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Georgia Today: Georgians vote on Election Day; Southern Poverty Law Center CEO; RIP Bernie Marcus
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LISTEN: On the Tuesday, Nov. 5 edition of Georgia Today: Georgia voters cast their ballot on Election Day; polling places receive bomb threats; and Home Depot co-founder Bernie Marcus has died.
Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News.
Story 1:
Today is Tuesday, Nov. 5, Election Day. I'm Peter Biello. We're recording this podcast at 3:00. News will be moving quickly throughout the day and into the night, so things may change by the time you hear today's episode. Check out GPB Radio and TV and GPB.org for coverage this evening from PBS and NPR. And GPB.org/Election for real time election results from all the races across the state. Polls close at 7 in most locations. If you're in line when polls close, you are entitled to vote. Also at 7 p.m., I will be hosting a live one hour election special on GPB Radio. What we can share with you now is what we're hearing from voters across the state as they cast ballots. Will Dodgen voted this morning in Atlanta. He said voting is one thing that brings people together.
Will Dodgen: I do believe that it's a privilege and a right to vote. I think with the divisiveness of our country, it's still an honor to have your voice heard. It's the one day that you can — we can all be unified by doing the same thing. And again, just have our voice heard. I think it's as simple as that.
Peter Biello: Lorenzo Veney of Atlanta said representation is important.
Lorenzo Veney: It's important to have some stake in the game. We have this right. I think laying down and letting people make choices for you, you really don't have the right to complain. If you exercise your right, you do have the right to complain, but you do also have the right to hold your leaders accountable.
Peter Biello: In East Georgia's Columbia County, Caden Cromer cast his vote today for former President Trump. He says the border crisis is top of mind for him.
Caden Cromer: Just seeing how our country is right now, it's a scary place for us and I want us to be safe. I believe that we need a change and we have to put Americans first. That's all that matters. I don't care who you're voting for. We have to put Americans first.
Peter Biello: Meanwhile, Savannah resident Emily Turner said the most important issue to her this election is, quote, "basic democracy." She and her husband, Shane, say they both voted for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Emily Harris: I would vote for any Democrat. I would have happily voted for Biden. But I do like her energy and progressive vision.
Shane Harris: There's so much on the line here that I — I just can't imagine ... what it would be like if we were to lose today, because I think we would lose everything.
Peter Biello: Hunter Harper of Savannah describes himself as an independent voter, and he says he decided to wait until Election Day to cast his ballot, because:
Hunter Harper: Honestly, I wanted every single bit of information possible up until the moment where I had to make that decision. I feel that neither side is as good or bad as they are made out to be.
Story 2:
Peter Biello: Voters like these are getting in and out of polling locations fairly quickly today. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger told reporters at a briefing this afternoon that he expects more than a million voters to cast ballots today, and he expects the results shortly after the polls close at 7 p.m..
Brad Raffensperger: All of this early voting — so that's over 4 million ballots that were cast early and the absentees that were accepted — all of that has to be uploaded and reported no later than one hour after the polls close. By the end of the night, you'll have all of those results.
Story 3:
Peter Biello: Tonight, much of the focus on Georgia results will be used to help predict what might be to come for other battleground states in the presidential election. But as GPB's Chase McGee reports, Georgians also are deciding a number of important races of their own.
Chase McGee: There are no statewide candidates on the ballot, and the two highest-profile congressional races in Georgia aren't expected to change the Republican-to-Democrat ratio and the state's U.S. House delegation. Instead, the most competitive elections will be in a handful of state House races where Democrats are trying to reduce the Republican majority. The hardest-fought of those includes six that stretch across Atlanta's northern suburbs. Many will also be watching the district attorney races in Savannah and Athens, where prosecutors who promised progressive reforms are facing challengers. Three statewide referendums are also on the ballot. For GPB News, I'm Chase McGee.
Story 4:
Peter Biello: On this Election Day, ensuring every legal voter who wants to cast a ballot can do so is top of mind for voters, state officials and advocates alike. Margaret Huang is one of those advocates. She's the president and chief executive officer of the Southern Poverty Law Center. And she's here in Georgia to monitor the process. And she's here with us now. Welcome to the program.
