Latest news with #GeorgiaElections
Yahoo
03-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Early voting is underway for Georgia PSC races. Here's what you need to know.
Primaries for two Georgia Public Service commission races will take place on June 17. Early voting began May 27 and will end June 13. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder (file) For the first time since 2020, Georgia voters have a chance to decide who will represent them on the Public Service Commission. This delayed election comes after a lawsuit challenged the statewide elections used to elect commissioners, arguing it diluted the voting strength of Black voters. Despite each commissioner hailing from a specific geographic district in Georgia, voters across the state are eligible to vote for each member. This year, District 2 and 3 seats are on the ballot. The 2025 election comes as commissioners face criticism for signing off rising rates for Georgia Power customers. After June's primary election, winners will advance to the general election in November that will coincide with municipal elections across the state. With early voting already in full swing, about 18,000 people have cast a ballot as of Monday, according to the Secretary of State's data hub. The primary election will take place on June 17. Early voting began May 27 and will end June 13. If a candidate does not receive at least 50% of the vote in the primary, a runoff election will be held on July 15. Voters can check their registration status, polling information and sample ballots on the Georgia Secretary of State's My Voter Page. The PSC is a five-member commission that is tasked with regulating electric, telecommunication and natural gas services. The commissioners' decisions and outcomes directly affect how much people in Georgia pay for necessary utility services. Their website points out that 'very few governmental agencies have as much impact on peoples' lives as the PSC.' Despite this impact, PSC elections tend to have low visibility and voter turnout across Georgia. University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock attributes that partly to limited campaign capability. 'I've often said that most Georgians [are] probably not fully aware we have a public service commission, don't know that it has five members, and couldn't name a single one of them,' Bullock said. With limited campaign finances and awareness, it can be tough for candidates to reach voters. As a political scientist, Bullock said he often uses the PSC as an example when trying to identify what partisan division exists in the state. He says that when people vote for the PSC election with limited knowledge they tend to fall back on their preferred party. 'Georgia is still more Republican than Democratic, so I think ultimately, probably the incumbent Republicans are going to win,' Bullock said. 'It also helps that once we get to the general election ballot, it'll have the 'I' beside their name, indicating they are the incumbents.' In District 2, incumbent Commissioner Tim Echols is running for re-election. If elected, this would mark the beginning of his third term as a commissioner. Echols will face Lee Muns on the Republican ballot. Alicia M. Johnson is running uncontested on the Democratic ballot. District 2 goes as far north as Hart County and as far south as Savannah. In District 3, which includes Clayton, DeKalb, and Fulton counties, incumbent Commissioner Fitz Johnson is the sole candidate on the Republican ballot this month. Gov. Brian Kemp appointed Johnson to the seat in 2021. All the action in this race is on the Democratic side right now, with four candidates trying to clinch the nomination. Daniel Blackman, who served as the Environmental Protection Agency's Southeast regional administrator during the Biden administration, is fighting to remain a candidate. Blackman was disqualified after Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger agreed with an administrative court judge that he did not have the adequate residency qualifications to run. A Fulton County Superior Court judge granted an injunction allowing Blackman to remain on the ballot for now. A hearing on Blackman's appeal is set for June 10. Other Democratic candidates include Peter Hubbard, who is the founder of the clean nonprofit Center for Energy Solutions, former utility executive Robert Jones and Keisha Sean Waites, who is a former Atlanta City Council member and ex-state representative. The PSC primary is a partisan election and requires voters to choose a Democratic or Republican ballot. The primary election will not occur at the same time as any municipal elections. This will not be true for the general election. For cities with municipal general elections also occurring on Nov. 4, different ballots will be offered for each election. The partisan nature of the primary election often contributes to low voter turnout. 'Many people do not turn out for primaries,' said Travis Doss, president of the Georgia Association of Voter Registration and Election Officials and Richmond County's election director. 