W hile Democrats did not get the blue wave they hoped for during yesterday’s midterm elections, there were some major wins such as regaining control of the House of Representatives. However, there are 19 wins that not enough people are celebrating — 19 Black women who ran for judicial seats in Harris County, Texas won last night. This is the biggest victory for Black women in the county’s history. See Also: Bill Cosby Sentenced To 3 To 10 Years In Prison For Sexual Assault Conviction The women call themselves the #Houston19. Back in August , one wrote on Facebook, “I’ve waited for the reveal of this photo of 19 judicial candidates for several weeks — 19 Black women running for judge in Harris County, Houston, TX. This entire time I’ve thought of what I’d say the day we were able to share this moment in history with everyone. But really I’m humbled. Never did I imagine that the day I decided to run to be judge, I’d become a part of a club of phenomenal Black women, sisters-in-law, gifted, brilliant, strong — everything I hope to be!” See the beautiful photo below: Now they are officially winners. Sandra Peake, Judge Ramona Frankin, Germaine Tanner, Angela Graves-Harrington, Cassandra Hollerman, Tonya Jones, Dedra Davis, LaShawn A. Williams, Latosha Lewis Payne, Linda M. Dunson, Toria J. Finch, Erica Hughes, Lucia G. Bates, Ronnisha Bowman, Michelle Moore, Sharon Burney, Shannon Baldwin and Lori Chambers Gray were all elected, and mostly by double digits. A huge congratulations and a reason to celebrate last night. That said, we are still pushing for every vote in Georgia to be counted so the true victor of the gubernatorial contest can rise up—not the won who is claiming a win because of voter suppression. SEE ALSO: All The Ways Cops Are Still Trying To Cover Up LaQuan McDonald’s Execution Outrageous! Figurines Of White Cherub Crushing Head Of Black Angel Removed From Dollar Store Meet Jogger Joe, The Man Who Took Racist Cue From BBQ Becky In Tossing Homeless Man’s Clothes [ione_media_gallery src=”https://newsone.com” id=”3828001″ overlay=”true”]
Source: Georgia Public Broadcasting / Georgia Public Broadcasting According to Stacey Abrams camp, Fulton County did not have the adequate amount of machines for voters. They discovered 700 wrapped machines in a warehouse. This evidence is mote proof of widespread voter suppression throughout the state. Three of the four largest counties in the state – DeKalb, Gwinnett, and Cobb – have reported only a portion of the votes that were submitted by early mail. In Cobb County alone, anywhere between 25,000 and 26,000 votes were submitted early by mail. Four other large counties – Chatham, Henry, Douglas, and Clarke – have reported exactly 0 votes by mail. Absentee ballots represent another major pickup opportunity for Abrams. In Gwinnett County alone, more than 20,000 absentee ballots are waiting to be counted. Additionally there is an unknown number of absentee ballots that were potentially wrongly rejected which will also need to be counted. An historic number of provisional and paper ballots were cast throughout Georgia, these have yet to be counted. Machine breakdowns and shoddy election administration on the part of Secretary of State Brian Kemp contributed to the exceedingly large number of provisional and paper ballots. We will continue to update the public as more info arrises.
