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Georgia’s Senate Runoff Sets Records for Early Voting, but With a Big Asterisk

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Georgia’s Senate Runoff Sets Records for Early Voting, but With a Big Asterisk

Georgia has eclipsed its day by day document for early voting twice this week within the state’s nationally watched Senate runoff election, however even when the state retains up the tempo, it seems unlikely to match early voting turnout ranges from the 2021 runoffs.

The variety of early voting days has been reduce roughly in half for the Dec. 6 runoff between Senator Raphael Warnock, a Democrat, and the Republican candidate, Herschel Walker, in contrast with final 12 months’s Senate runoffs in Georgia.

Democrats swept each of these races, which lasted 9 weeks and helped them win management of the Senate. Since then, Republicans who management Georgia’s Legislature and governor’s workplace handed an election regulation final 12 months that compressed the runoff schedule to 4 weeks.

The 2021 regulation additionally sharply restricted voting by mail. Election officers can not mail purposes for absentee ballots to voters, and voters have far much less time to request a poll: In the course of the runoff, a voter would have needed to request a poll by final week. And due to the regulation, far fewer drop bins can be found to return mail ballots than within the 2020 election and its runoffs.

The result’s a funnel impact in Georgia. Voters have a much smaller window to solid ballots, which has led to hourslong lines round metro Atlanta, a Democratic stronghold, though fewer persons are voting forward of Tuesday’s runoff race than within the early 2021 elections. Democrats worry the restrictions will hamper a turnout machine they spent years constructing — which delivered victories for Mr. Warnock, Jon Ossoff and Joseph R. Biden Jr. two years in the past.

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On Monday afternoon in Alpharetta, Ga., a northern suburb of Atlanta, the wait time to vote was 150 minutes, in keeping with an internet site that tracks strains at polling locations. On the similar precinct, the wait was 90 minutes on Wednesday. Early voting ends on Friday.

Gabriel Sterling, a high official within the secretary of state’s workplace, wrote on Tuesday evening on Twitter that almost 310,000 individuals had voted that day, surpassing the earlier document that had been set on Monday.

At first of Wednesday, about 833,000, practically 12 %, of Georgia’s seven million voters had solid ballots early within the runoff, in keeping with the secretary of state’s workplace. By Election Day in final 12 months’s runoffs, about 3.1 million individuals had voted early, practically 40 % of all of the registered voters within the state, in keeping with information compiled by the College of Florida’s U.S. Elections Venture.

With management of the Senate already determined, the stakes are a lot decrease this 12 months. However even when the state continued drawing 300,000 voters a day for the remainder of this 12 months’s early voting interval, it will fall far wanting the three.1 million early voters who turned out final 12 months.

Within the present runoff, lower than one in 10 of the early votes recorded have been solid by absentee poll, state election officers reported. Earlier within the pandemic, absentee ballots have been mailed out to all voters in Georgia, however due to the brand new election regulation, voters should now request them.

Republican allies of Mr. Walker have aired frustrations about his choice to skip campaigning over the Thanksgiving vacation weekend, particularly given the shorter timeline.

On the time that Republicans in Georgia enacted new election guidelines final 12 months, they stated that condensing the runoff calendar would assist election directors. However civil rights advocates and Democrats intensely criticized the regulation when it handed and now argue that its impact on the runoff’s voting guidelines and procedures will marginalize Georgians in lots of counties.

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Georgia is one in every of three Southern states the place the Black share of the voters within the Nov. 8 election fell to its lowest ranges since 2006. However the state additionally had decrease Black turnout within the 2020 common election in contrast with the runoffs that adopted. If Black turnout rises for this 12 months’s runoff, because it did in early 2021, that would work in Mr. Warnock’s favor.

Democrats are keen to carry on to the seat, which might give them an outright majority within the Senate — which means they might not have to depend on Vice President Kamala Harris to solid the tiebreaking vote within the break up Senate and would declare one-seat majorities on committees. Such an outright majority would assist them transfer laws ahead and ensure judges and presidential nominees, in addition to give the social gathering respiratory room if one in every of its average members breaks ranks.

Mr. Walker, a school soccer legend who was pressed to run by former President Donald J. Trump, is going through Mr. Warnock for the second time in a month as a result of neither candidate obtained at the very least 50 % of the vote as required within the Nov. 8 election.

Mr. Warnock, the pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the place the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as soon as preached, obtained about 38,000 extra votes than Mr. Walker earlier this month.

Nick Corasaniti and Reid J. Epstein contributed reporting.

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Judge rules illegal immigrants have gun rights protected by 2nd Amendment

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Judge rules illegal immigrants have gun rights protected by 2nd Amendment

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A federal judge in Illinois has found that the Constitution protects the gun rights of noncitizens who enter the United States illegally.

