FORSYTH COUNTY DEMOCRATS

Gold Dome 2025 Update: Post-Crossover

3/21/2025

We are now over three-fourths of the way through the legislative session, which will end with Sine Die on April 4. Overall, the Republicans in the Gold Dome continue to refuse most attempts at bipartisan government. In the House, just 16 Dem-sponsored bills crossed over to the other chamber, compared to 205 Republican bills; in the Senate, just 8 Dem-sponsored bills crossed over out of dozens. This scant ratio is in a legislature where Dems occupy 44% of the seats.

Democrats proposed legislation to increase the minimum wage, increase healthcare access, provide school kids free lunch, and address gun violence. Republicans mostly sought to replicate at the state level the culture-war Executive Orders happening at the federal level, push Kemp’s litigation “tort reform” overhaul, and pass an 11-day tax holiday on guns and ammo, while Representative Michelle Au's HB1, the Pediatric Safe Storage Act, an important gun safety measure, did not get a committee hearing. Two consumer-friendly energy bills sponsored by Democrats did not cross over. SB34 would have required the Public Service Commission to ensure that costs from electricity used by data centers would not be passed on as rate hikes to consumers. And SB94 would have reestablished a Consumer Utility council, which would have represented ratepayers before the PSC.

Spearheaded by Forsyth’s SD27 Senator Greg Dolezal with his SB1, every anti-trans rights bill in the Gold Dome succeeded in crossing over. SB1, which would ban trans kids from participating in school sports, passed out of the senate, along with bills limiting gender-affirming healthcare for minors, enforcing school bathroom choice based on sex assigned at birth, and eliminating trans healthcare insurance benefits for state employees. One bright spot: SB120, an anti-DEI bill which would have cut funding to any schools and colleges with DEI programs, in keeping with Trump/Musk priorities, did not advance.

Here are some bills that Forsyth Dems believe need our advocacy, either in opposition or support, and here is a link to find your legislator and their contact information to voice your opinion.

Support HB127, increases the number of paid sick leave days teachers may take from three to five. This came about in response to the Apalachee HS shooting. Ask your state senator to support.

Oppose SB1, prohibits trans girls from playing on girls’ sports teams from elementary school through college. Despite no known trans athletes in Georgia high schools, this bill targets vulnerable children and is an invasion of privacy. This bill will face more opposition in the House, tell your House reps you oppose it.

Oppose SB30 and SB39, these are also anti-trans bills which would ban puberty blockers and hormones for minors, and gender affirming healthcare for state employees. Forsyth Reps Todd Jones and David Clark are on the House committee for these bills. Tell your House reps you oppose this.

Support SB55, which would raise the wages of people with disabilities. This is a rare bipartisan bill sponsored by Forsyth’s Shawn Still and Democrat Elena Parent. Can contact Shawn Still and express thanks, also tell your House rep you support.

Support SB89, creates a child tax credit. This is also bipartisan legislation, Todd Jones is on the House Ways and Means committee, contact him to express your support.

Oppose SB36, this is the so-called “Religious Freedom Restoration Act,” but it would give people the legal right to discriminate against LGBTQ people. Todd Jones is on the House Judiciary Committee, tell him we strongly oppose.

Oppose SB47, the sales tax holiday for guns and ammunition. This bill, in the wake of the tragic shooting at Apalachee HS, is the opposite of meaningful gun safety legislation. Tell Todd Jones, who is on the Ways and Means Committee, that we strongly oppose.

Oppose SB74, the “jail the librarians” bill. This bill would expose librarians to criminal penalties if any materials on library shelves could be deemed “harmful to minors.” This bill was introduced last year and didn’t crossover. Now it has gone farther. Tell your Forsyth House reps that we oppose this unconstitutional censorship.

This is just a small sampling of bills for which we believe targeted advocacy could be effective. Here are some ways to stay informed, look up bills you’re interested in, and track their movements through the chambers:

WABE Under the Gold Dome
AJC Legislative Navigator
Legiscan is a site that will email you when bills you are tracking change status.
Sign up for Michelle Au’s newsletter, it is very detailed and informative.
Stay tuned to our social media and newsletters for talking points and calls to action.

2024 Election Questions and Answers

10/30/2024

The legal landscape governing elections has changed since January 6, 2021. The Electoral Count Reform Act (ECRA) was passed in December 2022, adding to and clarifying the Electoral Count Act, which dated from 1887.

What does the Electoral Count Reform Act (ECRA) do that we did not have in place during the last Presidential election?

The ECRA provides much-needed clarity for the timeline and procedures of a Presidential election, including by:

Replacing the Electoral Count Act’s (ECA)’s problematic “failed election” provision, which has been improperly used to suggest that a state legislature could appoint electors itself, after voters had cast ballots, if the legislature declared an election “failed.” The ECRA establishes that each state’s electors must be appointed pursuant to the rules in place on Election Day, with a limited exception for extending the period to cast votes in true emergencies, like a public health crisis or a hurricane/earthquake.
Setting a deadline for each state to certify its appointment of electors and clarifying that the governor of each state is the default official tasked with such certification.
Creating an expedited pathway for candidates to bring legal challenges in federal court concerning a state’s certification of electors, which seeks to ensure the timely resolution of disputes and conclusively render a decision on the results before the electoral votes reach Congress.
Specifying that the vice president’s role in overseeing Congress’s counting of electoral votes is “ministerial,” that is, not discretionary.
Whereas previously, one lone member of Congress could object to a state’s electoral votes, ECRA raises the required threshold for congressional objections to one-fifth of the members of each chamber of Congress, reducing the risk of frivolous or bad-faith objections to a state’s certified election results.

Can Georgia County Election Board members refuse to certify the election results for any reason, or not send their results to state officials?

No, (as described in the last Edition of The Kicker). Under Georgia law, if a board member refuses to certify, emergency court orders could be filed to compel officials to follow the law. If they do not, the court then has the right to replace the local official or press criminal charges. It is also important to note the law protects citizens’ right to vote and for our vote to count. Any citizen (or group of citizens) could file suit against the election board member for violating that right. Counties must certify by November 12, so there is time to compel them to do so before December 11, and state election officials can intervene or even go to federal court to force certification.

What if the state misses the December 11 deadline, or the Governor refuses to certify?

There is a process under the new Electoral College Reform Act for a specially convened 3 judge Federal Court in the state at issue to hear it on an extremely expedited basis and rule on any disputes. The ruling can be appealed directly to the Supreme Court.
The 3 judge panel will be ruling on who won the popular vote, so even a rogue governor, SOS or state legislature cannot stop it.
Even the Supreme Court’s ruling has to happen before the Electoral College Voters meet and cast their votes on December 17th. This is a statutory mandate.

Could we have a scenario with fake electors again?
No. By establishing these detailed rules and clearly assigning the certification responsibility to the governor (or a state’s designated alternative executive official), the ECRA prohibits anyone besides the legitimate electors from falsely claiming to represent their state in the Electoral College.

What if Congress or the Vice President attempts to stop certification or refuses to certify on January 6th?
The new law makes clear that the VP role is ministerial only. It takes a one-fifth vote from each chamber objecting in writing to the count of a particular state to cause action, and there are only two possible objections: One or more electors were not lawfully certified, or that the electoral vote itself was not lawfully cast. For a good presentation on the entire process, click here.