Source: Jessica McGowan / Getty With so much uncertainty the day after the Elections in Georgia, many people are wondering, what’s next for the Governor’s race? Brian Kemp and Stacey Abrams after running at about 50% v 49% respectively. In Georgia a candidate has to receive more than 50% of the votes, if not the other candidate can request a run off be held. Georgia is the only state that uses the majority voting runoff system for general elections. If a run off were to take place, if would be held on Tuesday, December 4th. Any voter registered before Oct. 9th, will be eligible in the runoff election. RELATED: Stacey Abrams Refuses To Concede Georgia Governor Race Source: Kevin C. Cox / Getty Source: Jessica McGowan / Getty CLICK HERE FOR MORE
U PDATED: 6:34 a.m. EDT, Nov. 7 — After a suspenseful Election Night, Stacey Abrams said she wouldn’t concede the race to be Georgia’s next governor to Brian Kemp, who was accused of orchestrating widespread voter suppression against Black people before and during Election Day. Abrams hinted at a possible runoff election next month because of Kemp’s razor-thin lead that continued to dwindle Wednesday morning, according to the Atlanta Journal-Consitution . WATCH: Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams: “I promise you tonight, we’re going to make sure every single vote is counted. Every single vote.” https://t.co/6pqqY4AD1c pic.twitter.com/aeVBUUaA7t — NBC News (@NBCNews) November 7, 2018 “And I need you to know that it is my mission to serve you, to serve Georgia, to make you proud,” Abrams said late Tuesday night. “And for those who didn’t pick me the first time, to change your mind about me and what we can accomplish together.” GEORGIA! This race is NOT over. @StaceyAbrams is now closer than ever. And 9% of voters are still outstanding in heavily Democratic areas. — Shaun King (@shaunking) November 7, 2018 She continued : “Votes remain to be counted. Voices waiting to be heard. We are going to make sure that every vote is counted – because in a civilized nation, the machinery of democracy should work everywhere for everyone.” Original story: G eorgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp stooped to a new low, even for him, in his ongoing efforts to keep Black people from voting for Stacey Abrams , the Black woman running against him for governor. Voting machines, which fall under the responsibility of the secretary of state, were delivered to majority Black precincts without any cords to provide them with electrical power for voters to cast their ballots. Kemp’s “dirty tricks” caused delays of up to four hours at polling places where hundreds of voters at a time were left waiting. See Also: Coincidence? Black People In Georgia Typically Get The Oldest Voting Machines, Increasing Chances Of Error “Brian Kemp is playing in the game and he’s also the referee!” Rashad Robins , president of the racial justice group Color of Change, told NewsOne Tuesday afternoon. “The word we’re hearing is about suppression and dirty tricks, long lines and broken down polling places.” Kemp, who has President Donald Trump ’s endorsement, oversees the election system. He’s also been on the receiving end of multiple federal lawsuits over his attempts to suppress Black votes. They range for rejecting certain absentee ballots , blocking approximately 53,000 voter registration forms and purging some 700,000 voters from the state’s voting rolls—all targeting African-American voters. Here are just a few of the reports that flooded social media about suppression in Georgia. No power cords for voting machines in African American majority neighborhood in Georgia. This is a disgrace. I don’t believe in coincidences. Everyone should assume this is all orchestrated by Kemp. Who’s the biggest cheater in Georgia politics in years. pic.twitter.com/zmv24R7TJ3 — Scott Dworkin (@funder) November 6, 2018 There’s only 3 voting machines at this Atlanta polling place. SMH! @tomreganWSB pic.twitter.com/YTXdXLAHzG — Everything Georgia (@GAFolIowers) November 6, 2018 Many of the reported problems apparently stemmed from old, decrepit voting machines that are concentrated in poor communities. “The counties and cities with the fewest resources are voting on the oldest equipment that tend to have the most problems,” Edgardo Cortés , an election security advisor at the Brennan Center for Justice’s Democracy Program, confirmed to NewsOne during an interview on Monday. Kemp and Abrams were locked in a neck-and-neck race. Abrams has the chance to become the nation’s first African-American woman governor—in a red state that has not elected a Democratic governor in two decades. “Stacey Abrams’ opponents recognize that the only way they could win—when our folks are fired up—is to suppress the vote,” Robinson, of Color of Change said. “What I do think is really exciting is that folks, in the face of all that, are still turning out in large numbers.” SEE ALSO: Make Massa Happy! Ben Carson Campaigning Against Mayor Andrew Gillum In Florida Brian Kemp Pops A Blood Vessel After Stacey Abrams Is ‘Endorsed’ By The New Black Panther Party [ione_media_gallery src=”https://newsone.com” id=”3835357″ overlay=”true”]