U.S. District Judge Sharon Johnson Coleman on Friday ruled that a federal prohibition on illegal immigrants owning firearms is unconstitutional as applied to defendant Heriberto Carbajal-Flores. The court found that while the federal ban is “facially constitutional,” there is no historical tradition of firearm regulation that permits the government to deprive a noncitizen who has never been convicted of a violent crime from exercising his Second Amendment rights.

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“The noncitizen possession statute … violates the Second Amendment as applied to Carbajal-Flores,” the judge wrote. “Thus, the Court grants Carbajal-Flores’ motion to dismiss.”

Coleman, a President Obama appointee, cited the landmark Supreme Court decision in New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen (2022), which established a new standard to determine whether a law violates the Second Amendment. Since Bruen, a multitude of federal and state gun control measures have been challenged in courts with mixed results. 

DELAWARE BILL REQUIRING GUN BUYERS TO BE FINGERPRINTED, TRAINED, SET TO BECOME LAW

The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states “the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.” (iStock)

In this case, U.S. v. Carbajal-Flores, the court considered whether people who enter the country illegally can be banned from owning firearms.

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Carbajal-Flores is an illegal immigrant who, on June 1, 2020, was found to be in possession of a handgun in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago. He was subsequently charged with violating a federal law that prohibits any noncitizen who is not legally authorized to be in the U.S. from “possess[ing] in or affecting commerce, any firearm or ammunition; or to receive any firearm or ammunition which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce.” 

In an April 2022 decision, Coleman denied Carbajal-Flores’ first motion to dismiss his indictment, finding that the ban was constitutional. However, Carbajal-Flores asked the court to reconsider that ruling following the Supreme Court’s decision in Bruen and appellate decisions in the Third and Seventh Circuit that considered whether people convicted of non-violent crimes can be prohibited from possessing firearms. 

CONGRESS POISED TO ROLL BACK ‘VETERAN GUN BAN,’ WITH RELUCTANT BIDEN BACKING

U.S. District Judge Sharon J. Coleman presents award to attorney Paula E. Litt

U.S. District Judge Sharon J. Coleman, left, presents an award for Excellence in Pro Bono and Public Interest Service to attorney Paula E. Litt, on May 1, 2019. (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division)

Upon review, Coleman concluded that Carbajal-Flores’ illegally present status was not sufficient to deny him Second Amendment rights. The judge said the “plain text” of the Constitution “presumptively protects firearms possession by undocumented persons.” 

“Carbajal-Flores has never been convicted of a felony, a violent crime, or a crime involving the use of a weapon. Even in the present case, Carbajal-Flores contends that he received and used the handgun solely for self-protection and protection of property during a time of documented civil unrest in the Spring of 2020,” the judge wrote. “Additionally, Pretrial Service has confirmed that Carbajal-Flores has consistently adhered to and fulfilled all the stipulated conditions of his release, is gainfully employed, and has no new arrests or outstanding warrants.”

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The court determined that because there is insufficient evidence to suggest Carbajal-Flores is a danger to society, there is no historical analogue that would permit the federal government to deny him his gun rights. 

NRA SLAMS BIDEN’S SOTU SPEECH AS ATTACK ON ‘THE VERY FABRIC OF AMERICAN FREEDOM’

Gun store customer

A federal judge in Illinois has ruled that the Second Amendment protects the gun rights of illegal immigrants. (Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“The Court finds that Carbajal-Flores’ criminal record, containing no improper use of a weapon, as well as the non-violent circumstances of his arrest do not support a finding that he poses a risk to public safety such that he cannot be trusted to use a weapon responsibly and should be deprived of his Second Amendment right to bear arms in self-defense,” Judge Coleman wrote. “Thus, this Court finds that, as applied to Carbajal-Flores, Section 922(g)(5) is unconstitutional.”

The ruling has divided gun rights activists, with some arguing that noncitizens should not have rights protected by the Constitution.

Erich Pratt, senior vice president of Gun Owners of America (GOA), told Fox News Digital his group “has historically recognized the dangers unchecked illegal immigration presents, chiefly of which is a serious potential to swing the balance of power into the hands of anti-gun politicians.” 

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Pratt reiterated GOA does not support amnesty for illegal immigrants. 

“In this underlying ruling, the Second Amendment community undoubtedly has mixed feelings, because while illegal aliens are most certainly not part of ‘the People,’ everyone has a God-given right to defend themselves against violent acts like rape and murder,” he said. 

“Of course, the courts wouldn’t have to decide this question if Joe Biden and the Democratic Party would simply secure our borders.”

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Trump sues ABC News and George Stephanopoulos for defamation

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Trump sues ABC News and George Stephanopoulos for defamation

Former President Trump is suing TV journalist George Stephanopoulos and ABC News for defamation for saying he raped advice columnist E. Jean Carroll.

