Georgia's HBCU Voter Guide

Georgia HBCU

VOTER GUIDE Interdenominational Theological Center Spelman College

Morehouse School of Medicine

Morehouse College Clark Atlanta University

INSIDE: The candidates, the issues, the ballot initiatives - and the difference you can make.

Paine College

Fort Valley State University

Albany State University

Savannah State University

Election Day is November 3.

You can vote early. You can vote by mail. You can vote on Election Day. Go to voteamerica.com/students to find all the information you need.

Read us online at: HBCUvoter.org/georgia

STAFF EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Wesley Wright

MANAGING EDITOR

Kristen Grau

ART DIRECTOR

Ivan Benavides WEB EDITOR

Billy O’Keefe REPORTERS

Kayla Grant Derrian Carter Giana Levy Miranda Perez

ABOUT THE COVER & DESIGN All the headlines in this Voter Guide feature fonts by a young Black designer named Tré Seals, who founded the Vocal Type Co. during the last presidential campaign in 2016.

“When I discovered that only 3–3.5% of all practicing designers in America are Black, and 85% White (depending on the source), a lot of things started making sense,” Seals writes on his website, vocaltype.co. “And I understood why everything looked the same.”

The ReNews Project was created to revive and strengthen student newspapers at HBCUs. This Voter Guide was produced in partnership with HBCU student newsrooms and professional organizations that support our work.

EDITOR’S NOTE Georgia is a competitive state heading into a competitive election, college students will help decide the outcome.

BY WESLEY WRIGHT

H

ELLO! I’m Wesley Wright, the Editor-in-Chief of the ReNews Project. I started the ReNews Project in partnership with other professional reporters and journalism nonprofits to expand student journalism at HBCUs. HBCUs are less likely to have student journalism programs than other 4-year schools, which means that students miss out on an important forum to explore ideas and inform their peers. This voter guide is meant to reflect the HBCU community in Georgia but our staff includes more than 20 students from five HBCUs across the country.

We seek to shine a light on the important

This Voter Guide is produced

by The ReNews Project, whose sponsors include: ● The Society of Professional Journalists ● Associated Collegiate Press ● College Media Association ● Report for America ● Flytedesk ● Poynter Institute

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issues you’ll vote on in November. You’ll also have an opportunity to make your choice for Senator, congressional representative, and several local officials.

We hope this guide is helpful in making your voice heard and your vote count. There are plenty of great resources to learn more, like voteamerica.com, which is the presenting sponsor of this guide.

Finally, if you’re interested in being part of the ReNews Project please get in touch with me at wrightwesley25@gmail.com. We can provide support, mentorship, and funding to students that want to do journalism that benefits their campus communities.

Use Your Power

Vote November 3

FIGHT FOR THE RIGHT Professors at Georgia’s HBCUs believe this election could have rippling effects on the future. Here are some of their foremost concerns.

BY KAYLA GRANT

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ACULTY at Georgia’s HBCUs have a lot to worry about this election. Not only are they concerned about the platforms of each candidate, but they’re also worried about voter turnout and the several factors that might cause it to be lower than normal this year. Despite the many obstacles, they are adamant that exercising the right to vote is critical for Black Americans.

Between the coronavirus safety precautions and the increased emphasis on mail-in voting, the electoral process may look different than most years. Millions have decided to vote by mail because it’s easier or because of health concerns considering the pandemic. However, efforts to convince voters that mail-in ballots are unreliable may serve to stifle the vote.

“I am concerned about the [Trump] administration’s expressions of [the prevalence of] voter fraud, which has been shown to be negligible, and I think it promotes distrust in the franchise [and] in the electoral system,” Morehouse College political science professor Adrienne Jones said.

Undermining vote by mail is part of a larger strategy of intimidating voters in order to suppress the vote, according to Fort Valley State University psychology professor Jerry Haywood.

“My other concern is voter intimidation and voter suppression and people not feeling safe at polls,” Haywood said. “To say to them that their mail-in ballot is not going to be counted or not going to arrive on time ... is a part of the intimidation and suppression.”