Margaret Huang: Thanks so much, Peter. It's great to be here.
Peter Biello: So you spent some time today at a nonpartisan election protection center. What is going on there and what's your role there?
Margaret Huang: So the election protection effort is to make sure that everyone in Georgia and across the country has the chance to cast their vote in this Election Day. Often people run into challenges. They can be weather-related. They can be at — a polling place has moved and they might not be aware. We have a 1-800 number: that's 866-OURVOTE. And that gives people a chance to call and get help.
Peter Biello: And does that mean to you at the center?
Margaret Huang: Yes.
Peter Biello: Okay.
Margaret Huang: Exactly. And so we have attorneys. We have organizers and other advocates ready to respond and help people figure out how it is that they can cast their vote today.
Peter Biello: Okay. So — so far, what have you heard from people who are trying to vote in Georgia?
Margaret Huang: Actually, one of the best pieces of news is that people are excited to cast their vote. We're seeing good numbers of people turning out. We're seeing people express their deep desire to be part of today's democratic action. And people are voting, which is great. We've also seen a few reports of bad actors trying to disrupt the elections.
Peter Biello: What does that mean, bad actors? What specifically is going on?
Margaret Huang: So in some parts of Georgia, we've seen a couple of folks call in with bomb threats that have turned out to be completely unsubstantiated — and in fact, according to the secretary of state, emanating from Russia. So these kinds of activities are clearly meant to try to stop people from feeling comfortable casting their votes. But the good news is they didn't disrupt the process.
Peter Biello: So bomb threats typically close a place down for a little while, right. My understanding is that one of those bomb threats closed the polling place for a half hour. To what extent was that disruptive to voters? Were they able to hang out and wait? Or did some people have to say, this was my only half hour and I have to leave now?
Margaret Huang: Actually, what we understand is that the polling place you're referring to was closed for only nine minutes.
Peter Biello: Nine minutes. Okay.
Margaret Huang: So it was a really short time. Many people were able to go ahead and cast their votes. And Fulton County has been proactive and has gone to the courts to ask for an extension of time this evening so that the polling places can be open for a little bit longer to enable anybody who might have had challenges casting their vote to come back.
Peter Biello: Okay. So we're recording this conversation just about 1:00 on Tuesday. By the time anybody hears this conversation, that may be resolved.
Margaret Huang: That's right.
Peter Biello: Disinformation has been a huge part of this campaign season. There was recently a video purporting to show some immigrants with multiple Georgia licenses — this was false — claiming to vote for the same candidate multiple times. The secretary of state's office was very vocal about saying this was false. In your estimation, how effective has the secretary of state's office in Georgia been in combating this kind of disinformation?
Margaret Huang: Well, like so many secretaries of state across the country, they're battling a constant effort. But I actually believe that in Georgia, the secretary of state's office has been very responsive, has been proactive and trying to dispel some of the myths. And we believe that many people are not being fooled by any of this misinformation, disinformation effort. So I would offer my appreciation to those who are fighting this effort. It is neverending, and it will likely be with us for a while. But I do think that the secretary of state is doing an admirable job trying to respond.
Peter Biello: Cobb County had apparently sent out absentee ballots late, and the Southern Poverty Law Center had asked for an extension for those voters to return their ballots. That was not granted. So they have to return their ballots today by 7:00. What would you say to voters who are in that situation?
Margaret Huang: That's right. So we encourage everyone to make sure that their polling place hasn't changed. Visit the website for their local election polling site to make sure. Some places might have later hours. Some places might have other changes. And so we want voters to know and make sure that their plan is ready for casting their vote. For those voters in Cobb County who — who had hoped to have a longer period of time to return those late absentee ballots, we urge them to actually drop those ballots off or to walk in and vote today. Unfortunately, the Supreme Court's decision means we don't have an extension of time. And so it's really important that everyone cast their vote today on Election Day.
Peter Biello: What will you be doing this afternoon before the polls close?
