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4A Saturday, Novembers, 2018 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia | gainesvilletimes.com WASHINGTON/POLITICS Election cycle largely defined by gender politics PABLO MARTINEZ MONSIVAIS I Associated Press Women’s March demonstrators walk past the White House, Jan. 20, in Washington. BY JUANA SUMMERS Associated Press WASHINGTON - Gender politics have been a defining issue of this election cycle, beginning with the mobiliza tion by women against the victory and inauguration of President Donald Trump. But it’s not clear whether the #MeToo movement — and the controversy that sometimes surrounds it — will translate into political success for either party on Tuesday. More women than ever before won major party primaries for Congress and governor this year, giv ing women the chance to increase their numbers in office. They’re donating more money to political campaigns, too, and they’ve become a well-established force in the 2018 elections. “I feel very good about where women are going to be,” said Christina Reynolds, the vice president of commu nications for EMILY’s List, a group dedicated to support ing Democratic women in politics. “I think regardless of what happens, women have shown that they are no longer happy with other people representing them and speaking for them.” But Republicans, too, feel the focus on gender politics could benefit them. The fight over Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court galvanized voters, they say, and could be a factor in races like the re-election campaign for Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota. Like most midterm elec tions, the 2018 campaign is also a referendum on the incumbent president. And among women, who vote his torically at higher rates than men, Trump’s standing is still bleak. In the latest NPR/PBS News Hour/Marist poll, 49 percent of women said that they disapproved of Trump’s performance, compared with 44 percent of men. And 51 percent of women overall said that Trump would be a major factor in their vote. “Women have been ener gized for a long time, and it’s connected to Donald Trump,” said Karine Jean- Pierre, a senior adviser for MoveOn.org and a veteran of four Democratic presiden tial campaigns. “We are in this really awful time where people are just tired and ready and there’s been such an energy around electoral politics, for at least a year since the Women’s March.” Obama urges Ga. to elect Stacey Abrams governor BY BILL BARROW Associated Press ATLANTA — Former President Barack Obama urged Georgia voters on Fri day to elect Stacey Abrams governor as a way to coun ter divisiveness and help keep Republi cans from disman tling much of his legacy. Speaking before a crowd at historically black Morehouse College in Atlanta, Obama never men tioned President Donald Trump or Abrams’ Republi can opponent Brian Kemp by name. But Obama framed Georgia’s nationally watched matchup within a larger fight he said goes beyond partisanship. “On Tuesday, you can vote for a politics that is decent, for a politics that is honest, for a politics that is lawful, for a politics that tries to do right by people,” Obama said after a lengthy condemnation of the all-GOP government that has run Washington since Obama left office. “Make history here in Georgia. Make things better here in Georgia,” the nation’s first black president said of Abrams’ bid to become the first black female governor in American history. Polls show Abrams and Republican Brian Kemp in a tight race that has drawn national attention, even coaxing media icon Oprah Winfrey to Abrams’ side Thursday — the kind of political move the billionaire businesswoman had largely avoided since her open sup port of Obama in 2008. Obama twice lost Georgia by single digit margins, but population growth among nonwhites and discontent with Trump in the GOP- leaning, whiter sub urbs of Atlanta leave Abrams’ backers cautiously optimistic she can pull an upset in a state that hasn’t elevated a Democrat to the governor’s office since 1998. Kemp has embraced Trump’s nationalistic tone as he tries to extend GOP domi nance. Trump will travel Sunday to Georgia, appear ing with Kemp as part of the president’s final multistate tour ahead of the midterms. Abrams is running as an unapologetic liberal, marked by her pledge to reverse Georgia Republicans’ refusal to expand Medicaid insur ance under Obama’s 2010 health care law. Obama noted as much in his 45-minute speech at Morehouse. He chided Republicans, including Kemp, for opposing the Affordable Care Act and only recently turning to ads that tell voters GOP candidates will protect insurance access for Americans with once-dis qualifying health conditions. “I want everybody to pay attention to this: They have literally been doing the oppo site of what they are saying,” Obama said, noting scores of GOP votes to repeal the law. “We can also call it what it is: It’s a lie.” Obama said the Republi can campaign tactic on pre existing conditions is just one component of “an old play- book” to divide voters and distract from an agenda he said hurts the middle-class