GREATER GEORGIA HD34 EFFORTS FEATURED IN MARIETTA DAILY JOURNAL
July 9, 2021
In case you missed it, the Marietta Daily Journal
published an article yesterday highlighting
Greater Georgia's efforts to secure a conservative victory in the runoff election for State House District 34. The article highlights Greater Georgia's ground game, dedication, and results, including the thousands of voter contacts made, as well as the significant investment the organization has made in the race:
Kelly Loeffler touts her organization's work in Kennesaw Statehouse race
With major statewide elections in Georgia still over a year away, it’s no wonder outside groups have taken an interest in the race for House District 34—right now, it’s the only show in town.
The Stacey Abrams-backed advocacy organization and fundraising juggernaut Fair Fight Action has endorsed Democrat Priscilla Smith in the special election, now headed to a runoff on Tuesday. Across the aisle, former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Georgia, is trying to prove her recently-formed Greater Georgia group can make a splash by helping Republican Devan Seabaugh across the finish line.
Seabaugh, a Metro Atlanta Ambulance executive, finished with 3,337 votes, or 47.1% in the first round of voting on June 15. Smith, an activist, artist and former educator, came in second place with 1,740 votes, or 24.6%.
The race was a so-called ‘jungle primary,’ with five candidates—two Democrats, two Republicans, and one Libertarian—on the ballot. No candidate earned the required outright majority of the vote to avoid a runoff. While Seabaugh and his Republican counterpart, David Blinkhorn, combined for over 60% of the vote in the once firmly Republican district, Democrats have made steady gains over recent election cycles.
Loeffler has not shied away from comparisons between her group and Abrams’. Allowing Fair Fight has been “very effective,” the former senator said this week she wants to break its “monopoly on voter mobilization.”
To those ends, Greater Georgia has now spent over $100,000 on the special election, a spokesperson for the organization said.
Neither Smith nor Fair Fight responded to requests for comment from the MDJ before press time, but the organization and Abrams have highlighted Smith’s candidacy and encouraged support for her on social media. Fair Fight CEO Lauren Groh-Wargo was also among Smith’s campaign donors in a June financial disclosure report.
In a recorded message, Abrams called Smith a “tireless advocate for underrepresented communities,” who will “fight to protect our nation’s democracy by working to put an end to attacks on Georgians’ freedom to vote.”
Cobb GOP Chair Salleigh Grubbs attributed the big spending on the race to it being the first election since the “disasters” of November and January.
“More people are awake, more people are paying attention,” Grubbs said, adding Greater Georgia’s offerings for the Cobb GOP have primarily been in volunteer training and resources.
Loeffler told the MDJ her organization has mailed over 1,500 postcards, knocked over 3,000 doors, and identified about 1,600 unregistered conservative voters in House District 34, which covers parts of Marietta and Kennesaw. She couldn’t say how many of those 1,600 voters Greater Georgia had reached, or registered, but said the group has registered “thousands” of new Republicans around the state.
Records from the secretary of state’s office show Cobb has added just over 3,600 registered voters — of all persuasions — to its rolls since the November general election.
Because Greater Georgia has yet to establish an independent expenditure committee (one formed to spend on a candidate’s behalf, without coordinating with said candidate), it won’t be expressly endorsing Seabaugh in the race. It’s instead calling to “help elect a conservative,” though Loeffler was obliquely complimentary of Seabaugh.
“I can tell you that when we have folks that have private sector experience, that have built businesses, that have hired people … we need more citizen-legislators representing Georgians. We don’t need more politicians and activists,” she said.
Seabaugh told the MDJ he hasn’t been in touch with Greater Georgia, who has instead routed its efforts through the Cobb GOP by training volunteers and organizing canvassing.
“They have been out … trying to rally the Republicans to get out and vote,” Seabaugh said, adding he’s “cautiously optimistic” about his prospects with less than a week to go.
In lieu of an endorsement, Greater Georgia has tried to frame the race as a referendum on the issues which have burned up the Georgia political scene since March: Senate Bill 202, “election integrity” (or ”voter suppression”), and as a corollary, Cobb’s loss of the MLB All-Star Game.
“Election integrity is the No. 1 issue that we see right now,” Loeffler said, which tracked with the theme of the Cobb GOP’s Fourth of July celebration last weekend. A straw poll found “election fraud” top of mind for attendees, a sentiment unlikely to change no matter the outcome of next week’s vote.
Click HERE
to read the full article.
