In this week’s episode, Love, Atlanta host Ann Hill-Bond and guests Chauncey Alcorn and Madeline Thigpen discussed voting rights and elections in Georgia, the use of surveillance technology, and criminal justice in Fulton County.
Chauncey Alcorn is Capital B Atlanta’s state and local politics reporter. Madeline Thigpen is Capital B Atlanta’s criminal justice reporter.
Love, Atlanta airs Thursdays on WRFG from 4-5 p.m. Tune in live or listen to previous shows. The radio show is recorded and produced at WRFG Atlanta.
Political Issues
- Chauncey Alcorn discussed the Supreme Court’s Louisiana v. Callais decision and its effect on Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, potential Georgia redistricting after the November midterms, and possible changes taking effect in 2028.
- The Democratic National Convention did not select Atlanta; Georgia’s right-to-work laws and limited collective bargaining were identified as factors. The election includes a historic number of Black women candidates, including Keisha Lance Bottoms, Tanya Miller, Penny Brown Reynolds, Keisha Waites, and a candidate for labor commissioner.
- The Mike Collins–John Ossoff Senate race, Collins’s ties to controversial staffers, the governor’s race between Keisha Lance Bottoms and Rick Jackson, and the bipartisan 21st Century Road to Housing Act were discussed. Metro Atlanta corporations and private-equity groups reportedly own 25–30% of single-family homes.
Justice Technology
- Madeline Thigpen reported on protests against Flock automatic license plate readers, including concerns about Fourth Amendment rights, immigration enforcement access, police misuse, stalking, and racial misidentification. Community Movement Builders, Black Alliance for Peace Atlanta, and Defrost The Home Depot were among the organizers discussed.
- DeKalb County suspended eight officers for misusing Flock data. The Atlanta Public Safety Training Center and expanding real-time crime centers were also discussed.
County Priorities
- Fulton County Jail remains under a federal consent decree, with overcrowding, delayed court cases, cash-bail requirements under Senate Bill 63, and an average incarceration duration of 206 days identified as concerns.
- Upcoming priorities include Fulton County budget hearings, jail and public-safety spending, a proposed South Fulton hospital connected to Morehouse School of Medicine, Atlanta’s possible seventh police zone, and the end of Temporary Protected Status for Haitians and Syrians.
