Blog - The Georgia Republican Assembly

State Senator Brandon Beach Supports Removal of Duncan, Wants Moore Back in the Caucus, & Opposes Making County Commissions Non-Partisan

August 27, 2024 by Nathaniel Darnell in Issues

Woodstock, GA — State Senator Brandon Beac h (R-Alpharetta) last night spoke to a precinct dinner hosted by North Metro RA chapter President Richard Jordan in Cherokee County. Beach’s Senate district includes much of east Cherokee County and a portion of north Fulton County, and Beach faces Democrat opposition in the general election. He encouraged the attendees at the dinner to rally behind President Donald Trump in the race, and praised his integrity while highlighting how damaging the polices of the Biden / Harris administration have been over the last four years.

IMG 0899 1024x768 — *Sen. Brandon Beach*

During the Q&A portion of his presentation, Beach answered a number of questions on a variety of issues. In particular, Beach expressed his support of GA GOP Chairman Josh McKoon‘s recent proposal to have the GA GOP Executive Committee vote to block Geoff Duncan from ever being able to qualify to run for office again as a Republican. “I don’t understand how you can consider yourself a conservative in any way if you support the radical agenda of Kamala Harris!” he said.

The GA GOP Executive Committee in early August decided to draft a proposal on that subject that will be voted on in a future meeting. The vote would only require a simple majority of the 28-member Executive Committee, or 15 votes. The GRA has been reminding the GA GOP of their power protected under the 1st Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and parallel provisions in the state constitution of a “right of association,” and we applaud this proposed action regarding Duncan. The GOP E.C. already possesses all the accountability power necessary to block fake Republicans like Duncan or Raffensperger and we are grateful for this step in the right direction.

On the other hand, Sen. Beach said that both he and Lt. Governor Burt Jones (R-Jackson) hoped the Senate Republican Caucus would welcome back Senator Colton Moore (R-Trenton) very soon. Sen. Moore was suspended from the Senate Republican Caucus last September for calling out fellow Republicans in the Senate for not supporting his proposal to sanction Fulton Democrat D.A. Fani Willis in her harassing lawsuit against former President Trump. Beach indicated that most of the tension on restoring that relationship is coming from the State Senate President Pro Tem Sen. John F. Kennedy (R-Macon).

When asked by former Cherokee GOP Chairman James Dvorak what he thought about the proposal from State Senator Ed Setzler (R-Cobb) to enable county commissions to become non-partisa n, Sen. Beach said he had not previously heard about that proposal but that he could not see a good reason to support it. “You pick your horse and you ride it,” said Beach.

IMG 0894 1024x768 — *Marcia Cox reports on progress in Cherokee County.*

Beach also expressed his support of on-going Election Integrity reform. He reminded the audience that it was he and Burt Jones who ran afoul of then-Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan by speaking out on election integrity after the 2020 election, and they were punished by Duncan for doing so.

GRA-member Marcia Cox from Cherokee also gave a report at the meeting on outreach efforts in the county, and reported that the Cherokee GOP membership has grown to a record-breaking level as people are rallying together to help in the general election.

Participants at the meeting last night also got to meet Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene’s sweet mother who was in attendance.

IMG 0889 1024x768 — Richard Jordan leads the meeting.

IMG 0909 1024x768 — Richard Jordan leads the meeting.

Chris Carr Cops Out & Other Election Integrity Events This Week

August 19, 2024 by Georgia Republican Assembly in Government / Issues

The recent opinion issued by the Attorney General’s office is a glaring contradiction to his public statements made just weeks ago. On August 1, 2024, the Attorney General Chris Carr emphatically declared on social media that he would “investigate specific claims of voter fraud” and that his office was ready to “prosecute any voter fraud found in the State of Georgia.” Yet now, he claims that his office is not required to investigate the very fraud referred to him by the State Election Board (SEB), dismissing their request as beyond his statutory obligations.