B en Jealous fell short in his effort to become governor of Maryland when he lost the election on Tuesday night to incumbent Republican Gov. Larry Hogan. NBC News projected Hogan’s win. The former NAACP president had been leaning on his roots in civil rights in his unsuccessful bid to become the first African-American governor in Maryland. While Jealous, 45, had been consistently polling behind Hogan, he made some strong moves ahead of Election Day, including recruiting legendary comedian Dave Chappelle to knock on doors and encourage people to vote for him. One major platform that appealed to Black people, in particular, was Jealous’ plan to increase funding for and bring better academic programs to the states historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). “I’ve put a detailed plan on the table to ensure that we finally treat our state’s HBCUs fairly,” Jealous recently told the AFRO. “We’ve been underfunding public higher education for too long and we need to reorient our state’s priorities back towards making sure we’re preparing our kids for the workforce. As governor, I’m committed to putting an end to this lawsuit and fulfilling the state’s obligations to our HBCUs.” Jealous won the state’s Democratic primary in late June to add to be one of three Black people running for governor, along with Florida’s Andrew Gillum and Georgia’s Stacey Abrams. SEE ALSO: Stacey Abrams’ Unapologetically Black Journey To The Doorstep Of History Political Races To Watch In 2018 Midterm Elections Featuring Black Candidates [ione_media_gallery src=”https://newsone.com” id=”3835357″ overlay=”true”]
Stacey Abrams Does Not Concede, Anticipates Runoff For GA Governor While most of the day’s election results have been counted and logged, a few key races are still a toss-up over into the wee hours of the morning. Stacey Abrams, aiming to be the first Black female state governor in US history, is running a close race with Republican gubernatorial hopeful Brian Kemp in Georgia . At this hour, Brian currently holds about 50.8% of the vote, while Abrams has snagged 48.3%, with about 99% of the votes counted. Around 1:40 am EST, Stacey took to the podium at her campaign headquarters and let it be known that she has no plans to concede the race . She stated that every vote will be counted, and she and the rest of the GA Dems anticipate a runoff to decide who will ultimately hold the governor’s seat. This one is NOT a quitter! Hopefully once every single vote has been logged (those that weren’t suppressed by sneaky tactics and suspicious circumstances , of course…) we’ll all see what’s really what. We will fight for every vote. The best is yet to come. #gapol pic.twitter.com/KKPqE9fMVw — Stacey Abrams (@staceyabrams) November 7, 2018 GA, you may need to get ready to head back to those polls in the near future… Prince Williams/WireImage/Paras Griffin/Getty Images/Twitter/YouTube
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms last year this time was in the race of her life. She was running for mayor of Atlanta and while many thought she didn’t have a chance, she still pressed on. Mayor Bottoms joined “ The Rickey Smiley Morning Show, ” to talk about voting as well how things have changed in Atlanta since being elected. Sign Up For Our Newsletter! Close Thank you for subscribing! Please be sure to open and click your first newsletter so we can confirm your subscription. Email Submit Furthermore, she doesn’t want people to get too comfortable with this elections and spoke about how last year nearly 832 votes made a difference in her winning or losing. Mayor Bottoms mentioned that the city of Atlanta has gotten rid of cash bonds, passed a vote for affordable housing and more. She was dedicated to changing things in so many communities and will continue to do so while in office. SEE ALSO: Mayor Of Atlanta, Keisha Lance Bottoms, Says Her Faith Is ‘Everything’ Mayor Bottoms said, “It matters when you have people that care about your community.” Lastly, she mentioned that today could possibly be one of the biggest turnouts that Georgia has ever seen and could make history! Check out some photos of Black women running for office below! ALSO TRENDING ON RICKEYSMILEYMORNINGSHOW.COM : Charlotte Rapper Da Baby Shoots And Kills Man In Walmart Georgia High School Band Spells Out Racial Slur During Halftime Performance New Body, Who Dis? Jazmine Sullivan Flaunts Her Super Snatched Waist On Social Media [ione_media_gallery src=”https://rickeysmileymorningshow.com” id=”1951374″ overlay=”true”] Follow @TheRSMS
Source: MARK RALSTON / Getty 92-year old African American Georgia voter Christine Jordan has voted in every election since 1968. Well, November 6th 2018 that all changed when Christine went to the polls and was not only turned away, but her entire voter record couldn’t be found anywhere. Her granddaughter Jessica Lawrence said her grandmother was devastated that she wasn’t allowed to vote. This story comes on the heels of a lawsuit aimed at Brian Kemp stating he used his power as Secretary of State to purge 340,134 voters from the rolls. Voter suppression continues to be a problem in Georgia. There also have been other’s who claim they we not allowed to vote in Georgia. CLICK HERE TO READ MORE
Hill Street Studios/Getty Images Brookwood High School Band Spells Out Racist Term People are in an uproar after a Georgia high school spelled out a racist term during a halftime show. Attendees of a recent Brookwood high school game in Gwinnett County, Georgia were shocked to see members of the school marching band standing next to each other and spelling out the word “c**n.” According to CBS News, the school’s Principal Bo Ford sent a letter to parents apologizing for the incident. According to Ford, some of the instruments have covers that spell out the name of the school’s mascot, “Broncos” but for some reason, the letters c-o-o-n were placed together. He also added that the covers are not normally worn on the field and said, the incident is “hurtful, disrespectful and disappointing.” Principal apologizes after school band spells out racial slur https://t.co/BeRRuJ6bwI pic.twitter.com/xJvYCHW87E — CBS46 (@cbs46) November 5, 2018 Some disciplinary action is expected to be taken against the students. Do YOU think they did this on purpose as part of a prank or is this all just a coincidence???