According to Jones, the Morehouse professor, some tactics of voter suppression are more blatant than most years. “I don’t know that we have had a presidential debate where the president seems to threaten voter intimidation just before the election,” she said.

Savannah State University criminal justice professor William Brooks Jr. fears intimidation tactics could make some too anxious to visit their respective polling places on Election Day. “I worry that such measures will imbalance and in some ways invalidate the voting process because not all our citizens will have equal access to voting,” he said.

Brooks claims that when citizens don’t feel they can

vote to decide who will represent them, the phenomenon undermines the political process. “If everyone is not allowed to vote equally and freely, then you have really limited representation,” he said.

Despite the pandemic and the prevalence of voter intimidation tactics being used, professors emphasize that it’s critical for HBCU students, and Georgia’s Black community more broadly, to show up to the polls this year. The presidential race is important, but there are other races and ballot initiatives that matter too.

Haywood believes that many voters don’t always understand the ways that down-ballot issues and candidates can impact their day-to-day lives. “People think that the president has this unilateral power, when it’s really Congress that lays the law, and the president is kind of the pen person,” he said.

Jones finds it important for Black people to show up to the polls given the state’s electorate. According to the Georgia Secretary of State’s Office, Black voters comprise more than 30 percent of the registered voters in the state.

“If Black people want a new president, it is going to be very important for them to vote,” she said. “Black votes — Black women in particular — are extremely important to the outcome for the Democratic party.”

The United States Census Bureau reported a record-high 137.5 million Americans voted in the 2016 election, but the Black vote dropped from 66.6 percent to 59.6 percent.

“It is problematic when you have 30 percent of the electorate show up and vote because then only 30 percent of the people in this country choose who the leaders are,” Haywood, the psychology professor, said.

Clark Atlanta University mass media arts professor James McJunkins echoed a similar point, invoking the long and violent history tied to voting and other civil rights for Black Americans.

“It is just a significant thing that people vote and express themselves because we’re seeing a president who is not the choice of most of the people in this country,” he said.

“People have died for this right.”

NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN HBCUs faculty and professors in Georgia detail how their respective schools have participated in politics currently and historically as the 2020 election approaches.

BY DERRIAN CARTER

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ACULTY at historically black colleges and universities in Georgia know that the history of their institutions are rooted in politics. They see that as the backdrop as they and their students confront the most important election of their lives.

HBCUs are continuing that history this year with efforts to educate their students and get them to vote. Here’s a look at Georgia HBCUs’ history when it comes to mobilizing voters.

THE PAST Clark Atlanta University has long had a politically active student body, even before 1988 when Clark College and Atlanta University had officially merged.

“Atlanta University and its faculty were deeply involved in politics,” said Clark Atlanta University political science professor William Boone.

History professors routinely held sessions at the local YMCA to help inform students on how to vote. Many participated in political campaigns during the 1950s and 1960s — both Atlanta University and Clark College had faculty members that were active in Georgia’s state legislature.

But, of course, the fight for racial equality goes back much farther than the 1950s. Most public HBCUs only exist because of the 1890 Morrill Act that required states, to set aside land for the creation of all black colleges in the vein of “separate but equal.”

“Historically, [Savannah State University] was set up and established because Black people could not go to the

University of Georgia,” Bowden said. “We were the oldest public historically black college or university in Georgia.”

Founded by Gen. Richard Wright Sr., Savannah State provided access to Black Americans whose options were otherwise very limited.

THE PRESENT According to the Pew Research Center, Georgia’s Black eligible voters saw the largest percentage point increase, five points, out of any other racial and ethnic group in the 2018 gubernatorial election.

That combats what Savannah State University political science professor Geoffrey Bowden says is the “biggest issue” among voters: turnout.

Rhonda McCoy, an information curriculum specialist at Paine College, says her school has always encouraged the campus community to vote and to check their registrations and voter status.

“We have had good relationships with politicians and have even had some of our Paine College faculty and staff run for political office,” she said. “We have served as a polling location for the community.”

Each of Georgia’s historically black colleges and universities have led initiatives for students and faculty to vote on campus, despite the pandemic.

Part of preparing students to enter the political realm requires faculty to teach political science in the immediate context of their institution.

