This week on The Local Local Take, we’re talking VOTING. If you’re in a battleground state, you’re used to the insane amount of television advertising. This year in the state of Georgia, there is no escape from the overload of television advertising. I’m sure most people know that there is an election coming up, and while it isn’t a Presidential election, it appears that more people are aware of this election cycle. Some are engaged due to the Supreme Court’s overturn of Roe. I contacted independent journalist George Chidi, founder of the Atlanta Objective, to get his take on this election cycle.
I share with Chidi the two major election stories I hear: Black Men will not support women in leadership positions and that ROEVEMBER is coming. I ask Chidi what he thinks of these two memes around the midterm election cycle.
Chidi responds that the Black Men and Abrams trope is really just noise. The “male” vote statistics are the same for Republicans and Democrats. He speaks to Georgia's high voter registration numbers due to the MOTOR VOTER bill that passed a few decades ago. People are registered, but it is harder to vote in Georgia than it needs to be. The early voting period makes it easier if voters take advantage. Early voting is from October 17th - November 4th. Hours vary by county; you can check for your early voting location at mvp.sos.ga.gov.
Two tropes that are bubbling up from the advertising are crime and abortion. Chidi speaks about the increase in young women registering to vote in response to the Supreme Court overturning Roe. He cautions that registration doesn’t always result in voting. Chidi has reported extensively on crime. He shares that there are complicated reasons for the rise in crime and explains that Republicans are using it to scare white voters.
I ask about crime and employment. In the Y2K years, crime was down because employment was up. In today’s economy, the low employment rate, which is always higher in the African-American community, hasn’t had the same result in lowering crime. Chidi shares his thoughts on this conundrum, including the continual increase of the interest rates from the feds.
Georgia continues to be known as the “voter suppression” state. Chidi shares that voters should use the early voting period to avoid the voter suppression that will take place on November 8th.
He also shares his voting plan.
Early Voting - October 17th - November 4th - Check your county for locations and hours. GO VOTE!