Georgia Today: House GOP considers ending voter roll check; Ossoff has questions for DOGE

Story 1:

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Wednesday, Feb. 19th. I'm Peter Biello. This podcast has the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. Send feedback or story tips to GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. On today's episode, Georgia House Republicans consider ending Georgia's participating in a voter roll check that crosses state lines. Sen. Jon Ossoff seeks answers from DOGE about its access to veterans health information. And if you get a jury summons and you don't show up, you may have to face a very disappointed Georgia judge.

Connie Williford: Maybe the perception is out there now that there's no consequence if you don't show up. And that's why I am trying to get the word out that there will be consequences.

Peter Biello: Check your mailbox. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: A group of Georgia House Republicans wants Georgia to leave a bipartisan group that helps keep voter rolls accurate. The Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, helps participating states identify and remove from voting rolls people who have died moved to other states or registered somewhere else. Georgia Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has credited the system for helping him maintain accurate voter data. 24 states and Washington, D.C., are currently members of ERIC. Nine have left the program at the encouragement of President Donald Trump, who has said, without proof, that ERIC helps Democrats. If the bill makes it out of Georgia's House, it likely will pass the Senate.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: Demonstrators gathered at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta yesterday in opposition to funding cuts by the federal government, resulting in the mass layoffs of public health employees. GPB's Sofi Gratas has more.

Sofi Gratas: The CDC has lost about 10% of its workforce, over 1,000 people, since termination letters went out across the Department of Health and Human Services last week. In Atlanta, former federal workers and others gathered as current CDC employees started to drive home, cheering them on in support. Barbara Stahnke, retired from state Public Health, says that the cuts will leave frontline workers without critical guidance.

Barbara Stahnke: The CDC is sponsoring that. You know, they're the ones who coordinate that. It takes a lot; it takes a lot to get from federal to state to local to the people and communities.

Sofi Gratas: And those communities need good information, she says, to fight ongoing surges in infectious and chronic diseases. For GPB News, I'm Sofi Gratas at the CDC. 

Caption

Discarded stumps and roots lie before a truckload of salvaged timber in a Treutlen County pine stand damaged by Hurricane Helene.

Credit: Grant Blankenship/GPB News

​​​​​​​Story 4:

Peter Biello: Both chambers of the Georgia General Assembly passed legislation yesterday intended to help timber producers affected by Hurricane Helene. The Senate passed SB 52 unanimously. The bill would provide temporary tax relief on timber sold or harvested in hurricane -damaged areas. Sen. Russ Goodman says more than a third of the state's timberland was damaged or destroyed in the storm.

Russ Goodman: They've already lost 90% of the value of their of their timber. They're not having to pay another tax on top of that after they've already lost 90% — as well as it helps the counties that — the rural counties like mine that that depend on the timber tax to help fund local school boards and county.

Peter Biello: Similarly, in the House, HB 223 would exclude taxes on relief funds timber farmers receive.

​​​​​​​Story 5:

Peter Biello: A woman is suing the fertility clinic that helped her get pregnant using in vitro fertilization two years ago, saying she gave birth to another patient's child after doctors transferred the wrong embryo to her. Christina Murray says she still wants to raise the baby boy she gave birth to in December 2023. She gave up the child after his biological parents demanded custody last year. Murray filed a suit yesterday in Savannah against Coastal Fertility Specialists, saying its mix-up left her physically and emotionally broken.

​​​​​​​Story 6:

Peter Biello: The list of public schools that qualify a student to apply for one of the state's new private school vouchers has been finalized. GPB's Grant Blankenship has more on the Promise Scholarship program.

Grant Blankenship: The list of schools in the bottom 25% for achievement statewide was published by the Governor's Office of Student Achievement last week. The list is dense in metro Atlanta. Bibb, Richmond and Muskogee counties are also urban areas with standout numbers. But most of the schools are spread across rural Georgia. Students who have attended one of them for at least two semesters, can now apply for a $6,500 voucher to attend a participating private school. But about half of the counties where students could apply for a voucher don't have a Promise Scholarship private school where they could spend it. Voucher funds are capped at 1% of total state education spending, or about 22,000 vouchers. Promise Scholarship student applications open March 1. For GPB News, I'm Grant Blankenship in Macon.