As a political science professor at Fort Valley State University, Meigan Fields understands the rather unique position her institution holds as she trains students because of its location in relation to its institutional peers.

“In addition to offering contemporary courses designed to motivate students to engage in lectures, research and analysis on political issues, our students have handson experiences,” she said. “They accept the challenge and responsibility to serve as the pulse for political consciousness in the rural community where the university is nestled.”

Despite the historical legacy of repressing Black voters, HBCUs continue to work toward a future where every Black voter can exercise their constitutional right.

HBCUs’ efforts are clear when graduates like Stacey Abrams (Spelman College), the first Black woman to win a major party nomination for Georgia’s gubernatorial race, are a hope and role model for many voters and young activists.

Rhonda McCoy, Paine College information curriculum specialist.

Meigan Fields, Fort Valley State University political science professor.

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NOW MORE CRUCIAL THAN EVER Georgia HBCU student leaders have used a litany of methods in an attempt to get their peers involved in the coming election.

BY GIANA LEVY

W

ITH ELECTION DAY quickly approaching, student leaders at Georgia’s historically black institutions have been especially adamant in urging their peers to exercise their right to vote in November, given their myriad concerns heading into election season.

Savannah State University NAACP chapter president Briana Fennell expressed that rising unemployment rates resulting from COVID-19 was her chiefmost concern, since the upheaval impacted her campus community at Savannah State University and the city more broadly.

“Many people, including students lost their summer jobs and were laid off from campus jobs due to our school having to adjust,” she said.

The precarity that comes with losing a job can become even more severe with the burden of student loan debt.

The Trump administration suspended interest on many federal loans earlier this year, but Albany State University NAACP president Kenturah Reed wants to see an even more robust response.

“We need to find a way to cancel, reduce or implement more loan forgiveness programs,” she said. “Student debt has become a big financial burden with the effects of the pandemic and having to pay out of pocket for school, ” Reed said.

Reed’s chapter of the NAACP has done virtual webinars, social media challenges and dorm raids where each member goes to each students’ dorm to register them to vote. “What we’re fighting for starts with our government and if we don’t vote, we don’t have a voice,” she said.

In an attempt to get students registered to vote, staff from Paine College held voter registration sessions and Porter’s fraternity implemented a “Project Vote” program to help students understand the importance of voting and its process.

Social media is the tool of choice for Clark Atlanta University NAACP president Robert Wilson. He uses his chapter Instagram to spread information about the election season.

Many of the same tools have been integral in placing unchecked police brutality squarely in the nation’s conscience, including the deaths of people like Breonna

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Taylor and Jonathan Price. “We are no one’s threat. We don’t deserve that. We’re human beings just like everyone else. Let us live,” Wilson said.

Echoing the same concern, Fort Valley State University NAACP president Tiffany Cole mentioned police brutality and the sweeping response she’d like to see at the federal level. “I am an African-American woman that lives in America so these issues impact me the most, especially since attending an HBCU,” she said. “It could be me; it could be my family.”

Cole’s chapter hosted voter registration drives and Zoom call sessions to discuss candidates and their views on other issues, including abortion and climate change.

Morehouse School of Medicine Student Government Association President Kamron Robinson said access to affordable health care is especially important heading into this election. “I have seen and experienced first hand how these issues can affect an individual and plague a community,” he said. “It is time for change and progress. ” Robinson urges students to remove the pre-conceived notions of their “vote not counting” or the election results being “predetermined” from their minds. “This is the time to vote and hold those in office accountable,” he said.

“Every vote will matter.”

Having spent several hours voting in Georgia’s most recent gubernatorial race, Spelman College’s NAACP president Brooke Watson is especially sensitive to voter suppression issues. “In 2018, I had my first experience dealing with voter suppression during the Stacey Abrams and Brian Kemp election for governor,” she said. “My [voter registration] got purged and I had to wait in line for over five hours.”

Watson’s chapter partnered with neighboring institutions Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University to host virtual watch parties, social media takeovers and debate discussions to motivate students to vote. “We’re not voting for a person,” she said. “We’re voting for the next four years.”