On a March 10 edition of “This Week with George Stephanopoulos,” the anchor said Trump was “liable for rape” during his interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.). Stephanopoulos was pressing Mace, a rape victim herself, on how she could rationalize supporting Trump’s 2024 presidential candidacy.

Trump’s lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Miami, said the jury in the Carroll case found him liable for sexual abuse — not rape — and that Stephanopoulos defamed the presumptive Republican presidential nominee by using the term.

A jury ruled in January that Trump must pay Carroll $83.3 million in damages after finding Trump liable for defamation, the second case related to a 1996 incident that occurred when the two met in a New York department store.

In May, jurors rejected Carroll’s allegation that she was raped but found Trump responsible for the lesser charge of sexual abuse, along with defamation, and awarded Carroll $5 million in damages. Trump, who denied that the incident occurred, repeatedly mocked Carroll over her claims.

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Trump’s suit cites how Stephanopoulos himself reported that Trump was not liable for rape when he reported on the verdict of the previous Carroll case on May 10.

The suit also noted that the headline on an ABC News online story on the Mace interview first used the word “rape” and was later changed to “sexual abuse.”

Trump’s suit is asking for unspecified damages.

ABC News has not issued a comment on the matter.

The tense “This Week” interview was widely shared on social media. Mace took umbrage at Stephanopoulos’ question, claiming he was “rape-shaming” her by bringing up her own experience as a victim, which she has publicly discussed.

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Trump has previously sued media outlets, including the New York Times and CNN, with no success.

Trump sued the Times over its investigation of his finances, which led to the recent New York civil court ruling that has him on the hook for $454 million. The suit was dismissed in March and Trump had to reimburse the Times legal cost.

In 2022, Trump sued CNN for $475 million claiming the news network was waging a campaign against him by booking guests critical of his policies and speeches. The case was dismissed in 2023.

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Mark Milley and former CENTCOM commander to face grilling in Congress over Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal

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Mark Milley and former CENTCOM commander to face grilling in Congress over Biden's Afghanistan withdrawal

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Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, will testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee on Tuesday for the first time since retiring, potentially freeing him to offer new details about the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Joining Milley will be retired Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, who served as United States Central Command (CENTCOM) commander during the 2021 withdrawal. The pair have appeared before Congress to discuss failings in the operation before, but Republicans say they may have been more tight-lipped then because they were still serving under President Biden.

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Both Milley and McKenzie testified in 2021 that they had advised Biden to maintain a small U.S. force in Afghanistan, rather than committing to a full U.S. withdrawal. Milley himself has described the operation as a “strategic failure,” saying he has “lots of regrets.”

“It didn’t end the way I wanted it. That didn’t end the way any of us wanted it,” he told ABC News in September. “In the broader sense, the war was lost.”

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Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, left, will testify before the House Foreign Affairs Committee for the first time since retiring on Tuesday, potentially freeing him to offer new details about the botched U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan. (ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The Tuesday afternoon hearing comes after months of Republican investigations into Biden’s handling of the withdrawal. Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas., has repeatedly demanded the State Department turn over documents relating to the operation.

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BIDEN’S BOTCHED AFGHANISTAN WITHDRAWAL HAUNTS 2024 ELECTION AS BOOK CLAIMS ‘13 AMERICANS NEVER HAD TO DIE’

Secretary of State Antony Blinken has so far refused to offer interview notes relating to the Afghanistan after action report, which blamed senior officials for failing to prepare for all outcomes in the operation.

General McKenzie Afghanistan Pentagon

Retired Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, former commander of the United States Central Command, listens during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on the conclusion of military operations in Afghanistan. (Sarahbeth Maney/The New York Times via AP, Pool)

Despite the deaths of 13 U.S. servicemembers and the abandoning of tens of thousands of Afghan allies to Taliban rule, Biden strongly believes behind closed doors that he made the right decisions during the operation, according to an upcoming book.

THINK THE US EXIT FROM AFGHANISTAN WAS BAD? LOOK WHAT’S BREWING IN THE PACIFIC

Following the withdrawal, “no one offered to resign, in large part because the president didn’t believe anyone had made a mistake. Ending the war was always going to be messy,” author Alexander Ward writes in the book, “The Internationalists: The Fight to Restore Foreign Policy After Trump.”

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President Joe Biden

Despite the deaths of 13 U.S. servicemembers and the abandoning of tens of thousands of Afghan allies to Taliban rule, President Biden strongly believes behind closed doors that he made the right decisions during the operation, according to an upcoming book. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Biden allegedly told his top aides, including White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, that they had done their best given the situation and vowed to stand by them.

Fox News’ Nikolas Lanum contributed to this report.

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