This about-face is not only hypocritical but also a clear evasion of the responsibilities vested in the Attorney General under Georgia law. O.C.G.A. § 45-15-4 explicitly authorizes the Attorney General to employ private counsel for any branch of state government, including for investigations into matters as serious as election fraud. Additionally, O.C.G.A. § 21-2-31(5) mandates the SEB to investigate election irregularities and report violations to the Attorney General for further investigation and prosecution. The Attorney General’s refusal to act on this referral, especially after publicly vowing to tackle voter fraud, is a betrayal of the trust placed in his office by the people of Georgia.

The Attorney General’s current stance is a deliberate misreading of his role. By refusing to investigate, he is abdicating his duty to uphold the integrity of our elections. The people of Georgia deserve an Attorney General who backs up his words with action, not one who hides behind legal technicalities when it’s time to deliver on promises made to protect our republic.

Some Good News

In other news, in spite of the State Board of Elections Meeting this Monday being made virtual, it turned out to continue to build momentum for election-integrity advocates as the Board voted to pass some additional good rule proposals by their usual 3-to-2 majority.

One key proposal that passed would require county Boards of Elections to reconcile the paper ballot receipt count with the computer tabulators. One would think that this would have already been in place, but it was not.

Even though they were not allowed inside the meeting room at the state capitol, several election integrity advocates still showed up a the capitol to promote the cause.

SEB Chairman Fervier Makes Up-Coming Meeting Virtual Only

August 13, 2024 by Georgia Republican Assembly in Election / events

After the huge attendance of election integrity advocates at the state capitol for the last several State Board of Elections meetings, Governor Kemp’s appointed Chairman for the Board, John Fervier announced that the next meeting(s) would only be virtual online.

The next Board Meeting is scheduled for August 19th. “I wonder if the first item of business,” said GRA Chairman Alex Johnson, “should be to vote to have all in-person meetings in the future unless there’s an emergency agreed to by at least three members?”

By making the SEB meetings virtual they are preventing election integrity activists from providing in-person, demonstrable proof of concerned voters, holding signs and getting media attention for election reform, thus making them easier to ignore. No doubt the Chairman probably hopes to squelch the growing momentum within the movement and prevent the morale boost that results from seeing hundreds of fellow activists joining forces from around the state. But election integrity activists have decided to double down.

Jason Frazier, the GRA Election Integrity Action Group Chairman, posted the email addresses of the SEB members on X and urged people to contact them: “Tell them the brave folks in GA want to meet in person!”

Please email the State Election Board today:

jfervier.seb@gmail.com

jjohnstonmd.seb@gmail.com

rjeffares.seb@gmail.com

jking.seb@gmail.com

saraghazal.seb@gmail.com

He also suggested the board members who are not afraid of concerned citizens perhaps book a room at the Capitol where they can log in to the virtual call and allow the public to join. This would help the voters participate who are technologically challenged. Please suggest this option in your email to the SEB members. Frazier also suggested everyone contact Governor Kemp as well.

This news broke as Attorney General Chris Carr announced that he would follow the State Board’s recent vote calling for him to investigate evidence of problems with the Fulton County elections from 2020. Carr said in a statement: “The State of Georgia will investigate specific claims of voter fraud. Based on the facts & the evidence, we stand ready to prosecute any voter fraud found in the State of Georgia.”

But Kandiss Taylor, GRA Member and First District GOP Chairwoman, remains skeptical. She discovered donor records showing the Republican Attorneys General Association gave Governor Kemp over $1.8 Million in four donations. She believes this is why there has been no investigation of voter fraud.

GRA member and GA GOP Over 80K Chairwoman Salleigh Grubbs from Cobb called on activists to sign the petition being promoted by VoterGA & the GA Constitution Party, encouraging the State Elections Board to vote for a new rule to increase election integrity.

Time for a Reagan Movie Night!

August 8, 2024 by Nathaniel Darnell in events

We’d like to invite you to join us on Thursday evening, August 22nd, for a special pre-release showing of the final cut of the Reagan Movie! About twelve years ago, when I was paying my way through law school while working as a film editor in San Antonio, I had the pleasure of meeting the filmmakers behind this movie when it was in the early stages of pre-production. I can’t tell you how excited I am that they finally got it made after all these years!

