered:

It’s a simple majority. It’s the latter of how you described it, it’s all the voters together.

Here’s the video:

How do we vote on T-SPLOST?
T-SPLOST Public Meeting, Southern Georgia Regional Commission (SGRC),
Corey Hull,
Nolen Cox, Gretchen Quarterman,
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 19 September 2011.
Video by Gretchen Quarterman for Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange (LAKE).

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WCTV spins GABEO meeting as week-long protest

I suppose it is a week-long protest, especially the 3PM march today, but it’s also a meeting of a legislative caucus. Ah, TV, got to be brief!

Greg Gullberg wrote for WCTV yesterday, Protesters Descend On Quitman For Weekend Long Rally: Protesters gear up to rally against what they call voter intimidation revolving around the “Quitman 12”.

Hundreds of protesters from across Georgia descend on Quitman in Brooks County.

They gathered at area restaurants like the Wiregrass Restaurant & Bar Friday night. They’re gearing up for a weekend long rally against what they call voter intimidation.

The “Quitman 12” is the focus of the march Saturday at the Quitman court house. The 12 include three Brooks County School Board members, along with nine other defendants who were indicted for charges of voter fraud.

WCTV quoted George Rhynes, and also:
Latoya Hamilton is a Quitman resident and also a Protester.

“To me, being a small city like this, it’s the first time something like this is being held in Quitman. It’s an honor being a part of this. It’s pretty much history in the making,” Hamilton tells Gullberg.

Appearances are expected by Rev. Dr. Joseph E. Lowery, Rep. Tyrone Brooks and many more. Events start Saturday morning at 9:00 a.m. The march starts at 3:00 p.m.

I agree with her and with George, that it’s a historic event.

-jsq

3PM today in Quitman: GABEO March for Justice to End Voter Intimidation and Voter Suppression

The Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials (GABEO) is holding its general meeting in Quitman this weekend in support of the Quitman 10. The big public event is this afternoon:
3:00 p.m. March for Justice to End Voter Intimidation and Voter Suppression (March from Shumate Street Church of Christ to Brooks County Courthouse)

In this video, George Rhynes interviews Rev. Floyd Rose about how GABEO heard about the Quitman 10+2. Rev. Rose also expresses hope that the local media will announce the GABEO meeting. (The VDT did have a story on it the other day, although it doesn’t seem to be online.) Amont many other points, he notes that the school board members of the Quitman 10 were elected mostly by white voters in Brooks County.

Here’s the video:


3PM today in Quitman: GABEO March for Justice to End Voter Intimidation and Voter Suppression
March for Justice to End Voter Intimidation and Voter Suppression,
Meeting in Quitman to support the Quitman 10+2, Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials (GABEO),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 25 February 2012.
Videos by George Boston Rhynes for K.V.C.I., the bostongbr on YouTube.

-jsq

GABEO annual conference in Quitman 24-26 February 2012 —Fannie M. Jackson

Received Saturday on Quitman 10 and Americans right to vote —George Rhynes. -jsq
GABEO-Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials to hold annual conference in Q-town February 24, 25, 26, 2012. We are so THANKFUL that OTHERS HEAR and UNDERSTAND what happened in BROOKS. And we would love to meet you here!!! God bless ALL of you and God will continue to bless Brooks and America.

-Fannie M. Jackson

Video of GABEO press conference about Quitman 10. Here is GABEO‘s 2012 Quitman conference hotel information. Here’s the conference schedule:
GABEO Annual Winter Conference
“Living the Dream – Save the Voting Rights Act”
February 24– 26, 2012
Hosts: “The Quitman 10” A Change Movement!
Headquarters: Shumate Street Church of Christ
301 Shumate Street, Quitman, GA 31643
229-263-8329
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