Political Rewind: DeKalb Issues Rental Relief; Election Legislation Meets Pushback In Capitol

Credit: Stephen Fowler, GPB News

Wednesday on Political Rewind: While the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump continues, leaders in Georgia attempt to respond to the ongoing pandemic and its economic effect.

In DeKalb County, local leaders announced plans to aid renters hit hard by the pandemic. A $21 million federal grant is set to be used to secure housing for thousands of residents at risk of eviction in the middle of a winter rife with illness and economic uncertainty.

Michael Thurmond, DeKalb County's CEO, joins our panel to discuss the latest.

Leaders across the state are also grappling with the vaccine rollout. Recent data from the Centers for Disease Control reveals distribution hindered by social inequity and limited supply.

Meanwhile in the state Capitol, Republican legislators released a list of recommendations they say are designed to assure future elections will be free of fraud. Among the changes: ending automatic registration and removing voting software from Dominion Voting Systems. The proposal also includes a call to take oversight of elections away from Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger.

"This is the theme we have seen in the legislature and in Georgia politics since the early 2000s," Jim Galloway said. "There is a portion of the Republican Party that thinks voting is so important that you ought to have the energy to meet a certain amount of obstacles to cast the ballot."

Democrats plan to fight the changes, which they describe as efforts at voter suppression. The proposals are also sparking further division among Republicans.

"When I look at this 10-page document, there are probably about two recommendation here that I think are a good idea," Republican and former Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens said. "There is a bunch of this document that [Michael] Thurmond and I have the same exact statement: This is Jim Crow."

In news from the U.S. Capitol, Trump’s Atlanta-based impeachment lawyer David Schoen warned senators that their decision to try the president was dividing the country like no other moment in history since the Civil War.

Panelists:

Michael Thurmond — CEO, DeKalb County

Sam Olens — former Georgia Attorney General

Jim Galloway — former Political Writer at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution