Secretary of State delays Ga. primaries to June 9
A relative of the Calhoun Police Officer who was injured in a crash while responding to an emergency call on Sunday has created a GoFundMe listing in order to raise money for the officer’s family while he misses work.
Shelby Killen, the aunt of Officer John Cuprowski, said he will be undergoing foot surgery next week at Erlanger in Chattanooga. She wrote in the post that Cuprowski is expected to miss at least six months of duty and could be sidelined for as long as one year.
Cuprowski and his wife just celebrated their one year anniversary. His wife has one child who is 12 years old and she is pregnant with their first baby that is due at the end July or the beginning of August. The spouse is a home healthcare nurse but had to recently stop working due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“So my nephew’s income was their sole income. He will be having surgery at Erlanger next week and will be out of work for a minimum of six months to a year, so this fund will cover rent, utilities, food, medical bills not covered by workers comp and baby medical costs,” wrote Killen in the post. “So any help you can give would be greatly appreciated and prayers as well. Thank you in advance for your compassion! God bless!”
According to a Georgia State Patrol report, Cuprowski was responding to an emergency call on Sunday at about 10 p.m., driving north on Highway 136 near C.L. Moss Parkway, when he misjudged a turn
ATLANTA — State Attorney General Chris Carr is warning Georgians to watch out for a growing number of scammers seeking to take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic.
Scam artists are using fraudulent websites, texts and emails to steal consumers’ personal or financial information or to install malware on their communications devices.
“Scammers are pursuing different angles related to the coronavirus pandemic to commit identity theft, create chaos and steal people’s money,” Carr said Wednesday. “People should be very wary of messages containing links or requests for their personal or financial information.”
The attorney general’s Consumer Protection Division has received complaints about text messages warning the recipient that someone they’ve been in contact with either has tested positive for COVID-19 or shown symptoms of the virus. The into a parking lot and slid into a ditch.
No other vehicles were involved in the crash.
About 20 hours after the GoFundMe post had been created, it had already received $1,095 from 16 donors. The goal for the post is listed at $10,000. victim is referred to a website that asks for their phone number.
More than 110,000 suspicious coronavirus-related domains have been registered, according to the attorney general’s office.
Another scam that has been reported involves emails purported to be from hospitals warning the recipient they may have come into contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19. The email contains an attachment that, when downloaded, installs malware on the recipient’s device.
Consumers should also watch out for emails, text messages and robocalls about COVID-19 stimulus money that appear to come from the U.S. Treasury, but which may actually be coming from scammers impersonating government officials. In these scams, consumers are told that to receive stimulus money they should click on a link or go to a website, where they are then directed to enter their personal and financial information.
Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA — Georgia’s primary election set for May 19 will be postponed three weeks to June 9 due to health and safety concerns over coronavirus, Secretary of State
Brad Raffensperger announced Thursday.
The move came after Gov. Brian Kemp extended the state’s public health emergency status another month to May 13, a step Raffensperger said was legally necessary before the primary could be delayed.
“This decision allows our office and county election officials to continue to put in place contingency plans to ensure that voting can be safe and secure when in-person voting begins and prioritizes the health and safety of voters, county election officials and poll workers,” Raffensperger said in a statement Thursday.
Early voting for the primary now starts May 18. Voter registration will end May 11.
Raffensperger’s office is sending absentee ballot applications to every Georgia voter. Requests for mail-in ballots that have already been sent in will still be valid to receive an absentee ballot for the June 9 election, Raffensperger’s office said in a news release.
The June 9 primary is poised to be the first statewide test of Georgia’s new voting machines, which involve touchscreens and scanners that officials have hailed as a secure, paper-based voting process.
Without a delay, the primary election featuring presidential, state and local primary contests scheduled for May 19 faced a scenario in which many poll workers may not have shown up to staff voting precincts.
Poll workers on average tend to be older adults who are more at risk of harmful impacts from COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel strain of coronavirus that has sickened thousands of Georgians and killed hundreds.
On Thursday, Raffensperger said his office has fielded “reports of mounting difficulties” that county elections officials were struggling to have precincts ready in-person early voting set to begin April 27, ahead of a May 19 election.
The three-week delay gives state and county election officials more time to train poll workers, distribute cleaning supplies and draw backup plans for any possible issues.
“Just like our brave healthcare workers and first responders, our county election officials and poll workers are undertaking work critical to our democracy, and they will continue to do this critical work with all the challenges that the current crisis has brought forth,” Raffensperger said.
It’s the second time the state’s presidential primary will be delayed after originally being set for March 24. Raffensperger’s office indicated delaying it and the local primaries again would be tough, since holding the primaries past June 9 could conflict with federal law requiring certain deadlines for runoff results and ballot creation to be met for the Nov. 3 general election.
“I certainly realize that every difficulty will not be completely solved by the time in-person voting begins for the June 9 election, but elections must happen even in less than ideal circumstances,” Raffensperger said.
Raffensperger, a Republican, faced increasing pressure in recent weeks from influential Republican lawmakers including House Speaker David Ralston and all 11 of Georgia’s Republican congressional members to push back the primary to mid-June.
Until Thursday, Raffensperger said he would need the governor to extend the public health emergency beyond its original April 13 expiration date before he could delay the primary, though legislative counsel for the General Assembly disputed that legal interpretation.
Kemp signed an executive order Wednesday extending the emergency status through May 13, which Raffensperger said cleared the way for him to act.
Georgia Democratic leaders, meanwhile, had previously opposed a delay past May 19, arguing state officials should instead focus on bolstering absentee voting.
Raffensperger’s decision also followed an intense national backlash in Wisconsin, where a primary election was held Tuesday despite efforts from Wisconsin’s governor to delay it. News reports showed long lines of voters wearing face masks in the middle of the worst period of the coronavirus outbreak, sparking anguish over the potential health dangers and accusations of voter suppression.