'They do not feel that they have an affiliation with a party, so there's always confusion when it comes to primaries. People argue with us that they should be able to vote for both sets of candidates.' This was true for a Richmond County woman who recently came in ready to cast her vote but ended up telling Doss that she would not be picking a party. A 2020 lawsuit brought forth by Black voters in Atlanta delayed years of PSC elections and challenged the electoral process that allows statewide voters to elect district-specific commissioners. Plaintiffs argued that this is a violation of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and dilutes the voting power of Black Georgians. The U.S. Supreme Court ultimately decided not to hear the case, and the at-large method of electing commissioners remains in place. Critics and consumer watch groups have continued to express concerns over rate prices, growing electricity demands and the spread of data centers. According to previous Georgia Recorder reporting, the average Georgia Power residential customer pays about $43 more to cover base electric rate increases, recover excess fuel expenses, and cover the cost of completing two new nuclear power generators at Plant Vogtle. PSC staff and Georgia Power reached a proposed agreement to 'freeze' base electric rates from 2026 to 2028. Critics have pointed out that Georgia Power customers could still see an increase on their utility bill after the approval of funds for storm damage and fuel recovery expenses. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Georgia Secretary of State to rule on Public Service Commission candidate qualification
Daniel Blackman served as Region IV Southeast Administrator at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Biden administration. Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder The Georgia Secretary of State's office will decide on Wednesday whether Public Service Commission candidate Daniel Blackman can remain on the ballot for the Democratic primary on June 17. On Tuesday, the first day of early voting in two statewide PSC races, Administrative Court Judge Dominic Capraro ruled in an initial decision that Blackman does not meet the residency requirements to be a candidate for a metro Atlanta Public Service Commission seat. The District 3 Democratic primary also includes Keisha Waites, a former member of the Atlanta City Council and the Georgia House of Representatives, as well as Peter Hubbard, founder of Center for Energy Solutions and an expert witness at PSC hearings, and Robert Jones, who has had a career involved in energy regulation in California. The primary winner will face sitting GOP Commissioner Fitz Johnson in the Nov. 4 general election. The five-member state regulatory board has faced criticism for a series of Georgia Power rate hikes over the last several years. Early voting for two PSC commission primaries will run until June 13. The residency dispute involves a one-bedroom dwelling in Atlanta that Blackman leased on Oct. 4, 2024. Blackman testified that he purchased the property to live closer to work while his wife and children continued to reside in their Forsyth County home, according to the 12-page ruling. 2540751_1465937 Capraro wrote that Blackman failed to provide evidence that he actually lived in the home, such as property tax records, utility bills or mail being delivered to the Atlanta address. 'The testimony presented by (Blackman) did not establish that he actually resided in Fulton County during the relevant period,' Capraro wrote. 'Other than (Blackman) himself, no witness had personal knowledge of (Blackman's) supposed residence at (the property) or anywhere in Fulton County, in the 12 months preceding the upcoming election.' Under Georgia law, the Secretary of State and any Georgian who is eligible to vote for a candidate can challenge the qualifications of the candidate by filing a written complaint with the Secretary of State within two weeks after the deadline for qualifying. Public Service commissioners must reside within their PSC district boundaries for at least 12 months prior to the general election. PSC District 3 comprises Clayton, DeKalb, and Fulton counties. Although the commissioners must reside in the geographical district that they represent, every Georgia voter can determine the winner since the state regulators are elected statewide. This year was the second time that Blackman made a bid for a commission seat after he lost a 2021 runoff against Republican incumbent Lauren 'Bubba' McDonald. Blackman, who would later after become a regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency under President Joe Biden, said Tuesday that he would appeal the Secretary of State ruling if it upholds the disqualification. Blackman said he did not want to put the 'cart before the horse' ahead of Wednesday's ruling and that he doesn't plan to scale back on campaigning. The state administrative court held a hearing on the case following a complaint filed by Atlanta resident Rodney Stephens, which challenged the legality of Blackman's qualification. Waites, Jones and Hubbard declined Tuesday to comment on Blackman's residency challenge. This year's primary and general elections will mark the first time since 2020 that PSC contests have appeared on Georgia ballots following lawsuits challenging redistricting and the fairness of the PSC election process for Black voters. Republican incumbents Tim Echols and Johnson are facing challengers seeking to upset their bids to remain on the board. Johnson was appointed to the seat in 2021. Echols, who is seeking his third term on the PSC, will face challenger Lee Muns in the Republican primary for the commission's District 2 seat. Whoever wins will go on to face Alicia Johnson of Savannah, the sole candidate for the Democratic Party. Georgia Recorder reporter Ross Williams contributed to this report. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