C candidates were making their final pushes on Election Day eve to turn out the vote, with celebrities expected to help make the case to Floridians. In one of the most widely watched races in the nation, music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs was expected to lead a rally Monday night at Florida A&M University for Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum . See Also: Political Races To Watch In 2018 Midterm Elections Featuring Black Candidates “I am so proud to endorse Andrew Gillum, who will become the first Black governor of Florida,” Combs said in a video, underscoring that he’s not endorsing Gillum because he’s Black. “He’s running a campaign for the people. I’ve spoken to him at length. I believe in him — his focus, his ideas, what he stands for.” Diddy was scheduled to be joined by several other stars, including Tiffany Haddish and Will Packer. Gillum continued to hold on to a slim lead in the polls, according to the NBC News/Marist survey released Monday. The Tallahassee mayor had an edge of four percentage points over former Rep. Ron DeSantis , a Republican who has the full endorsement of President Donald Trump . Meanwhile, in Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams reiterated her dismissal of rival Brian Kemp ’s unsubstantiated claim that state Democrats may have hacked into computers that hold voter registration data. It was another example of Georgia Secretary of State Kemp’s “pattern of voter suppression,” she told “CBS This Morning” on Monday. Abrams, who could become the nation’s first African-American governor, planned to spend part of Monday campaigning in southwestern Georgia. Several high-profile politicians and celebrities have campaigned for Abrams, including former President Barack Obama, media legend Oprah Winfrey and rapper Common. Oprah rallied a crowd of Stacey Abrams' supporters. Here are some memorable moments… https://t.co/hB9uBUDWDw #RepresentTheVote #TeamAbrams @staceyabrams @Oprah pic.twitter.com/lDDVa39iqY — NewsOne (@newsone) November 1, 2018 Comedian Dave Chappelle has been in Ben Jealous ‘ corner. Jealous, the former NAACP president, was attempting to make history as the first African-American governor of Maryland. . @staceyabrams I’m raising your @Oprah door knocking video with one Dave Chappelle helping people carry their groceries while door knocking video! pic.twitter.com/F5kE2fgtw2 — Ben Jealous (@BenJealous) November 4, 2018 Other important races have not drawn celebrity involvement, but President Obama’s endorsements have gone a long way in boosting campaigns that were not in the national spotlight. That was the case for Antonio Delgado . Honored and truly humbled to receive an endorsement from @BarackObama . He stands for so many of the values that we hold as our foundation – preserving and improving our democracy, a commitment to service, hard work, and the promotion of dignity and respect for everyone. https://t.co/n2i0xGrjKO — Antonio Delgado (@DelgadoforNY19) August 1, 2018 In one key race for Democrats, congressional candidate Antonio Delgado planned to send out more troops to knock on doors and make massive numbers of phone calls on Monday. This team knocked on 62,000 doors and made 100,000 phone calls on Sunday, with plans to repeat that effort on Election Eve. Delgado is part of the blue wave that Democrats hope will help them retake the House of Representatives. Republican John Faso currently holds New York’s 19th Congressional District seat, but Democrats believe they have a good chance to swing the district, which is 90 percent white, over to their side. Recent polls showed Delgado and Faso in a statistical tie. Yesterday we knocked on over 62,000 doors and we are heading out to hit even more!! Thank you so much to everyone out there helping to get out the vote. Let’s go!! #NY19 pic.twitter.com/lrSOcF46XD — Antonio Delgado (@DelgadoforNY19) November 4, 2018 On the eve of what the Washington Post said could be “the most important election of our lifetime,” several other Black candidates were making last-minute campaign moves to do their share to help sweep Republicans out of office. They included Ayanna Pressely in Massachusetts; Lucy McBath of Georgia; Vangie Williams of Virginia; Mandela Barnes of Wisconsin; and Jahana Hayes of Connecticut. Most of the candidates were competitive in their races, according to the polls . SEE ALSO: Brian Kemp’s Latest Move Shows His ‘Desperation,’ Stacey Abrams Says Make Massa Happy! Ben Carson Campaigning Against Mayor Andrew Gillum In Florida [ione_media_gallery src=”https://newsone.com” id=”3834873″ overlay=”true”]
