Georgia
Chaos swirls around Georgia election board, election measures – Washington Examiner
(The Center Square) – The Georgia State Election Board has faced backlash and lawsuits over the last few months, especially after passing a number of election rules just weeks before Election Day.
The Republican-majority board had a win this week though when a Fulton County judge dismissed a lawsuit on Wednesday put forward by Democrats.
The party sued to force Republican Gov. Brian Kemp to launch an ethics investigation into the board, which could lead to the impeachment of board members, after he refused to consider the complaints. Fulton County Chief Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville ruled the governor can not be compelled to open ethics complaints.
Georgia is one of seven consensus swing states and will play a critical role in the 2024 presidential election. President Joe Biden won the state by 0.2% – about 11,000 votes – in 2020, one of two times since 1980 the Democratic candidate has carried the state.
The board says the election measures it has passed will help ensure election integrity, while Democrats say it will hinder voting.
In Georgia, early voting begins on Oct. 15.
One of the rules the board passed was to require an additional hand count of all ballots cast on Election Day, while another will allow local election board members to take “reasonable inquiry” before certifying election results.
Democrats have expressed concerns about the board’s measures.
“Last minute regulations from the Georgia State Election Board threaten the integrity of electoral processes and violate the constitutional separation of powers,” posted Right Count, an election integrity group. “Right Count is now taking action with current and former Georgia legislators to stop them.”
Republicans have supported the board’s decisions, and former President Donald Trump even praised the work of the three Republican board members at a rally in Atlanta in August.
In another controversial move, the board is continuing an investigation into the 2020 election in Fulton County, where Atlanta is located.
On Tuesday, the board voted to subpoena the election records from the county after the county and state election boards failed to reach an agreement.
Board member Dr. Janice Johnston said Fulton County had not complied with an order from the board to hire a monitoring team or answered other questions.
“The State Election Board reached out to Fulton County multiple times, attempting to establish an acceptable monitoring team,” Johnston said. “Fulton County has failed to comply with that decision.”
Democratic state Rep. Saira Draper spoke at Tuesday’s meeting.
“Not only is the nation watching us, the world is watching us,” Draper said. “We are amplifying lies and lies and misunderstandings, fundamental misunderstandings, of how election laws work.”
The Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections has sued the board, saying the board has “no statutory authority to force the Fulton County BRE to accept, and Fulton County to pay for, election monitors hand-picked by the State Election Board.”
The same lawsuit called out the board’s “blitz of last-minute attempts to drastically impact the imminent general election.”
On Wednesday, Muscogee County Board of Elections and Registration filed an additional lawsuit against the board’s passing of the hand-counting provision.
Unless a judge rules on the decision prior to Election Day, that rule will stand and counties are preparing to follow it.
They were designed to hold a drink, but cups produced in Rome, Georgia, have become one of the FIFA Men’s World Cup’s most unexpected souvenirs.
Inside the Top Cup plant in Rome, millions of cups were created to celebrate the world’s biggest sporting event.
“We made 10 million over 70 different graphics for the World Cup,” said Rome native and Top Cup General Manager Zach Dixon.
The plant in north Georgia produces up to 750,000 cups a day.
“We’ve always been really proud of the cup … but the World Cup has obviously taken it to another level,” said Top Cup CEO David Cuthbert.
Fans have been taking them home from matches. Some have even been listed for sale online.
“We’ve always been really proud of the cup… but the World Cup has obviously taken it to another level,” said Cuthbert.
Dixon said they begin the process with massive coils of aluminum, each weighing about 30,000 pounds. The metal is stamped, stretched, washed, and moved down the line.
The plant produces about 1,100 cups every minute.
Ricardo Marques, the senior vice president of marketing for Michelob ULTRA, said that there have been venue-specific, match-specific, and Finals-specific stadium cups for the World Cup. There are also three separate red, white, and blue designs available for fans at bars and restaurants around the U.S.
“We’ve seen an incredible response to the collection. Together, these commemorative cups give fans a unique keepsake and a lasting reminder of an unforgettable FIFA World Cup experience and the moments that brought millions of people together through the world’s game,” Marques said.
Cuthbert said his company has seen how the World Cup has done wonders for metro Atlanta businesses.
“Our team in Rome, Georgia takes tremendous pride in helping bring this fan experience to life for one of the world’s biggest sporting events,” he said.
So when soccer fans celebrate the surprise victory or mourn their last-minute loss, they’re doing so with a little piece of Georgia.
Athlon Sports projected the best SEC games for each week of the 2026 regular season.
The conference features some of the most compelling matchups in all of college football, from opening weekend through rivalry week. The selections emphasize games anticipated to have the biggest impact on the SEC championship race and College Football Playoff picture.
Florida’s annual clash with Georgia was tabbed as one of the SEC’s premier fixtures. The game has grown in national significance since it began in 1904, continuing as a battle of blue-blood programs that routinely produces iconic results. The game temporarily moves to Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta during the Jacksonville stadium renovations.
The Jon Sumrall era carries with it an increasing sense of belief — many experts see the Gators as a dark-horse CFB playoff contender. Regardless of its final win-loss record, UF will play a part in shaping the season’s narrative as they face several post-season favorites in Texas, Georgia and Oklahoma.
Noted in the article is the SEC’s depth and newly implemented nine-game conference schedule. Georgia, Texas, Alabama and LSU appear multiple times on this list, with Georgia facing Alabama in Week 6 and Ole Miss in Week 10 while LSU hosts Clemson in Week 1 and will see Texas in Week 11 take on Alabama.
Many contenders from the SEC face multiple nationally relevant foes over the course of the season.
Athlon Sports’ Best game for every week of the 2026 season
- Week 1: Clemson at LSU (Sept. 5)
- Week 2: Ohio State at Texas (Sept. 12)
- Week 3: LSU at Ole Miss (Sept. 19)
- Week 4: Oklahoma at Georgia (Sept. 26)
- Week 5: Auburn at Tennessee (Oct. 3)
- Week 6: Georgia at Alabama (Oct. 10)
- Week 7: Alabama at Tennessee (Oct. 17)
- Week 8: Ole Miss at Texas (Oct. 24)
- Week 9: Florida vs. Georgia (Atlanta) (Oct. 31)
- Week 10: Georgia at Ole Miss (Nov. 7)
- Week 11: Texas at LSU (Nov. 14)
- Week 12: Texas A&M at Oklahoma (Nov. 21)
- Week 13: Texas at Texas A&M (Friday) (Nov. 27)
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