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Georgia Senate passes election bill after heated debate | Georgia

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Justice Department dismisses lawsuit over Georgia election law | Georgia

www.thecentersquare.com – By Kim Jarrett | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-02 13:48:00

(The Center Square) – Georgia Republicans and Democrats differed significantly on the intent of a sweeping election bill.

House Bill 397 would require the Secretary of State to stop sharing voter rolls with the nonprofit Electronic Registration Information Center, also known as ERIC. The Secretary of State would no longer oversee the Georgia State Election Board, but it would fall under the State Accounting Office.

The legislation also bans local elections officials from receiving absentee ballots dropped off the Saturday before an election.

Sen. Randal Mangham, D-Stone Mountain, said the bill was designed to suppress the vote.

“If we do this bill, what we’ll find is that it does not benefit the least, the lost or the left out,” Mangham said.

Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, criticized Mangham’s speech, questioning whether or not Mangham had read the bill.

“If he has read the bill, he did not articulate one specific element from this bill that he was opposed to,” Dolezal said. “He drug up an argument from the darkest days of this country and tried to transport them into this bill in quite frankly, one of the most intellectually dishonest speeches I have ever heard from this well. If you are going to accuse one of our colleagues of having a singular purpose, as he stated, that this bill was designed with one aim, that is to suppress the vote, if you are going to dishonor one of my friends in that way you better have the receipts.”

U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday the Justice Department dismissed a lawsuit filed over a 2021 Georgia election law, saying claims of voter suppression were “false.”

In the two elections since Senate Bill 202 passed, surveys show a high percentage of voters said they were satisfied with their experience at the polls.

HB397 passed the Senate 33-23.

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Trump signs executive orders on school discipline, education reform

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www.wsav.com – Lexi Lonas Cochran – 2025-04-23 20:21:00

SUMMARY: President Trump signed several executive orders on Wednesday addressing education policy. One order targets K-12 school discipline, reversing previous policies from the Obama and Biden administrations, aiming to address rising behavioral issues post-pandemic. Another order promotes integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into classrooms to better prepare students for the future workforce. Trump also signed an order targeting the college accreditation process, criticizing “woke ideology” in accreditations, which could impact universities’ access to federal funding. Additional orders focus on foreign gift disclosures, supporting Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), and increasing workforce apprenticeships.

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Warnock denies wrongdoing in accepting residence in ‘$989,000 luxury home’ | Georgia

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Warnock denies wrongdoing in accepting residence in '$989,000 luxury home' | Georgia

www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-23 13:33:00

(The Center Square) – U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock says ethics questions about his housing and financial disclosures already have been answered.

A conservative nonprofit in Washington is asking the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics for an investigation. The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust says information on his housing provided by Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, where he’s been senior pastor since 2005, hasn’t been disclosed and his outside earned income is in question.

In an email to The Center Square, a statement from Warnock’s office says, “Reverend Warnock sought and received explicit approval from the bipartisan Senate Ethics Committee on this matter. The ministry-owned housing is not income. Rather, it is a customary benefit provided to the senator because of his ongoing position as senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, a position he has held for the past 20 years.”

The nonprofit said before moving into a $989,000 luxury home in Georgia provided by the church, he was receiving $7,400 in monthly housing allowance. It also said he sold his previous home to buy one in the Washington area.

Kendra Arnold, executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, said she is hoping the committee will act promptly on the request.

“There are tax laws and ethics rules which allow for a senator to accept reasonable lodging or housing, but they are only applicable in a narrow set of circumstances – they are not an open-ended loophole that can be abused,” Arnold said in a statement. “Among other factors, it’s critical that the value of the housing provided be commensurate to the work done – and then the value be disclosed. It’s difficult to fathom any citizen could look at this situation (a U.S. Senator that is a part-time employee of an organization, which pays him a salary and then happens to buy him a million-dollar house to live in for free after he was elected to Congress) and not think something potentially wrong is afoot.”

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Organization files ethics complaint against Warnock | Georgia

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Organization files ethics complaint against Warnock | Georgia

www.thecentersquare.com – By Kim Jarrett | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-22 12:06:00

(The Center Square) – An ethics organization is accusing Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock of accepting housing from his church and not including it on financial disclosures.

The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust is asking the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics for an investigation, according to a letter on the organization’s website.

The complaint says Warnock moved into a $989,000 luxury home in Georgia provided to him by Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church, where the senator is pastor. Before Warnock moved into the residence, he was receiving a $7,400 monthly housing allowance from the church.

“Since moving into the luxury home, Sen. Warnock has not included any information about being provided housing on his financial disclosures,” the complaint said. “In addition to the undisclosed housing, he has reported receiving an annual income from the church just under the maximum outside earned income limit, for instance $31,815.12 in 2023.”

Warnock sold his former Georgia residence and purchased a home in Washington, the organization said.

Kendra Arnold, executive director of the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust, said she is hoping the committee will act promptly on the request.

“There are tax laws and ethics rules which allow for a senator to accept reasonable lodging or housing, but they are only applicable in a narrow set of circumstances – they are not an open-ended loophole that can be abused,” Arnold said in a statement. “Among other factors, it’s critical that the value of the housing provided be commensurate to the work done – and then the value be disclosed. It’s difficult to fathom any citizen could look at this situation (a U.S. Senator that is a part-time employee of an organization, which pays him a salary and then happens to buy him a million-dollar house to live in for free after he was elected to Congress) and not think something potentially wrong is afoot.”

The Center Square was unsuccessful getting comment from Warnock through his office prior to publication.

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