My wife and I had the delight of seeing an early cut of the film back in May, and it brought tears to our eyes. While there are many excellent documentaries about the life of our 40th President, we have never seen a dramatic film made about him before that was not out to make him look like a bafoon or heartless. What people will see in this film is a moving depiction of Reagan’s heroic presidency in spite of his flaws. It pays honor to a man who helped to tun the tide of American history. The Republican Party, and the world, has not been the same since Ronald Reagan.

So what a great way for us to get in the mood right before campaigning gets into high gear for the November General Election than to go and see this movie together! Supporting the movie will also support the brave independent filmmakers who have labored for so long to bring this to the screen.

Come join us on Thursday evening, August 22nd, at 6:00pm for this special pre-release showing of the FINAL CUT of the new Reagan Movie — hosted by the Cobb County Republican Assembly chapter! The showing will be at the NCG Acworth Movie Theater. Those who register will receive a drink and popcorn along with their movie ticket!

Seating is limited! There is an early bird $5 discount if you register before August 20th.

Here is a summary of the event:

Reagan Movie Night
Location: NCG Acworth Movie Theater
4421 Cinema Dr, Acworth, GA 30101
Time: 6:00pm EST
Cost: $35 for movie, popcorn, & drink

Funds raised go to the support of local Republican candidates in the general election.

Click here if you would like to register for the REAGAN MOVIE Night.

August State Board of Elections Meetings Continue to Show Signs of Progress

August 7, 2024 by Nathaniel Darnell in Election / Issues

Atlanta, GA — An estimated over 300 election integrity activists from every corner of the state showed up at the State Board of Elections Meeting and a Press Conference (organized by Georgians for Truth) Tuesday at the State Capitol, filling up three rooms! Many of us from the GRA were pleased to be among them. With so many items on the agenda, the meeting progressed into a second day.

Chairman John Fervier (appointed by Governor Brian Kemp) displayed what appeared to be hostility to the election integrity activists by throwing a curve ball in changing the process for how people could sit in the main room. In the past, access to the main room has been based upon first-come-first-served, but the Chairman imposed a new system whereby attendees had to receive tickets to get a seat, and priority was given to members of the press and state legislature in order to have access to the main room. Several who arrived early to get a seat were told they had to move to an overflow room because they did not have a ticket.

The GRA’s Election Integrity Action Group Chairman Jason Frazier observed about the meeting: “I would be surprised if Fervier makes it to the end of his term. Pressure is building. Meetings went from quarterly to 3-4 days/month. He is no longer the alpha in the room. Hundreds of people are showing up, thousands more watching. He has lost control of the meeting. People that know him and his family say that he wasn’t like this, etc.” He described Fervier’s actions as “Waffle House,” a play on Fervier’s career as an Executive at the company.

GRA-member & 1st District Chairwoman Kandiss Taylor summarized the situation on the State Elections Board well when she wrote on X that it “has [three] ethical, moral, election responsible members. They have a liberal [D]emocrat as well as a Kemp appointed Chairman that both are fighting the Georgians who just want truth and accountability.”

So far both Republican Party appointed Dr. Janice Johnston and GA State House appointed Janelle King have been the most reliable leaders of election integrity reforms on the SEB, although even they mused aloud that some of the rule proposals presented this week crossed the line, in their minds, from rule-making into possible legislating, in particular one that would have substituted Dominion computer voting for paper ballots under particular circumstances. State Senate appointed member Rick Jeffres is increasingly voting with Johnston and King in favor of rule reforms. Democrat appointed member Sara Tindell Ghazal and Kemp appointee Chairman Fervier are more often finding themselves voting together in the minority.

GRA-member and Cobb GOP Chairwoman Salleigh Grubbs pointed out the problem of the SEB not having their own legal counsel, but being strapped to the counsel of the Secretary of State. “How many times are y’all going to allow a data breach form the Secretary of State’s office before you do something about it?” she asked.