Four years is a fraction of the time Darias Bowers is considering. Bowers, the Student Christian League president at Interdenominational Theological Center, is concerned with the Supreme Court and its appointees’

Briana Fennell, Savannah State University NAACP president.

Kamron Robinson, Morehouse School of Medicine student body president.

lifetime terms.

He and his colleagues are partnering with social justice activists and Black seminarians at the Samuel Dewitt Proctor Conference to recruit students to be poll workers.

“With this election, whoever is in office has the authority to appoint and fill those positions which can greatly impact the current generation and generations to come,” Bowers said.

ADVICE FOR VOTING Georgia faces one of the more unique election cycles in its history this year. Here’s how to make your voice heard.

BY MIRANDA PEREZ

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OTING is crucial in this election cycle, as all 56 of Georgia’s Senate seats are up for election. Georgia’s voters will elect two U.S. Senators this November, along with voting for individual districts’ House of Representative and State Senate positions.

With so many positions up for grabs this election cycle, it is key to understand how and when to vote amidst COVID-19.

Although only 30 percent of Georgia’s HBCUs returned to campus for fully in-person classes/hybrid learning, students living on campus can use their campus address when they register to vote.

Here are the basic things you need to know about registering to vote in Georgia. If you have any questions, contact your local registrar.

1. Know when to register.

The deadline to register to vote in Georgia online and through mail was Oct. 5. Students can register at their permanent address or their campus address.

2. Know where to register.

You can register to vote online or by maililng a registration form to your local election officials.

3. Know how you can vote.

When you arrive at your voting location, you’ll need a valid photo ID, such as a driver’s license, passport, student ID or government employee ID. The polls offer audio ballots for voters who are blind or have low vision and booths for voters in wheelchairs. Find available early voting locations by visiting the Secretary of State’s website and selecting your county of residence from the list. Unlike Election Day, you do not have to vote at an assigned polling location during the early voting period.

4. Know when you can vote.

Early voting takes place from Oct. 12 to Oct. 30. Election Day is Nov. 3. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Your ballot must be received by Election Day at 7 p.m. Your request for a mail-in ballot must be received by Oct. 30.

5. Ask questions early.

Visit VoteAmerica.com for more information on registration or contact your local registrar. For those registered on or around the areas that include state HBCUs, we have placed some pertinent contact information to the right.

Local election officials: • Chatham County: call (912) 790-1520 or email voter@chathamcounty.org • F ulton County: call (404) 612-3816 or email Elections.VoterRegistration @FultonCountyGA.Gov • Dekalb County: call (404) 298-4020 or email voterreg@dekalbcountyga.gov • Dougherty County: call (229) 431-3247 or email DC-VoterRegistrationUsers @dougherty.ga.us • P each County call (478) 825-3514 • Richmond County call (706) 821-2340 or email richmondelections@augustaga.gov

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T H E

R E V E R E N D

Meet Raphael Reverend Raphael Warnock grew up in Kayton Homes public housing in Savannah. The family was short on money, but long on faith, love and humor. Raphael and his eleven brothers and sisters were taught the meaning of hard work.

Reverend Warnock’s father was a veteran, a small businessman, and a preacher. He spent the week hauling old cars to the local steel yard, and on Sundays he preached at a local church. Reverend Warnock’s mother grew up in Waycross, where she spent summers picking tobacco and cotton, and still lives in Savannah today. She worked hard to raise Raphael and his siblings to know that they could do anything they put their mind to.

When he enrolled at Morehouse College, Reverend Warnock didn’t know how he would pay the full tuition. With the help of low-interest student loans and Pell Grants Raphael graduated, earned a Ph.D., and was ordained in the ministry. Fifteen years ago, he was chosen to serve as Senior Pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the former pulpit of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He was the youngest pastor selected to serve in that leadership role at the historic church.

Reverend Warnock believes his impact does not stop at the church door, and has been an advocate to expand health care coverage and to ensure hardworking Georgians can make a living wage. As Senator, Reverend Warnock will bring to Washington the concerns of struggling Georgia families who wonder why no one is looking out for them. He will focus on fighting for quality, affordable health care, for the dignity of working people who are paid too little as our government works more for Wall Street, and to make sure every voice is heard.