for the benefit of billionaires. He mocked Trump’s asser tion that a migrant caravan coming north from Central America is fundamental threat. As he blasted Trump’s decision to send troops to the Southern border, Obama failed to note he and Presi dent George W. Bush also dispatched military person nel to the border, even if not prior to an election. Abrams VOTING ■ Continued from 1A Hall has 120,848 regis tered voters who are eli gible to cast a ballot in this election, so turnout has already been about 18 per cent before election day. More than 30 million peo ple nationwide have cast their ballots early for these midterms. In 2014, the last midterms, 28.3 million peo ple voted early. In Hall County, the bal lot has several state and local races, including the governor’s race, as well as contests for two state House districts and Georgia’s 9th District for the U.S. House of Representatives. Locally, two Hall County Board of Education positions and the spot for District 1 commis sioner, representing South Hall, are up for a vote. While the Hall County Government Center was the only place open for early voting, along with three other locations on Oct. 27, polling places countywide will be ready to take voters on Tuesday, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Polling places are avail able on the Secretary of State website. The Associated Press contributed to this report. NORTH HALL JEWELERS Free Engraving on any ENGRAVABLE ITEM PURCHASED FROM OUR VARIETY OF GIFTS FOR HER OR HIM. Personalize your gift for THAT SPECIAL OCCASION. Jewelry Repair Watch Repair Goldsmith Watch Batteries Souvenir Jewelry We Buy Gold 1062 Thompson Bridge Road, Ste A-l Gainesville, GA 30501 678-450-7111 INTRODUCING Mi eoc# Saved You 2011-201? Mr. Nibble ] 0U W Ou Lu 'SSfama ) SOlBli “OK-SO,, Little & Davenport Funeral Home To inquire about pricing packages available to memorialize a pet in print, please contact Megan Lewis at 770-535-6371 or mlewis@gainesvilletimes.com Pets at Peace will appear in The Times the last Sunday of each month. Judge: Georgia must ease rule for voters proving citizenship BY RUSS BYNUM Associated Press SAVANNAH — Georgia must make it easier for voters flagged as potential non citizens to prove their U.S. citizenship at polls, a federal judge ruled Friday in an injunction ordering the state to change its procedure just before Election Day. A spokeswoman for state Attorney Gen eral Chris Carr did not immediately say whether the state would appeal. Spokes woman Katie Byrd said state attorneys were reviewing the order. The injunction by U.S. District Court Judge Eleanor L. Ross addresses a specific issue that arose from a broader lawsuit by civil rights groups who in October filed a broader challenge to Georgia’s “exact match” verification process. The state requires identification information on voter registration applications to precisely match information already on file with the Georgia Department of Driver Services or the Social Security Administration. Some mismatches are triggered by variations in a name, or data entry errors. Other people are flagged as potential non citizens, often because the state driver’s license database hasn’t been updated to reflect their naturalization. Roughly 51,100 Georgians have been flagged as ineligible to vote due to registration problems. The judge ruled the state unfairly bur dens about 3,100 possible voters whose reg istration was flagged for citizenship issues, because only a deputy registrar is allowed to clear them to vote a regular ballot when the voters show proof of citizenship at the polls. She ruled that Georgia must immedi ately start allowing poll managers, in addi tion to deputy registrars, to clear flagged voters who show proof of citizenship. Secretary of State Brian Kemp, Geor gia’s top elections official and the Republi can governor nominee, issued a statement saying advocates filing a last-minute law suit had forced the state “to waste time and taxpayer dollars for the judge to tell us to do something that we already do. ” But the judge said Georgia’s process for clearing voters with flagged registration didn’t treat those with citizenship issues equally. She noted those flagged for issues other than citizenship could be cleared by any poll worker — not just a deputy regis trar — after showing a photo ID. “This raises grave concerns for the Court about the differential treatment inflicted on a group of individuals who are predominantly minorities,” Ross’ order said. "... The election scheme here places a severe burden on these individuals. ” The lawsuit says the “exact-match” pol icy disproportionately affects black, Latino and Asian-American applicants trying to register. It was filed against Kemp as he’s locked in a tight race against Democrat Stacey Abrams. Kemp’s office has been allowing flagged voters to cast ballots after showing proof of citizenship at the polls. In cases where a deputy registrar isn’t available to clear the voter flagged voters were to be given provisional ballots marked with a note that the voter showed proof of citizenship. FOR YOUR FAVORITES 10.29.18 - 11.30.18 BestOfHallCounty.c