IMG 0771 1024x768 — *GRA-member Matt Rowenczak testifies at the SEB* *Meeting Tuesday.*

Eyebrows were raised when a lawyer from Washington, D.C. was brought in Tuesday to testify against the need for certain election integrity reforms. Dr. Johnston asked who invited him to speak for 30 minutes in front of the Board, and Chairman Fervier replied somewhat testily that that was his decision.

The Georgia SEB received national attention this week for voting to pass a rule that would require “a reasonable inquiry” before certifying an election where there were signs of possible fraud or miscalculation. Detractors of the rule argued that the rule provision was ambiguous and could keep election results tied up in court for months.

Former President Donald Trump praised the development. “I won Alabama by a record,” he said of the 2020 election. “I won South Carolina by a record. You don’t win Alabama and South Carolina by records and lose Georgia. It doesn’t happen. All we want is honest elections. If we have honest elections in Georgia, if we have honest elections in Pennsylvania, we’re gonna win ’em by a lot.”

Update: In a 3-2 vote Wednesday, election board members Rick Jeffares, Janice Johnston and Janelle King voted to report findings from the Fulton County investigation of double balloting, missing ballot images and a host of other violations tied to the controversial 2020 presidential election to the Attorney General. The vote Wednesday referred the Fulton case to Attorney General Chris Carr‘s office for investigation into 17,852 reported missing ballot images, the double-counting of more than 3,000 ballot vote images, and other election-related violations.

Remember that Trump only allegedly lost Georgia in the presidential race of 2020 by about 12,000 votes. If there were double votes on some of those, that would reduce the number to about 9,000 votes. If there are over 17,000 ballot images missing that were in favor of Trump in that election, then he would have rightfully won that presidential election — contrary to what has been reported.

Above are images of the three full rooms with attendees at the State Board of Elections Meeting Tuesday.

GA GOP Executive Committee Meeting Moves to Sanction Geoff Duncan & Elects Mike Crane as 1st Vice Chair

August 3, 2024 by Georgia Republican Assembly in Issues

Atlanta, GA — Josh McKoon has officially used the “R” word in reference to former Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan after Duncan endorsed Democrat presidential candidate Kamala Harris over Republican nominee Donald Trump. On social media McKoo n even threatened to have the GA GOP Executive Committee vote to block Duncan fromever being able to qualify to run again as a Republican on the GOP primary ballot in Georgia.

We commend Chairman McKoon for taking this strong stand! Cheers could be heard all the way from Catoosa County. By referencing the GOP Executive Committee’s accountability power, and the type of sanction we advocated for in our proposed Accountability R ule, McKoon is putting politicians on notice that the GA GOP will draw a line in the sand if they go too far. Duncan’s behavior definitely demonstrates a lack of loyalty to the principles and interests of the Republican Party.

A radical leftist like Democrat Kamala Harris is the antithesis of the GAGOP plat form.

Last Saturday, the GA GOP Executive Committee reportedly voted to draft a document to be taken up at a future meeting on this very subject. We urge the committee to hold a roll call vote on this issue so that all Republican grassroots activists back home know exactly how their elected representatives on the GA GOP Executive Committee voted on this important subject. It may serve as a litmus test during convention season next year of who should be elected again and who should not.

Mike Crane Elected 1st Vice Chairman of the GA GOP

Also this Saturday, the GA GOP Executive Committee voted to elect GRA-member Mike Crane as the new 1st Vice Chairman on the first ballot of three candidates, filling a vacancy that has lasted for nearly three months. We commend this election! Mike was the most conservative Republican State Senator in the legislature during his tenure, and he has since served as the 3rd District GA GOP Chairman until resigning this year to run for Congress.

Trump Picks NFRA-Endorsed Sen. J.D. Vance for Vice President

July 15, 2024 by Georgia Republican Assembly in Candidates / Election

Milwaukee, Wisconsin — President Donald J. Trump announced his pick for running mate: JD Vance from Ohio!

