Georgia

Federal judge dismisses challenge to Georgia's citizenship verification process

Published

2 years ago

April 12, 2024

Federal judge dismisses challenge to Georgia's citizenship verification process

Reaction to judge dismissing challenge to GA citizenship verification process

Stephanie Jackson Ali, policy director for the New Georgia Project, says her family knows firsthand how difficult it can be to get registered to vote before becoming a new citizen of the U.S.

ATLANTA – A federal judge on Thursday dismissed a challenge to a Georgia policy requiring new citizens to provide ID in order to vote.

The New Georgia Project is one of seven groups in a coalition that have been fighting the state’s voter verification process in court since 2018. They say they’re worried about how this could impact those who have just become U.S. Citizens.

Stephanie Jackson Ali, policy director for the New Georgia Project, says her family knows firsthand how difficult it can be to get registered to vote before becoming a new citizen of the U.S.

“As the wife of a naturalized citizen who did just this, he registered to vote on the day he got his citizenship, had to prove citizenship for his registration. I was disappointed,” Ali told FOX 5. “I know that he got flagged the first time he applied, even with that proof.”

But the judge ruled that the plaintiffs failed to prove the voting rights of naturalized citizens are violated by having to show papers or get a new state ID before voting.

Secretary of State Brad Reffensperger agreed in a statement sent to FOX 5 saying, “Georgia’s citizenship verification process is common sense and it works. With this ruling, we are able to continue ensuring that only U.S. citizens are voting in our elections.”

Ali argues the process creates an extra hurdle.

“New Americans, new Georgians are getting an added barrier that other Georgians are not getting,” she said.

She also argues the federal government does not automatically update the state or county’s election systems with citizenship changes. Ali says there have been examples of new citizens missing an election in Georgia because they did not know they needed to update their status with the state in order to vote.

“People come out of that ceremony, and they are so excited about getting the right to vote. They’re like, ‘I’m a citizen, I’m a vote. I’m excited.’ And to think of these folks who, by some administrative error, by some box not checked, by some paper, not sent to the right clerk, may not get to live that little piece of the American dream,” Ali said.

FOX 5 requested an interview with Raffensperger to discuss the issue, but his team stated he was not available prior to our on-air report.

His statement goes on to say, “ensuring that only U.S. citizens vote in our elections is critically important to secure and accurate elections.”

As for whether the New Georgia Project will continue to challenge the ruling, Ali stated they were not ready to comment on that. But she did say they will continue to help register new naturalized citizens to vote.

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Georgia

Body found near Georgia Power dam on Radium Springs Road in Albany

Published

9 hours ago

February 28, 2026

Press Room

Body found near Georgia Power dam on Radium Springs Road in Albany

ALBANY, Ga. (WALB) – A person was found dead in the 5200 block of Radium Springs Road on Saturday morning, according to Dougherty County Coroner Michael Fowler.

Body recovered in early morning water rescue call(WALB NEWS 10)

Fowler said the call came in as a water rescue. The body was recovered early Saturday, Feb. 28.

The coroner confirmed the person found was male. His identity and age remain unknown.

Have a news tip or see an error that needs correction? Let us know. Please include the article’s headline in your message.

To stay up to date on all the latest news as it develops, follow WALB on Facebook and X (Twitter). For more South Georgia news, download the WALB News app from the Apple Store or Google Play.

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Georgia

Ga. lawmakers propose changes to state’s early voting process

Published

21 hours ago

February 28, 2026

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Ga. lawmakers propose changes to state’s early voting process

ATLANTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – State legislators are considering more changes to Georgia’s voting law, proposing a new bill that would alter the way early voters cast ballots.

State Sen. Greg Dolezal, a Republican from Cumming, introduced SB 568 this week. The proposal would assign early voters to one precinct in their county. Currently, voters can cast early votes at any precinct in their county.

It would also move early voting to a hand-marked paper ballot system, where voters use a pen to mark their selections, instead of the currently used touchscreen system.

“So that we would not have to print so many permutations at the paper ballots, we would assign voters to an early voting location,” said Dolezal. “Most people are going to vote to the at the early voting location closest to their home anyway.”

The bill was immediately met with backlash from democrats as a barrier to the vote.

“I have no idea how voting on a piece of paper, marking it down with your pencil in any way suppresses the vote,” said Dolezal. “For most counties out of, you know, 140 call it out of 159, they just have one location.”

Dolezal’s proposal would also require local clerks to publicly post their entire voting rolls ahead of elections.

“Making public every single voter who is qualified to vote is to some extent, a little bit of an invasion of privacy for each individual voter,” said state Sen. Sonya Halpern (D-Atlanta). “We need to have trust in our election officials to run those elections.”

It’s the latest change the legislature has proposed to Georgia’s voting system.

“You have dirty, dirty voting rolls, you’re going to have dirty elections,” Dolezal said.

The bill would also shift responsibility for voter challenges from the counties to the State Elections Board. In addition, it would also move the threshold for an automatic recount in the state from a 1.5% margin to 2%.

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Georgia

No. 3 Georgia to Host Top-Ranked Auburn for Regular Season Finale – University of Georgia Athletics

Published

1 day ago

February 27, 2026

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No. 3 Georgia to Host Top-Ranked Auburn for Regular Season Finale – University of Georgia Athletics

ATHENS – The third-ranked Georgia equestrian team will host No. 1 Auburn on Saturday at 12 p.m. to conclude the regular season.

Georgia fell at Auburn 14-6 to wrap up the fall slate of their season. The overall record against the Tigers currently stands at 31-31, including a 13-7 record in Bishop.

During their National Championship run in the 2024-25 season, the Mane Dawgs faced off against Auburn on three separate occasions. Georgia was victorious at home, 11-9, before falling on the road, 11-8. In the quarterfinals of the NCEA National Championships in Ocala, the Bulldogs stunned the second-ranked Tigers, 13-4, en route to their eighth National Championship title.

Georgia returns to action following a trip to Blythewood, South Carolina, to take on the third-ranked Gamecocks.

Top-ranked Auburn travels to Bishop after hosting No. 4 SMU at home the prior weekend. The Tigers defeated the Mustangs 13-7 and swept all four MOP honors.

Following the conclusion of the meet, Georgia will honor their seven seniors for their dedication and contributions to the program.

The meet will be streamed on SECN+ at https://gado.gs/e7v, and live scoring will be available at https://gado.gs/e7w.

HOW TO FOLLOW GEORGIA EQUESTRIAN: For complete information on Georgia equestrian, follow the team on its social media channels via @UGAEquestrian on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

JOIN OUR MANE DAWGS FUND: Mane Dawgs Fund contributions make a direct impact in supporting our student-athletes and equines at the Georgia Equestrian program. A gift to the Mane Dawgs fund helps provide resources such as equipment upgrades for our student and equine athletes, travel assistance, and enhance overall team experiences. Contributions to the Mane Dawgs provide benefits such as membership gifts and information about upcoming special events. Click here for more information.

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