Get everything you need to vote at: warnockforrgeorgia.com/vote

HBCUs, including my alma mater Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia have paved the way for millions from all walks of life to have access to world class education. I didn’t know how I would pay the full tuition when I enrolled at Morehouse on a “full-faith” scholarship, but I knew I wanted to walk the same campus as giants like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and WEB Dubois.

Morehouse changed my life. With the help of low-interest student loans and Pell Grants I graduated, earned a Ph.D., and was ordained in the ministry. Fifteen years ago, I was chosen to serve as Senior Pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, the former pulpit of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Our HBCUs and Black Greek Letter Organizations, including my beloved fraternity Alpha Phi Alpha have for decades pushed us to envision a beautiful tomorrow of diversity and inclusion in civics and politics founded in the hard work and organizing of today. They draw on the best of our past to inform our present and illuminate a brighter future for future generations of leaders across the nation.

My friends and mentors I developed while at Morehouse are still with me today. The values and second family Morehouse and later Alpha Phi Alpha would instill in me have remained constant — as they should.

My time at Morehouse taught me the importance of representation, and in the spirit of the Dream envisioned by Dr. King, I carry with me every day throughout this campaign the experiences of the marginalized — of Georgians without healthcare; communities affected by institutional racism; families torn apart due to cruel immigration policies; and the voices of communities silenced too-frequently by voter suppression at the ballot box.

As Senator, I will bring to Washington the concerns of struggling Georgia families who wonder why no one is looking out for them. I will focus on fighting for quality, affordable health care, for the dignity of working people who are paid too little as our government works more for Wall Street, and to make sure every voice is heard.

In the Senate Raphael will…

Reduce higher education costs, ease student debt, and back forgiveness programs Make health care more affordable and accessible by strengthening the Affordable Care Act and expanding Medicaid Fight for the dignity of work and workers and retention of workforce talent in Georgia Rejoin the Paris Climate Accords and build upon the international commitment to fighting climate change Protect voting rights by restoring the Voting Rights Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act Fight for and support the Equality Act to protect members of the LGBTQ+ community from housing, financial, and employment discrimination Reform the criminal justice system and end mass incarceration

Title and affiliation are provided for identification purposes only. Paid for by Warnock for Georgia

GET INFORMED

G

EORGIA has a pivotal role in the 2020 election.

Here’s a quick, informative guide on the major candidates that you’ll see on the ballot. Below is a list of major party candidates running for election in each district that includes a historically black college or university in Georgia. There’s a short biography and their major platform issues from their website, unless stated otherwise.

Here’s a rundown on the political races in Georgia districts where there are one or more HBCU campuses located.

BY MIRANDA PEREZ

HOUSE DISTRICT 1 (SAVANNAH STATE UNIVERSITY)

SENATE DISTRICT 1 (SAVANNAH STATE UNIVERSITY)

Incumbent: Colton Moore (R)

Incumbent: Ben Watson (R)

Mike Cameron (R)

Ben Watson (R)

ABOUT

ABOUT

Cameron has 32 years in the health insurance industry working at a national level on legislation that affected people with Medicare. Cameran was chairman of the Walker County Republican Party in 2018, and he is running in this race unopposed.

Watson previously served in the Georgia House of Representatives, representing District 166 from 2011 to 2015. Watson earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia, and his professional experience includes working as a primary care physician specializing in elderly patients. He is running unopposed.

ISSUES • C racking down on human trafficking and senior abuse • Fighting against abortion • Promoting small business growth • Protecting rights of gun owners

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ISSUES • Lowering health insurance premiums • Cutting income taxes • P rotecting Georgia’s coastal environment

HOUSE DISTRICT 2 (ALBANY STATE UNIVERSITY & FORT VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY)

HOUSE DISTRICT 8 (ALBANY STATE UNIVERSITY & FORT VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY) Incumbent: Matt Gurtler (R)

Incumbent: Steve Tarvin (R)

Steve Tarvin (R) ABOUT Steve Tarvin is a 1970 graduate of the University of Georgia. Tarvin is a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the Second District, serving since 2014. He is running unopposed.