We are particularly excited about this decision because at our NFRA Convention last year in Orlando, Florida, the NFRA delegates endorsed seven potential candidates for Vice President — and only J.D. Vance remained on the short-list.

We appreciate President Trump hearing our counsel and advice to have a better conservative like Vance on his team, rather than some of the other candidates who were on the short list. The Freedom Index, a scorecard provided by the John Birch Society, which upholds a high standard on a variety of issues, gives Vance an 86% voting record as a U.S. Senator.

Both former President Donald Trump and Senator Vance were both overwhelmingly nominated as the Republican nominees for President and Vice President in 2024 at the convention.

Georgia Board of Elections Meeting Presents Rays of Hope

July 9, 2024 by Georgia Republican Assembly in Government / Issues

Atlanta, GA — GRA members from across the state and other election integrity proponents gathered at the State Capitol Tuesday morning for the State Board of Elections Meeting where cases, public comments, and proposed rule changes were examined. It was also the first meeting where Janelle King, newly appointed from the Georgia House of Representatives, joined the Board, which seems to have had a positive impact. King recently replaced registered lobbyist Ed Lindsey.

An estimated 255 patriots attended, requiring the Board to open two overflow rooms.

Dr. Janice Johnston came into the meeting swinging from the very beginning, making a motion to revisit the Rossi case. The Chair held that motion out of order, and Dr. Johnston immediately appealed the decision of the Chair. That led to the Board going into executive session to deliberate. When the Board came back into the public forum, Rick Jeffares joined with the Democrat-appointed member of the state Board and the Governor’s appointed member Chairman John Fervier to block the effort. Off to that rocky start, things began to get better as the day progressed.

Garland Favarito was given 15 minutes to expound on concerns related to the Rossi case, such as, thousands of missing ballot images, ballots that appear to have been counted twice, and Fulton County’s unwillingness to comply with Open Records Requests to examine the actual ballots. He graciously and succinctly laid out a persuasive case for the Board and then introduced other elections experts who would also testify to the problems. According to expert computer technician Patrick Parikh, there is a loss of “SHA files” related to the meta-data in the Dominion voting machines that make them dubious and vulnerable to hacking.

The public comments were overwhelmingly favorable to election integrity. Over 50 people had signed up for public comment at two minutes each. Sam Carnline, Jason Frazier, and Matt Rowenczak were among them. GRA member Holly Kessler from Savannah reported, “There is a pattern of manipulation. … I have the Ware County duplicates. … We are going into the most critical times of elections in our lives. It’s up to the [Board of Elections] to figure this out. We do support you, but we are asking you to step up and do the right thing!”

GRA member Tim Talbot from Gainesville said, “You need to act!”

Janelle King asked one of the commenters opposing election integrity reform whether saying an election was “certified” means that an election “happened” or if it means the election was “correct.”

Cobb RA member Salleigh Grubbs (the Chairwoman of the Cobb GOP) won a solid victory on a rule proposal she presented before the Board in the afternoon. Salleigh’s proposal would have clarified that before local county Boards of Elections certify an election, they must first examine irregularities or inconsistencies to make sure the election was conducted accurately. So, for example, if the number of ballots cast is different from the total number of votes, this would be investigated and corrected before finalizing the report of the election results in a precinct or county.

Seb2 — *Salleigh Grubbs presents her proposal in the afternoon session.*

Chairman Fervier objected to Salleigh’s proposal, saying that it conflicted with a proposed rule change he had on the agenda. Salleigh replied to him with a polite smile, “I like my rule better than yours.”

Dr. Johnston expressed concern that the “guidelines” in Fervier’s proposal would create more restrictions on accountability. “It’s already too complicated,” added Janelle King.

After much discussion, when the Board voted on Salleigh’s proposal, Rick Jeffares (nominated by Lt. Governor Burt Jones) was the third vote in favor of Salleigh’s proposal. King and Johnston also voted in the affirmative.

The packed room exploded in applause with that win.