​​​​​​​Story 7:

Peter Biello: Sen. Jon Ossoff is demanding answers about Elon Musk's potential access to veterans' medical records. Ossoff and other senators say they want details on visits by Musk's Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, to VA facilities. Former Georgia congressman Doug Collins now serves as the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. The senators asked Collins if DOGE staffers accessed personally identifiable information or medical records of veterans or VA personnel. The VA has not yet responded to the inquiry.

​​​​​​​Story 8:

Peter Biello: Battery manufacturer Duracell is moving its research and development headquarters to Atlanta. The new space will feature state-of-the-art labs and collaborative workspaces and the Science Square Labs building adjacent to the Georgia Tech campus. The move is expected to bring more than 100 jobs to the Atlanta job market. Duracell has operated a manufacturing facility in Lagrange since 1980, as well as a distribution plant in Fairburn that began operations five years ago. The opening of the Atlanta R&D headquarters is scheduled for summer next year.

​​​​​​​Story 9:

Peter Biello: Judges across Georgia and the nation are reporting a frustrating uptick in jury absenteeism. One Middle Georgia judge is summoning jurors who don't show up for their civic duty to face her in court. Macon Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Connie Wilfred calls jury absenteeism a crisis that has stalled more than one trial in Bibb County. For the past few months, she's been sending deputies to haul no-show jurors into court to ask them why they failed to appear for duty. She recently spoke with GPB's Orlando Montoya about the problem, what it means for justice in Bibb County, and what can be done about it.

Connie Williford: I started judging, got my judgeship during the pandemic in 2020, so I came in at a time where, you know, things were already precarious, but it seems to have gotten worse each trial term. And in November, I had a trial where we almost didn't get to try the case. It was a very important case. It had to do with a beating death of a — an infant. And it had gotten a lot of press. And it was just a big case for Peach County. And so we summonsed 250 jurors, and it got — I needed 36 to pick a jury of 12 with two alternates. And it got down to the wire where I didn't think we were going to have enough, by the time I excused various people for various reasons. But I think we had about 80 of the, you know, 200 that were — 200 or 250 that were summons that actually showed up. And by the time I excused people who said, "Yeah, I've read so much about this case, I don't think I could be a fair and impartial juror" or, you know, "I'm over 70 and I have this medical condition. There's no way I could sit through this," you know, these various things — I didn't think I was going to have enough to pick a jury. And in November, when that happened, I had the sheriff go out and summons folks to court.

Orlando Montoya: And they knocked on people's doors?

Connie Williford: And they actually served them with a summons. You know, they have to appear before me to show cause, to explain to me why they did not show up for jury duty.

Orlando Montoya: And what do people tell you when you ask them why they didn't show up?

Connie Williford: Well, it was interesting because we're really trying to get to the root cause of the problem. Right now, I'm — I'm doing my own sort of independent research to try to figure out where the problem lies and then try to come up with solutions to the problem. So right now, I'm really just gathering information. And I didn't hold anybody in contempt. I didn't fine anyone, I didn't jail anyone. I just wanted to know, honestly. And I told them up front, you're not going to — you're not going to be fined. You're not going to be jailed. I just want an honest answer so that I can try to come up with a solution to this problem. Some folks told me "I didn't get the summons. If I would have gotten a summons, I would be here." So I think that more than ever, for whatever reason, our postal service is not reliable. I had several other folks who told me "I don't check my mail very often. I might check my mail once a month because all of my bills are set up to be, you know, come out of my account or I pay everything online and all I ever get is junk mail." I had one man who said to me, Look, when I go to the dentist, I have a dentist appointment. I get five text messages reminding me you have a dentist appointment on this day. This time, you know, press C to confirm. He said, Why don't you all set up something like that? I said, Well, you know, I we'll eventually have to talk to the legislator about something like that.

Orlando Montoya: And do you feel there's a lack of civic concern? I don't think anybody is going to admit to that. But do you feel that civic responsibility has declined?