ISSUES (via Vote Smart) • M aking abortion illegal after a heartbeat is detected • P rohibiting state funding for sanctuary campuses

Dave Cooper (D)

Stan Gunter (R)

ABOUT

ABOUT

Dave Cooper retired from the Army as a Master Sergeant after serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Desert Shield. He founded the nonprofit Schools to Schools Aid Project, which raises money for children’s school supplies around the world. Cooper has also worked as a strategic planner for the EPA and a freelance journalist.

Stan Gunter earned a chemistry degree from North Georgia College. Upon graduation, he took a job with the Department of Agriculture as he worked his way through law school at Woodrow Wilson College of Law in Atlanta. He served as District Attorney for the Enotah Judicial Circuit for 12 years.

ISSUES • P rotect Georgia’s mountains, beaches and waterways • Lobbying for affordable health care • Reducing taxes for veterans • S upporting small businesses and rural development

ISSUES • S upporting law enforcement by connecting resources to combat the growing concerns of internet crime • R educing tax burdens and regulations on small businesses • Promoting agriculture as a leading industry • Lowering healthcare costs

• Protecting the Second Amendment

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SENATE DISTRICT 2 (ALBANY STATE UNIVERSITY & FORT VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY)

SENATE DISTRICT 8 (ALBANY STATE UNIVERSITY & FORT VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY Incumbent: Ellis Black (R)

Incumbent: Lester Jackson (D)

Lester Jackson (D) ABOUT Lester Jackson is from Chatham County and graduated from Paine College. He was the 2009 presidential appointee to the Democratic National Committee, becoming the first person from the coastal region of Georgia to serve in this capacity in over 19 years. He is running unopposed.

ISSUES (via Vote Smart) • P rohibiting sex offenders from living within 200 feet of their victim • Investing in public schools • Increasing penalties for hate crimes

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Treva Gear (D)

Russ Goodman (R)

ABOUT

ABOUT

Treva Gear was born in Adel and lives in Brooks County. After graduating from the Cook County school system, Gear earned an education degree from Valdosta State University, and then enlisted in the U.S. Army.

Ross Goodman is a farmer and businessman.

He was past president of the local Farm Bureau and former board member of the Georgia Fruits and Vegetable Growers Association. In 2018, he served as the south Georgia chair for Gov. Brian Kemp’s campaign.

ISSUES • Fighting for Medicaid expansion • Funding public education • Improving the public transit system • Raising Georgia’s minimum wage • Covering veterans’ healthcare

ISSUES • E xpanding the south Georgia economy and creating jobs • L owering healthcare costs, expanding coverage and incentivizing private insurance • Promoting small business growth • M aking sure law enforcement won’t be defunded

HOUSE DISTRICT 5 (CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY, SPELMAN COLLEGE, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE, MORRIS BROWN COLLEGE, MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, & INTERDENOMINATIONAL THEOLOGICAL CENTER)

HOUSE DISTRICT 12 (PAINE COLLEGE) Incumbent: Eddie Lumsden (R)

Incumbent: Matt Barton (R)

Eddie Lumsden (R) ABOUT Eddie Lumsden is an insurance agent and a retired state trooper. He served on the Floyd County Commission for six years and was a chairman for two years. Lumsden has a public relations degree from Berry College.

ISSUES (via Vote Smart) • Blocking public funding for abortion

Matt Barton (R) ABOUT Matt Barton is a former city councilman and school board member. He owns a courier business that he began when he was 21 years old. He is running unopposed.

• S upporting national standards and testing of public school students • I ncreasing funding for law enforcement, education and transportation

Jonathan Gilreath-Harvey (D) ABOUT Jonathan Gilreath-Harvey is the 16th openly LGBTQ+ candidate for the state legislature this year, including five incumbents who are running for re-election. He owns an interior design firm and is a graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design. He is also on the board of directors for the nonprofit Helping Hands Helping Hunger, which fights children’s food insecurity.