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Media Contact: press@greatergeorgia.com
January 13, 2026 An Open Letter To the Georgia State Senate and House of Representatives: Georgia stands at a crossroads. Under state law, and thanks to the leadership of both chambers, QR codes must be removed from our ballots by July 1, 2026. The 2026 legislative session is the last realistic opportunity to address this issue clearly and decisively. This session must produce a clear, funded, and fully operational solution with enforceable milestones by the November 2026 general elections, or Georgia risks failing both ballot security and voter confidence on an issue that now enjoys growing bipartisan concern. QR Codes: Not Just a Technicality Voting systems that rely on ballot-marking devices (BMDs) and automatically generate machine-readable QR or barcodes raise a fundamental transparency concern. Under current statewide practice, tabulation relies on machine-readable codes that voters cannot independently verify, even though human-readable text is printed for review. Critics argue that this two-layer design undermines the principle of a fully voter-verifiable ballot. Security researchers and computer scientists have documented plausible attack vectors in such systems — through malicious software, elevated access modes on touchscreen machines, or discrepancies between what is printed and what is ultimately scanned — and their reports and legal testimony underscore the importance of systems voters can directly verify. For that reason, Georgia must transition to fully human-verifiable ballots, supported by strong audits and a robust paper trail, while preserving accessible voting options for voters who need assistance. An Unfunded Mandate Is Not a Plan In the 2025 Legislative Session, Senate Bill 189 established a mandate to eliminate QR-code ballots by July 1, 2026. However, no funding was identified to carry out that mandate, creating the uncertainty Georgia now faces. As a result, voters across Georgia head toward the 2026 midterms with the same QR-code ballots and voting technology that has contributed to public distrust and recurring controversy. The General Assembly has the opportunity and the responsibility to address this in totality during the 2026 session, even if that requires giving election officials additional time to prepare for a new system to be in place by the general elections. No Half-Measures or Unfunded Mandates At Greater Georgia, we will advocate this session for three non-negotiables: 1. A Realistic Timeline and Full Funding Removing QR codes statewide will require financing new ballot-printing, tabulation equipment, testing, training, and implementation. While cost estimates vary, any plan passed in 2026 that lacks full funding, a procurement pathway, and a firm installation timeline invites confusion, risk, and failure. 2. Human-Readable Ballots and Transparency Ballots must be marked or printed in a way voters can read and verify before casting—and counted based on what voters can verify. Systems that rely on barcodes for tabulation place undue trust in machine interpretation and do not resolve the underlying transparency concern. 3. Proper Time for Election Officials to Prepare and Implement Election officials must be given sufficient time and resources to implement a new system competently, though that necessity cannot become a pretext for indefinite delay. Well-run elections are the foundation of trusted election processes. Georgia Must Choose: Action or Inaction As citizens, watchdogs, and advocates for secure and transparent elections, we cannot accept vague promises or unfunded mandates. The law requires the removal of QR codes. Georgia’s voters deserve clarity, accountability, and certainty. If the deadline must move, it should do so only with full funding, a procurement plan, and enforceable milestones before the midterm elections in 2026. We are grateful for the General Assembly’s responsiveness and leadership on this issue and look forward to collaborating to find sensible solutions that will make Georgia’s elections stronger in 2026 and beyond. No shortcuts. No unfunded mandates. Get it done, and get it done right, in the 2026 legislative session.
Atlanta, GA — Greater Georgia concluded its Statewide Education Tour with a final stop hosted by the Metro Atlanta Chamber , convening business leaders, elected officials, and community stakeholders for a forward-looking discussion on Georgia’s priorities heading into the 2026 legislative session. Jon Burns , Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives, offered a preview of key issues expected to shape the upcoming session. The discussion focused on policies central to Georgia’s long-term success, including property tax reform, access to mental health services, improving literacy outcomes, and ensuring students are prepared to enter the workforce. The Statewide Education Tour brought substantive policy conversations directly to communities across Georgia, reinforcing Greater Georgia’s commitment to informed dialogue and broad civic engagement. More than 250 business owners, community leaders, and local officials participated in tour stops across seven Georgia counties. Looking ahead to 2026, Greater Georgia will focus on training local leaders and activists and equipping them with the tools needed to host engaging, policy-oriented conversations in their own communities to strengthen civic leadership and engagement across the state. ###
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ATLANTA, GA— Greater Georgia today released a statement in support of Georgia’s ongoing voter roll cleanup, calling the move a necessary and long overdue step to protect election integrity and restore confidence in the state’s electoral process. The Secretary of State’s office last week began the process of removing more than 500,000 outdated voter registrations, including those who have moved, passed away, or not voted in nearly a decade, as part of one of the largest list maintenance efforts in Georgia history. “This voter roll cleanup is not only common sense, it’s long overdue after fear-mongering lawsuits from leftist groups halted the process,” said Terry Fye of Greater Georgia. “Election officials, and especially the Secretary of State’s office, are legally required to keep our rolls accurate and failing to do so undermines trust in our elections and opens the door to potential fraud.” Georgia law requires regular voter roll maintenance to ensure only eligible voters remain on the rolls. The current process includes multiple attempts to contact inactive voters before any cancellation is finalized, offering ample time to update their information and maintain active status. Since its founding, Greater Georgia has worked to strengthen trust in elections by advocating for secure, transparent, and accountable voting practices. The organization has registered more than 65,000 new voters, expanded civic engagement in every corner of the state, and continues to push for meaningful reforms that protect the vote of every legal Georgian. ### Greater Georgia, founded by former U.S. Senator Kelly Loeffler in 2021, is working to register, engage, educate, and mobilize voters in communities across the Peach State. Our year-round work is focused on growing our movement by registering voters who may not be captured by Georgia’s “Motor Voter” program, mobilizing diverse and underrepresented communities, promoting issue advocacy, and fighting to restore trust and integrity in our elections.