Georgia
Thousands of Georgia voters might not have ballots counted
Georgia’s highest court has ruled that over 3,000 absentee ballots might not be counted if they are received after election day, despite an error by local election officials.
All the ballots are in Cobb County, a northern suburb of Atlanta that voted for Joe Biden in 2020 and could be a deciding factor in a state where Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are tied in the opinion polls.
Biden won the state with 49.5% of the vote in 2020, compared to 49.2% for Trump.
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Trump famously called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger after the 2020 election asking him to “find 11,780 votes” that Trump needed to beat Biden in Georgia.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has taken a case to protect the rights of Cobb County voters in the 2024 presidential election, after officials inadvertently delayed mailing out some absentee ballots.
Newsweek sought email comment on Tuesday from the RNC, the ACLU and the Cobb County Election Board.
Among the plaintiffs taking the case with the ACLU are Naomi Ayota, a 19-year-old who attends college in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harrison “Grant” Simmel, a 20-year-old who attends college in Boulder, Colorado and Gabriel Dickson, a resident of Cobb County, who requested an absentee ballot because he is legally blind.
“It is incredibly burdensome for him to vote in person,” the ACLU lawsuit states.
The Georgia Supreme Court ruled that all Cobb County absentee ballots must be received by the time polls close at 7pm on Tuesday.
Any ballots that are received after that time will be held until the case can be fully litigated.
The Georgia Supreme Court overruled a Cobb County judge who had extended the deadline until 5pm on Friday, to compensate for the delay in sending out the ballots.
The Republican National Committee (RNC) and Georgia Republican Party had appealed that decision to the Georgia Supreme Court, arguing that the Cobb County judge’s deviation from election rules is “baseless.”
“The Plaintiffs claim a burden on their right to vote, but the Georgia Constitution does not guarantee a right to vote by mail. Voters still have many options to vote, including by voting in person or delivering their absentee ballots in person,” their appeal stated.
In its initial lawsuit, the ACLU complained that “plaintiffs and more than 3,000 other lawfully registered Cobb County voters are on the brink of disenfranchisement in the November 5 election because the Cobb County Board of Elections and Registration was unable to issue their absentee ballots on time. Defendants admit the legal violation.”
“It is unlikely that all affected voters will even receive their ballots by November 2, particularly because hundreds of the affected voters are temporarily living out of state or overseas,” it states.
The Georgia Public Service Commission this week approved a plan expected to reduce utility bills for Georgia Power customers by a few dollars a month.
The commission said the change will generate about $285 million in total annual savings for Georgia Power customers, or roughly $50 per year — about $4.04 per month — for the average residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours a month.
The Georgia PSC voted Thursday to lower overall rates as part of the approved plan.
Georgia Power Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer Tyler Cook said the decision will provide “real savings for Georgia families and businesses as the heat of summer begins and energy use increases.”
“At Georgia Power, our teams work every day to run our business efficiently and keep reliable and affordable energy flowing to our customers,” Cook said.
Cook said the outcome followed months of work between Georgia Power and PSC staff, including reviews, public hearings and input from residents and intervenors.
The approved plan is tied to a stipulated agreement reached earlier this month involving two cases filed with the PSC in February, the Fuel Cost Recovery case and the Storm Cost Recovery case. Those cases addressed recovering fuel costs used to generate electricity and expenses tied to restoring power after storms.
Georgia Power said its rates remain, on average, about 15% below the national average and that it is still on track to provide additional annual savings of about $102 per year for typical residential customers beginning in 2029.
ATLANTA – The Georgia Public Service Commission approved a stipulated agreement on Thursday to lower utility rates for Georgia Power customers starting June 1.
The regulatory body voted to pass the deal without changes, establishing how the utility can bill for fuel costs and storm damage restoration expenses.
State regulators approve rate cuts
What we know:
The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) voted 3-2 to reject several utility cost amendments before ultimately passing the overall deal. Under the approved agreement, a typical residential customer using 1,000 kilowatt-hours per month will see monthly bills decrease by roughly $4.03 to $4.04. Total annual savings across all 2.8 million Georgia Power customers are projected to reach approximately $285 million.
The deal reduces how much money the utility can recover from its customer base for storm expenses by nearly 60%, dropping the revenue requirement from $270 million down to $109 million. The agreement also extends the amortization of storm recovery costs, largely tied to Hurricane Helene in 2024, to 67 months, caps natural gas advance purchases at 20% over a 36-month window, and cuts $13 million from the company’s original fuel recovery estimates.
Accountability questions remain unresolved
What we don’t know:
While the PSC agreed to launch a separate investigation into how fuel costs are allocated, officials have not yet confirmed how much large industrial operations will be forced to pay in future rate cases. Consumer advocacy groups argue that massive data center companies are driving up fuel costs for everyday ratepayers without paying for the infrastructure upgrades they require. Critics note that it remains unclear if a future utility asset structure will successfully shift financial burdens away from residential homes.
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from official press releases issued by the Georgia Public Service Commission and Georgia Power, as well as previous FOX 5 Atlanta reporting.
Georgia
St Louis CITY2 Goalkeeper Lucas McPartlin Called Up to U.S. U-19 MNT Domestic Training Camp in Fayetteville, Georgia | St. Louis SC
St Louis CITY2 goalkeeper Lucas McPartlin has been called up to the U.S. U-19 Men’s National Team for their upcoming domestic training camp in Fayetteville, Georgia from June 1-10, led by head coach Gonzalo Segares. McPartlin will be representing the U.S. for the first time in his youth national team career. McPartlin is the first CITY SC goalkeeper in club’s history to get a national team call up.
The U.S. U-19’s will face Argentina in back-to-back matches on June 5 and 7, then close out their final match against Japan on June 9.
McPartlin has been a member of St Louis CITY2 since 2025 and made his professional debut against Sporting KC II in August 2025, earning his first professional clean sheet in a 3-0 win. The Missouri Native has made seven starts and appearances for CITY2 this season, earning three clean sheets and making 24 total saves, with a 3-1-3 record. McPartlin spent time with CITY SC in both preseason camps this year and has been a regular in first team training this year.
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