ISSUES (via Queerty and Our Democracy 2020) • Fighting anti-LGBTQ+ adoption bills • Creating drug assistance programs • Restoring voting rights after incarceration • E xpanding internet services into rural Georgia

ISSUES • Protecting agriculture and small business • P rohibiting abortion after heartbeat is detected • Lowering taxes • Prioritizing funding for education

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SENATE DISTRICT 5 (CLARK ATLANTA UNIVERSITY, SPELMAN COLLEGE, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE, MORRIS BROWN COLLEGE, MOREHOUSE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, & INTERDENOMINATIONAL THEOLOGICAL CENTER)

STATE SENATE DISTRICT 12 (PAINE COLLEGE) Incumbent: Freddie Sims (D)

Incumbent: Sheikh Rahman

Freddie Sims (D)

Tracy Taylor (R)

ABOUT

ABOUT

Freddie Sims received a social science degree from Fort Valley State University.

She has worked as a middle school principal and as Dougherty County’s deputy registrar.

Tracy Taylor is a firefighter in Albany. Taylor entered politics in 2010 when he worked for U.S. Congressman Sanford Bishop’s campaign. He is the first African-American to chair the Dougherty county Republican party since Reconstruction.

ISSUES (via Vote Smart) • Funding highways, bridges, and ferries

ISSUES

• I ncreasing penalties for bias-motivated crimes

• Increasing police presence

• Protecting abortion access

• S upporting Community Development Block Grants to support community nonprofits

• Dismantling Common Core

Sheikh Rahman (D) ABOUT Sheikh Rahman was born in Bangladesh. He graduated from the University of Georgia in 1995 with an economics degree and is the first Muslim lawmaker in Georgia. He previously worked as a Pizza Hut executive, and is affiliated with the NAACP, ACLU and National Action Network, another civil rights organization.

ISSUES • Enacting a single-payer healthcare system • Advocating for automatic voter registration • C reating a path to citizenship for Georgia’s undocumented immigrants • I ncreasing Georgia’s minimum wage from $7.25/hour to $15/hour

U.S. SENATE (SPECIAL ELECTION) Incumbent: Kelly Loeffler (R)

Doug Collins (R) ABOUT Collins currently represents the state’s ninth congressional district. He is a former pastor who serves as chaplain for the U.S. Air Force Reserve.

ISSUES • Supporting the agriculture industry • Defending the Second Amendment • Defunding Planned Parenthood

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U.S. SENATE Incumbent: David Perdue (R)

David Perdue (R)

Jon Ossoff (D)

Shane Hazel (L)

ABOUT

ABOUT

ABOUT

David Perdue is a businessman with more than 40 years of experience. He was formerly the president and CEO of Reebok. Perdue graduated from Georgia Tech with a bachelor’s in industrial engineering and a master’s in operations research.

Jon Ossoff is the CEO of Insight TWI, a media company, and an investigative journalist. He was formerly a national security aide for Georgia Congressman Hank Johnson.

Shane Hazel was born in Alma, Michigan and served in the United States Marine Corps from 2001 to 2009. Hazel earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia in 2006. Hazel’s career experience includes working in business development.

ISSUES • Making long-term investments in HBCUs

ISSUES

• Protecting and strengthening Medicare

• Reopening Georgia’s economy • M oving toward a “merit-based” immigration system • Ensuring law enforcement isn’t defunded

• C reating a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants • B anning the sale of assault weapons and closing the gun show loophole

ISSUES • E nding qualified immunity for law enforcement officers • Eliminating federal cannabis prohibition • E liminating the U.S. Department of Education

U.S. SENATE (SPECIAL ELECTION) Incumbent: Kelly Loeffler (R)

Raphael Warnock (D) ABOUT Warnock is the Senior Pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta and a graduate of Morehouse College.

ISSUES • Reforming the criminal justice system • Expanding Medicaid • Supporting small businesses

Kelly Loeffler (R) ABOUT Loeffler is the current U.S. Senator who was appointed in 2019 after Johnny Isakson resigned. She is the former CEO of Bakkt, a digital assets company.

ISSUES • Combating opioid epidemic • Preventing sex trafficking • Lowering taxes for business owners

VOTER GUIDE 15

Election Day is November 3 Get all the information you need and find your polling location at VoteAmerica.com/ Students VoteAmerica.com