www.thecentersquare.com – By Kim Jarrett | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-04-02 13:48:00
(The Center Square) – Georgia Republicans and Democrats differed significantly on the intent of a sweeping election bill.
House Bill 397 would require the Secretary of State to stop sharing voter rolls with the nonprofit Electronic Registration Information Center, also known as ERIC. The Secretary of State would no longer oversee the Georgia State Election Board, but it would fall under the State Accounting Office.
The legislation also bans local elections officials from receiving absentee ballots dropped off the Saturday before an election.
Sen. Randal Mangham, D-Stone Mountain, said the bill was designed to suppress the vote.
“If we do this bill, what we’ll find is that it does not benefit the least, the lost or the left out,” Mangham said.
Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, criticized Mangham’s speech, questioning whether or not Mangham had read the bill.
“If he has read the bill, he did not articulate one specific element from this bill that he was opposed to,” Dolezal said. “He drug up an argument from the darkest days of this country and tried to transport them into this bill in quite frankly, one of the most intellectually dishonest speeches I have ever heard from this well. If you are going to accuse one of our colleagues of having a singular purpose, as he stated, that this bill was designed with one aim, that is to suppress the vote, if you are going to dishonor one of my friends in that way you better have the receipts.”
U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said Monday the Justice Department dismissed a lawsuit filed over a 2021 Georgia election law, saying claims of voter suppression were “false.”
In the two elections since Senate Bill 202 passed, surveys show a high percentage of voters said they were satisfied with their experience at the polls.
SUMMARY: Tybee Island, GA, is facing recurring sewage spills, with the third incident in three months occurring after heavy rainfall caused 40,000 gallons of stormwater mixed with wastewater to overflow into Horse Pen Creek. The city is grappling with aging and damaged sewer infrastructure, exacerbated by frequent storms. City crews have made temporary repairs, but a long-term solution is underway, including a $12.5 million upgrade plan and a $2.5 million sewer project launch. Mayor Brian West emphasized ongoing efforts over the past eight years, set to continue for 15 more. An update on the sewer system overhaul will be shared tonight at 6:30 PM at the Tybee Island Public Safety Building.
The updated Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the 2026-2027 school year will launch for all students by October 1, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced. Testing began in early August to resolve technical issues before the full release. This follows previous rollout problems under the Biden administration, including delays and phased launches for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 forms. A law signed last December mandates the FAFSA’s annual October 1 release and requires the Education Secretary to notify Congress by September 1 if the deadline will be met. McMahon emphasized improved technical competence and timely delivery under current leadership.
WASHINGTON — The updated form to apply for federal student aid will launch for all students by Oct. 1, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon told congressional leaders in a letter this week.
The department began testing in early August for the 2026-27 Free Application for Federal Student Aid — better known as FAFSA — to address any bugs or technical issues before opening it up to everyone in the fall.
The agency signaled earlier this year that the form would open up to the general public by Oct. 1, the typical opening date for the annual form that’s now congressionally mandated.
The department noted that for the 2026-27 FAFSA, 2,435 forms were started, 1,372 were submitted and 1,347 had been processed, as of Monday.
McMahon’s letter to lawmakers on Tuesday followed the botched rollout of the 2024-25 FAFSA, which faced several highly publicized hiccups during then-President Joe Biden’s administration’s attempts to implement a makeover after Congress passed the FAFSA Simplification Act in 2020.
The rollout of the following 2025-26 form, still under the Biden administration, took a staggered approach that included several rounds of testing and gradually increased the number of people able to complete the form.
Though that form debuted earlier than the 2024-25 application, the full rollout still came nearly two months later than the usual Oct. 1 date.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, our team has prioritized technical competence and expertise, which has led to the earliest testing launch of the FAFSA form in history,” McMahon said in a statement Wednesday.
“The Biden Administration failed the FAFSA rollout two years ago, leaving millions of American students and families without clear answers or a path forward in their educational journey,” she said. “Congress gave us a mandate to improve the form and deliver it on time for students, families, and institutions of higher education — and I am proud to certify that the form will launch on time this fall.”
McMahon’s letter to the chairs and ranking members of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and the House Committee on Education and Workforce follows a law signed by Biden last December that ensures the FAFSA rolls out by Oct. 1 each year.
The law also requires the Education secretary to notify Congress by Sept. 1 annually on whether the department will meet that Oct. 1 deadline.
Georgia Recorder is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Georgia Recorder maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jill Nolin for questions: info@georgiarecorder.com.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Right
The content highlights the improvements and punctuality brought to the FAFSA rollout under U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon, framing it positively while contrasting it with criticisms of the prior Biden administration’s handling of FAFSA updates. It emphasizes technical competence and timely delivery attributed to leadership associated with a conservative administration, presenting a perspective that leans slightly in favor of Republican-led management in education policy execution. The tone and selected quotes reflect a center-right viewpoint without extreme partisan language.
SUMMARY: Ahead of Labor Day, law enforcement agencies from Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee are collaborating on the Hands Across the Border campaign to reduce impaired driving. Georgia law prohibits driving with a BAC of .08 or higher. Officers emphasize enforcing highway safety by targeting DUI, speeding, distracted driving, and seatbelt violations. Officials aim to send a strong message of zero tolerance for impaired driving to protect communities. Georgia has seen a 17% decrease in fatalities this year, with 800 deaths reported. The campaign urges drivers to buckle up, avoid distractions, and drive sober to prevent tragic crashes and save lives.