The Fight Against Tyranny Today

July 3, 2024 by Nathaniel Darnell in events / Issues

Happy Independence Day from the Georgia Republican Assembly!

It’s time to break out the fireworks and enjoy some tasty barbecue! Yes, it is good for our country to come together and celebrate days of remembrance.

But through all the fun, I hope that we make sure our children and grandchildren really know and understand why we are having all of these festivities. Because the battle-cry against tyranny that our founding fathers sounded in their generation is still the cry that we must sound today.

Our founders faced tyranny from the British King and Parliament. Today we face tyranny from global agencies, the White House, Congress, numerous federal agencies, sometimes the Gold Dome, and even our local county commission and board of election buildings!

Our founders gave their “lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor,” and we are standing on their shoulders. We may not yet be called upon to risk our lives or our fortunes, but surely we can give something to the cause of freedom. It may be an evening at a county commission or board of elections meeting, or a Saturday door-knocking for a strong candidate.

Even more significantly, it may mean taking the time to personally raise our children (and not just let the government schools or the T.V. do it for us!). It may mean regularly going to church, and giving charitably to replace government welfare. It may mean working a job faithfully and living within our means so that we and our families don’t become dependent slaves of the state.

Some of these things may not sound all that political, but they are all a part of building a culture that makes America great again! That culture is what the French author Alex de Tocqueville observed about Americans in 1835 when he wrote: “America is great because she is good.”

An America that has that kind of culture can withstand any attempted tyrannies from the state. A hero in office like Donald Trump needs a people with that kind of culture to back him up and spur him on to success.

So let’s work to rebuild the best aspects of the American culture that first made it “great.” Let’s return to those founding presuppositions of the founding generation — not all of which they personally lived up to, but which they fearlessly proclaimed as the nation’s aspiration!

Let’s get back to acknowledging, first, as our founders did in the Declaration of Independence, that we are “created” by God with a special human purpose. We did not randomly happen to rise out of the ooze without meaning. We are not the product of chance. Moreover, there is a Divine Authority over all human authorities that holds them in check.

That Creator “endowed us with certain unalienable rights.” These rights mean that God has placed jurisdictional limitations upon civil government. He did not give them a blank check. The state may not morally murder (or help murderers get away with it), and it may not steal — just to touch on a few of the tyrannies our modern civil government regularly practices today.

We must expect better from our elected officials.

We must be willing to work as hard as our founders.

We must, as our founders, trust in Divine Providence.

In 1775 when General George Washington was struggling to keep his army together in the war against Britain, the greatest empire on earth, he wrote:

“If I shall be able to rise superior to these and many other difficulties which might be enumerated, I shall most religiously believe that the finger of Providence is in it …”.
George Washington

We need to get down our knees and pray to God for help in our own battle against tyranny today. We need to acknowledge our sins, both personal and national, and turn from them. We need to ask God to forgive us and help us to overcome even as He helped the founding generation overcome in 1776.

We in the GRA are ready to lock arms with you in this endeavor. Reach out to us if we can help you in this on-going fight against tyranny!

Will the National Convention Water-Down the Platform?

June 28, 2024 by Georgia Republican Assembly in conventions / Issues

Spence Rogers reported on Twitter / X that “The RNC is making the RNC committee meetings secret so that they can update the RNC Platform with gay marriage, more immigration, and abortion.” RNC committee meetings are usually broadcast on C-SPAN.

In response, GRA 1st Vice President Brant Frost V stated: “If true, as a member of the Convention Rules Committee, I will fight against any attempt to make convention committee meetings secret. Our grassroots have a right to know what we are doing. RNC Rules should REQUIRE open convention committee meetings.”

GRA Chairman Alex Johnson, who is also serving as a national delegate, agreed, saying: “The people who elected people to committees deserve to know what’s going on in the committees and how they are acting / voting (for accountability and future trust) …”.

GA GOP Chairman Josh McKoon and Suzi Voyles (both GRA members) are serving on the Platform Committee at the RNC. Urge them to oppose these kinds of back-door changes to the Republican Party Platform.

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