By Jill Nolin | Editor
“Every time we ask the question about Medicaid expansion, a majority of respondents say they favor it.” Trey Hood, a University of Georgia professor of political science who polls Georgians for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Democratic nominee for governor Keisha Lance Bottoms, the former mayor of Atlanta, speaks at a press conference with U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock in DeKalb County on the first day of early voting on Oct. 13, 2026. Alander Rocha/Georgia Recorder
2026 ELECTION
By Ariel Hart
Keisha Lance Bottoms stood outside the DeKalb County elections headquarters facing more than 20 reporters and news cameras as early voting got underway earlier this month. Flanked by U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, who had just voted for her, Bottoms rattled off the reasons Georgians should vote for her, too. She didn’t mention Medicaid expansion, the driving force for Democrats in Georgia state races since 2010.
Under questioning by a reporter, Bottoms quickly retrieved the issue, reiterating what she’s said before on the campaign trail: Medicaid expansion is a core issue of hers. But the moment was telling. Has Medicaid expansion lost its fire as a Democratic campaign issue?
“Medicaid still remains a top priority in this state,” Bottoms insisted. “It continues to be a priority and will be a day-one priority for me to prepare our state agencies for that expansion.”
A voter card is inserted into one of Georgia's ballot-marking devices. Election workers in Bartow County, Georgia conducted their pre-election tests of the voting equipment on Oct. 6, 2026. Maya Homan/Georgia Recorder
2026 ELECTION
By Alander Rocha
Georgia voters will have a chance to weigh in on a ballot measure that would expand a property tax relief program to include those who own larger swaths of farmland.
The proposed constitutional amendment, which passed the Legislature in 2025 with broad bipartisan support, is the first question on the ballot. It would alter the Conservation Use Valuation Assessment, a tax relief program that allows farmers to pay property taxes based on the land’s productivity instead of the fair market value of the land, which could be much higher. Under it, landowners must keep the land in a qualifying use like agriculture or timber for 10 years in exchange for a reduced property tax rate.
If voters approve the constitutional amendment, owners of tracts of land up to 4,000 acres could be eligible. Currently, the tax perk is limited to farmers who own up to 2,000 acres. The average farm size in Georgia is 253 acres, according to the Georgia Farm Bureau.
David Dillie addresses 300 people gathered outside the Effingham College & Career Academy to protest the proposed OpenAI data center in Rincon on July 23, 2026. Credit: Justin Taylor/The Current GA/CatchLight/Report for America
2026 ELECTION
By Maya Homan
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has filed a formal complaint against a Georgia House candidate accused of voting in two states, arguing that he does not meet the residency requirements to serve in the state House of Representatives.
David Dillie, a 24-year-old mechanic for Gulfstream, qualified to run as a Democrat for Georgia House District 161 in March and ran unopposed during the May state primary. But last month, Raffensperger’s office launched an investigation into Dillie after discovering evidence that he cast primary ballots this year in both Georgia and Nevada, where he lived until September 2024.
Dillie has denied the allegations.
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