Connie Williford: That is certainly a part of it, too, and I think that plays a big role in it. I had one young man who said he was a delivery driver for a pharmacy and he had to work. And I said to him, well, you know, most folks who come and sit on a jury have a job. We don't just seat unemployed folks on our jury, you know? And tried to explain to him the importance of that civic responsibility and how important of a right it is. Our founding fathers thought it was such an important right that they put it in the highest law of the land, the Constitution. Maybe the perception is out there now that there's no consequence if you don't show up. And that's why I am trying to get the word out that, you know, there will be consequences.

Orlando Montoya: Is there anything else that you think might be going into this problem?

Connie Williford: The way we're selecting folks now. I think that they pull from so many different areas. They pull from voter registration; if you go get a driver's license or a state ID. And so many people, I'm finding, do not change their address. So they're registered to vote here. But, you know, they moved to Atlanta, you know, five years ago and they haven't changed their address. And so it's not reaching the number of people it needs to reach because people are not staying on top of changing their address if they move, on their driver's license, on their voter registration and those different areas. So I think that's part of the problem. So we get return mail, we get, you know, return to sender. This person no longer lives at this address. We get that a lot. The other concern I have is really trying to get the word out is that there is a legitimate jury scam going on. And here in Bibb County, you'll get an actual warrant that has Judge Williford's signature on it that says there's a warrant for your arrest for failing to show up at jury duty. It looks very official, especially to someone who's not familiar with warrants. It will say, you know, you can pay $2,500 or you can call this number to get this satisfied. But it's all a scam. And so in trying to educate folks, I'm also cognizant of the fact that there are these criminals out there that are running this jury scam, and it makes it even more difficult for me. You know, there may be a time where I stop being nice and I do start fining folks or giving 'em community service or holding them in contempt for not showing up for jury duty. But if I do, it will happen in this courtroom. You will stand before me and I will tell you I am fining you $500 or whatever I decide to do. It will not be something that you receive in the mail or via phone call. You know, it may be an inconvenience and we understand it may be an inconvenience, but it is such a critical and necessary part of our civic duty.

Orlando Montoya: All right. Well, thanks for talking with me today about this issue, Judge Williford.

Connie Williford: All right. Well, thank you.

Peter Biello: That was Macon Judicial Circuit Superior Court Judge Connie Williford speaking with GPB's Orlando Montoya.

​​​​​​​Story 10:

Peter Biello: The search for Atlanta Westminster coach Gary Jones is intensifying with new reinforcements joining the effort, including a cadaver dog and volunteers from the United Cajun Navy. Jones disappeared on Feb. 8 after a boating incident on Lake Oconee that left his fiancee, Spelman instructor Joslyn Wilson, dead. Investigators have found key clues, including Jones's boat, his wallet and his shoes, but no sign of him. Putnam County Sheriff Howard Sills says Wilson's autopsy has raised new questions but did not disclose details. Jones and Wilson first met 30 years ago as students at Clark Atlanta University. They were engaged to be married in March. The United Cajun Navy, known for search and rescue efforts, is now assisting law enforcement in the ongoing recovery operation.

​​​​​​​Story 11:

Peter Biello: This final story before we wrap up for the day. Georgia is launching a new statewide teacher recruitment campaign aiming to make the state the nation's top destination for educators. The Teach in the Peach Initiative, announced by the Georgia Department of Education, highlights the impact of teaching and provides resources for those entering the profession. It includes a new website with certification pathways, job listings and career guidance. The state is also hosting its first-ever Educator signing Day in May, celebrating future teachers at the College Football Hall of Fame. You can find more at TeachinthePeach.org.

And that is a wrap on this edition of Georgia Today. If you want to learn more about any of these stories, check out our website, GPB.org/news. And we're going to be back in your podcast feed tomorrow. So the best thing to do is to subscribe to this podcast. That way we'll pop up automatically. And don't forget, I'll be interviewing author and historian David Levering Lewis tomorrow. That's Thursday, Feb. 20 at the Atlanta History Center about his new book, The Stained Glass Window. That conversation begins at 7:00. And you can find more information about it at AtlantaHistoryCenter.com. I'm Peter Biello. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.

---

For more on these stories and more, go to GPB.org/news