Margaret Huang: So we're going to go out and do some more door knocking, reminding people that today is Election Day, that it is the last day to cast their vote, helping them express what is important to them, why they want to participate in this election process, and reminding them of the importance of getting the chance to do that. So we hope we'll be encouraging some more folks to turn out before the end of the day.
Peter Biello: And what about after polls close at 7:00? What will you be doing?
Margaret Huang: We'll be continuing to monitor to make sure that the vote counts are going as according to plan. I think people should be aware that it's definitely a possibility we won't have results this evening. But that's okay. That's because every vote is being counted and that's what we want. So hopefully everyone will stay tuned and we'll have an accurate and appropriate announcement of the vote when it's done. And that will be, we hope, as soon as possible.
Peter Biello: Margaret Huang is president and CEO of the Southern Poverty Law Center. Thank you so much for speaking with me.
Margaret Huang: Peter, thanks for taking the time.
Peter Biello: And just a note, the Fulton County Department of Registration and Elections identified the polling places that received bomb threats as the Etris Community Center and Gullet Elementary in Union City. They said they were closed for a, quote, "short duration." The county says it will seek a court order to allow these polling places to remain open for the same period as the temporary closure. Check with your polling place for more information.
Story 5:
Peter Biello: We do have a few stories today that are not about the election. New data from Georgia State University show a metaphorical revolving door continues at the jail for people in DeKalb County experiencing homelessness and mental illness. GPB's Ellen Eldridge has more on some policy recommendations to help break the cycle.
Ellen Eldridge: Between 2022 and 2023. There was a 63% increase in the length of time people experienced homelessness in DeKalb County, and a disproportionate number of those impacted are children and people of color. DeKalb County Commissioner Ted Terry believes the first step to helping people up is a safe and solid foundation.
Ted Terry: There just isn't enough available housing units, whether it's for supportive housing, transitional or just overall affordable housing. And so that's really the important aspect of achieving housing: first is having the available units and building enough supply.
Ellen Eldridge: Terry says investing public tax dollars in housing is the best way to break the cycle of mental illness leading to incarceration. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge.
Story 6:
Peter Biello: Bernie Marcus, the co-founder of Home Depot and a billionaire philanthropist, has died. A spokesperson for the Atlanta based home improvement retailer says Marcus died yesterday at his home in Boca Raton, Fla. Marcus was Home Depot CEO as it grew rapidly during its first two decades. The son of Russian-Jewish immigrants, he co-founded the company with Arthur Blank, who spoke to GPB's Jeff Hullinger last year.
Arthur Blank: No. 1, I miss Bernie. I mean, Bernie and I worked together every day for half of my adult life and we had lunch together. I would say half — half of those days we had lunch together. It's only when Home Depot got so big that we both spread in different directions. We couldn't quite do the lunch thing every together every day. But he's been important mentor in my life, an important partner and friend, kind of a mixture of a father-brother who's 14 years my senior. So I lost my dad when I was 44. So he was always kind of like a little bit of a rabbi to me in certain ways, but also a very close friend, dear friends. So we went through, been through life together. I still talk to him, see him as often as I can. We work today in the nonprofit area, the Avalon Fund, which is this organization dealing with helping men and women transition from the military into, you know, communities, civil life that have TBI or PTSD. And so we're working collectively on that and some other areas as well. So his relationship with is was very, very important to me and it'll always be.
Peter Biello: Marcus financially supported various charities, including Jewish organizations and others connected to health. He also built the Georgia Aquarium, one of the largest in the world. Home Depot says his philanthropy will continue through the Marcus Foundation. Bernie Marcus was 95 years old.
And that's it for this edition of Georgia Today. If you want to learn more about any of these stories, visit GPB.org/news or check in on election results at GPB.org/election. And remember to tune in tonight at 7:00 for a live broadcast of election results with a couple of analysts and GPB reporters. And that'll be followed by updates from NPR from 8:00 to midnight. If you've got feedback on this podcast, send us a note by email. The address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.
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For more on these stories and more, go to GPB.org/news
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